Good Morning, Lord!
I Am Baptized
Saul was urged by Ananias, “Rise
and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on [Jesus’] name.”
Make the sign of the cross as
you say, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.”
A Morning Prayer
O Holy Spirit of God, visit my
soul, and dwell within me all through this day. Inspire my thoughts. Infuse my
imaginations. Suggest all my decisions. Make your home in my will’s most inward
fortress and organize all that I do according to your will. Be with me in my
silence and in my speech, in my haste and in my leisure, when I am alone and
when I am with others, in the freshness of the morning and the weariness of the
evening; and give me grace at all times to rejoice knowing that you are with
me.
Accompany me today, dear Spirit
of God, in everything I do, but especially when I am home with my family. Don’t
let me show less courtesy and kindness to those closest to me, and let your
grace show through me to them in consideration, mercy, and a willingness to
explain everything in the kindest way. Let charity begin at home.
Do not leave me, O Holy
Counsellor, as I read books, articles, or various internet posts. Guide my mind
to discern truth from fiction and to recognize what is profitable for godly
living and what merely leads me to wallow in this world’s muck. Always focus me
on the things which are from above.
Be near to me, O Comforter, and
help me to know your presence in all my days, but especially in my times of
prayer, as I read the Scriptures, at the Divine Service, and when I receive
Holy Communion. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.[1]
I Believe …
I believe that God has made me
and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all
my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them. He also
gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children,
land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I
need to support this body and life. He defends me against all danger and guards
and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine
goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is
my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him. This is most certainly true.
Bible Reading – Psalm
3
Before I read this Psalm, I need to introduce a word and
engage in a little speculation. The word selah
appears three times in the Psalm. We don’t properly know what this word means,
which is why it remains untranslated. Some feel it is a bit of instruction for
the musicians, since many of the psalms were, and are, sung in public worship.
Others believe that it marks a musical interlude that is intended to allow
people to meditate on the words of the verse. This is the understanding that I
hold with, although, honestly, I don’t have great evidence to support that
interpretation. It seem that most people today have simply taken to ignoring
the word when it appears in the text and moving on to the next verse. Observing
where this word is placed, however, can be helpful to understanding the
structure of the Psalm.
Save Me, O My God
A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his
son.
3 O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah[a]
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah[a]
3 But you, O Lord, are a
shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the Lord,
and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah
5 I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
“A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.”
This Psalm was written during a tragic time in in King David’s life. You may
know the story of David and Goliath. This is that same David, but many years
later. He was an old man when he wrote this. The youngest of eight sons, David
rose above his brothers and became a warrior and, after years of warring, the
King of Israel. He was far from a perfect man, but he was a man who took refuge
in the LORD and counted on God’s mercy in the midst of his struggles, mistakes,
and sorrows.
This psalm was written during an uprising led by David’s
son, Absalom. You can read about Absalom in 2 Samuel 13-20. It is a sad tale.
David had multiple wives, and children by them all. One of David’s other sons
sexually assaulted Absalom’s sister, and David did not handle the situation
well. It created a festering sore in his relationship with Absalom, and Absalom
tried to overthrow David, and even drove him out of Jerusalem. These words are
from David’s prayers fleeing from his son.
When we pray the Psalms we are using words that were
written by broken people – broken, but redeemed by God’s grace. Sometimes hurts
and sorrows of the Psalms come from living in a fallen world, and other times
they are the result of the psalmist own choices – as is this case.
Can you relate? Have you made choices that have created
enemies or brought you troubles? Have your actions brought hurt to others that
led to ill will? This is the work of sin; ruining relationships, breaking
people’s hearts, causing strife.
It might be tempting to look at David in this situation
and to say, “You got what you deserved. You made your bed when you didn’t take
care of your daughter and now you have to reap the consequences of your
choices.” We like that kind of karmic justice; what comes around goes around
and folks get what they deserve. However, one of the lessons we must learn from
this Psalm is that God welcomes our prayers even when we have made the mess we
are in – which is good news because many of our problems in life are, at least
to some degree, self-inflicted. Yet we are welcomed to call upon God to save
us.
These words are for you to pray in Christ. Tomorrow we
will look more closely at how this Psalm is Jesus’ prayer, but today, please,
take hold of this: Your choices, your failures, do not disqualify you from
prayer. This Psalm is essentially praying, “Deliver us from evil” – even if the
evil from which we need delivery begins in our own hearts and actions. God welcomes
you, for Jesus’ sake, to cast even your self-inflicted troubles on him.
Question for Meditation
What does this reading teach you
about Jesus, what He said and did, or what He wants His followers to believe?
What does it teach you about God’s love and forgiveness?
What does this reading lead you
to be thankful for?
What behavior, thought, or
attitude does this reading challenge? What sin does it lead you to confess?
How might you pray for God to have
a richer impact on your life through this reading?
Prayer
Pray
for the government and all who are in authority.
Pray
that God grants wisdom, integrity, courage, and safety to all our leaders, to
police, firefighters, health care professionals, and all who work for the
public good.
Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven;
give us this day our daily
bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom
and the power and the glory
forever and ever. Amen.
Benediction
Now may the God of peace himself
sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess. 5:23 ESV)
Question
Is it difficult to believe that
God’s salvation is for you, especially when you know that problem seems like a
natural consequence of your own choices? Why or why not?
[1] This prayer is adapted
from John Baillie, A Diary of Private Prayer, 1949 – a morning prayer for the
21st day of the month. Baillie wrote wonderful prayers for the
morning and evening of each day of the month. They have inspired, educated, and
assisted many in their prayer lives. It was updated in 2014 by Susanna Wright.
That edition is available from Amazon here.
I personally prefer the 1949 edition with the older style of language. That
edition can still be found if you search for it.
[2] English
Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version.
ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good
News Publishers.
Comments