September 6, 2017

Listen here.

Welcome to Devotions for Worship where we meditate on the appointed Scripture readings for the upcoming Sunday. Thank you for being with me today.

I am Pastor Eric Tritten from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Hudson, OH.

This coming Sunday is the 14 Sunday after Pentecost, and the appointed Psalm this week is Psalm 32:1-7. We should notice right away when I read it that the Psalm goes along with the Gospel lesson and speaks of God’s forgiveness. It begins with the idea that we are blessed or happy when we know that our sins are forgiven, and then reminds us that when we try to hide our sins that this is harmful to us, so we are encouraged to confess our sins to the one who forgives us, and rest in his protection.

I should also mention that there is a strange word in this psalm that appears in many of the psalms. The word is selah. We don’t really know what selah means, but one of the theories is that it is a musical term to cause us to pause and ponder or meditate on what had just been spoken. With that in mind, I will pause for a couple seconds each time I read the word selah.

The Reading: Psalm 32:1-7 – I will be reading from the English Standard Version translation.

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
 2 Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
 3 For when I kept silent, my bones 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 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
 6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.
 7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
 (Ps. 32:1-7 ESV)

Comments
What a blessing it is to know that God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and that we are indeed forgiven and our transgressions covered with Jesus blood. One of the great blessings in receiving Jesus’ forgiveness is the way that it sets us free from sin. One of the way sin enslaves us and keeps us in its thrall is that it makes us ashamed and causes us to hide our sinful action from one another. It separates us from God and from one another so that we waste away and become an easier target. When we confess our sins we are seen and we take hold of Jesus’ forgiveness – restoring our relationship with God and one another and drawing us back into the community of believers where we are protected.

These are good things for us to let rattle around in our minds. We are forgiven, what a blessing! We can confess our sins knowing that we are forgiven and set free. Our relationship with God is restored and the cross of Christ has become our deliverance and defense.

Prayers
O God, we are so blessed to be forgiven! Jesus has taken away the sin that separates us from you and brought us back to you to live in your protection. Lord, help us to be certain of your forgiveness so that we will be bold to confess our sins and, being forgiven, be set free from sin to follow you. Be our hiding place and protection from temptation, sin, and the evils of this world, preserve us from all danger and false beliefs – especially those false beliefs that lay our guild on us instead of on Jesus – and let your cross be the sign of victory for us so that we join in the shouts of joy with all believers hailing you as our God and Savior. Amen.

Thank you so much for using Devotions for Worship, I pray that our time together has blessed you and given you something to meditate on – some reminder of God’s grace to rattle around in your brain – for the rest of the day.

One of the things we can do to help us meditate on God’s word is to memorize it. Psalm 119:11.

Memory Verse: Matthew 18:12 - What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? (Matt. 18:12 ESV)

Would you do me a favor? If you got something out of this devotional time, would you like and/or share it on Facebook, Twitter, or wherever you do social media? That would help me get the word out, and hopefully help these devotions be a blessing to others.


God bless you!

Comments