Psalm 32

0Of David. A Maskil.
1  Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
  whose sin is covered.
2  Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity,
  and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3  While I kept silence, my body wasted away
  through my groaning all day long.
4  For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
  my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5  Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
  and I did not hide my iniquity;
 I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
  and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
6  Therefore let all who are faithful
  offer prayer to you;
 at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
  shall not reach them.
7  You are a hiding place for me;
  you preserve me from trouble;
  you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah
8  I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
  I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9  Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
  whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
  else it will not stay near you.
10  Many are the torments of the wicked,
  but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD.
11  Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous,
  and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

Daily Prayer (based on Psalm 32:5)

Holy God, You see all things. Nothing is hidden from You, nothing good, nothing evil. This day, as many leaders gather in Washington D.C. for the National Prayer Breakfast, may all citizens of this country be grateful for our many blessings You have showered upon us. And may we also be humble, bowed before Your infinite greatness. Moreover, by Your grace, may we confess our sins and failures as a nation: our excessive pride, our confidence in earthly strength, our love of material gain, our inconsistent generosity, our tolerance of unrighteousness, our failure to care for "the least of these." Forgive us as a nation, Lord, and help us to live in a way that honors You.

Postscript

Some might wonder whether it's appropriate or necessary for Americans to confess their national sins. Others might ask why we should confess when our national has done so much good in the world. To answer these questions, I would quote two paragraphs from Abraham Lincoln. These come from his Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1863.

"No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

"It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the imposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union."

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Except for the Scripture text, all material of The Daily Psalm Copyright © 2006 by Mark D. Roberts

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The Scripture text used in The Daily Psalm is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved