Sheltering Mercy by Ryan Whitaker Smith and Dan WiltSample
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Psalm 5
The House of God
God,
You are the One who sees and knows all things;
who peers into the hearts of humankind
as if our souls were clear as glass;
who listens to the labored prayers
of saints and sinners alike.
In You are hidden all mysteries and knowledge;
before You, all creation is naked and bare.
Hear me, Lord;
hear my restless groaning.
I wake before the dawn,
to carve a space for silence;
to meditate on Your words;
to wait for the comfort of Your Spirit;
the renewing of my strength.
You see the hidden shape of my heart:
my songs and sorrows;
victories and vices.
If I am proud,
make me humble.
If I am sinful,
make me chaste.
If I speak anything but the truth,
heal my words.
By the miracle of mercy
I am ushered into Your house:
clothed in Your righteousness;
welcomed as a friend.
You have filled me with joy and gladness;
my tongue is loosed with praise.
You have loved me into life—
faithful in my wandering;
steadfast in my unrest.
Guide my steps, Lord;
lead me ever closer,
that those walking in death would see in me
such a witness of Your kindness
that they too might call upon Your name.
For their mouths condemn them;
they speak death as a first language,
cursing Your kingdom
and calling their hatred a love of religion.*
Christ, in Your great mercy,
Your arms are open to receive
all who freely come;
but those who reject You
shall find themselves rejected.
Those who spurn Your grace
will wander in a graceless land,
bent with sorrow,
while the children of God
feast in joy and song.
You are the house about us, Lord—
a safe and secure place
in a world of crooked castles.
You have filled us with gladness,
welcoming us as daughters and sons;
seating us in places of honor,
that we might be called the favored ones of God.
*Inspired by a quote from G. K. Chesterton, essay in Illustrated London News, January 13, 1906, in The Collected Works of G. K. Chesterton (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1986), 27:100: “There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for all religions.”
~Content from Sheltering Mercy: Prayers Inspired by the Psalms by Ryan Whitaker Smith and Dan Wilt~
About this Plan
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Journey into the Psalms in a whole new way with these free-verse poetic renderings of Psalms 1-5.
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We would like to thank Baker Publishing for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/sheltering-mercy/409430
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