Skip to main content

Psalm 25, Revisited



In Hebrew, Psalm 25 is an acrostic psalm. The beginning of each sentence forms the alef-bet down the page. 

 I have re-written Psalm 25, in Revised Julia Edition, to be an acrostic of the English alphabet. 



All of my being belongs to you, O Lord, 
Because of this truth, I trust in You alone. Consent not that the forces that oppose You to triumph in my life.
Do not allow any of Your faithful people to become discouraged or embarrassed because of their hope in you. 
Educate me in Your ways, O Lord. Teach me the feel of Your road. 
First things first, and that must always be You. 
God of all things, You alone offer true wholeness and peace: salvation.            
Happy is the one who learns this and waits for You. 
I beg you to continue in mercy and everlasting compassion, O Lord,  
Just as you did for Sarah, Ruth, and Hannah. 
Keep no mementos of my sins- against You or others.
Let Your own eyes of love be the lens through which You see me. 
Majesty is revealed through constancy and goodness, which certainly describes the Lord. 
Neglecting no one, the Lord offers guidance in faithful discipleship.
O God, those who are willing to listen will hear and receive Your guidance,
Patiently, the Lord corrects and guides the faithful to a holy life. 
Questioners find a way of surety and eternal mercy when they follow the Lord. 
Remember, O Lord, Your Divine reputation and forgive me all my many sins. 
Since we fear, love, and trust the Lord, we will not be without direction or help. 
Those who listen to God will find the justice, life-fullness, and family they desire. 
Ultimately, the Lord does not abandon those who want to be God’s people. 
Victory over sin and death belong to the Lord, who includes even me in that triumph. 
When You think of me, O God, pour out the healing you know I need in my whole being.
X-ray those who hate me, see their insides, and protect me from what may truly harm me. 
Yes, I seek a life of wholeness and self-control as I wait for you. 
Zion, the original people of Your heart, awaits Your redemption. Hasten to them, O God. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I'm In

A few weeks ago ,  I was using voice-to-text to compose some prayers. After I was finished speaking the whole list, I was proof-reading the document and   realized that everywhere I said “Amen”, the voice-to-text wrote “I’m in”. “Amen” essentially means  “may it be so”,  but what would it look like to end our prayers with “I’m in”. What would change if we rose from our knees, left our prayer closets, closed our devotionals, and moved with purpose toward the goals for which we had just prayed.  Lord, in your mercy:  Grant justice to the oppressed and disenfranchised (I’m in) Cast down the mighty from their thrones (I’m in)  Console the grieving and welcome the prodigal (I’m in)  Welcome strangers and attend to the marginalized (I’m in)  Grant the space for the silenced to speak… and listen (I’m in)  Fill the hungry with good things and send the rich away empty (I’m in)  Forgive others as I am forgiven (I’m in) Be merciful as God in h...
Post a Comment
Read more

Top Ten Things to Learn from the book of Job

Readings: Job 1:1-22; Job 38:1-11; Luke 8: 22-25 10. Job contradicts Proverbs.   The writer of Proverbs offers the hope and consolation that people who live wisely and faithfully, according to the will of God, will flourish and prosper. The very first chapter of Job says: it ain’t necessarily so. You may well live righteously and with great integrity and, still, terrible things may happen. A faithful life is not an automatic buffer to calamity. Due to this contradiction between the books, both of which are categorized as wisdom literature, we are reminded of all those who have gone before us who tried to make the Bible speak with one voice. It doesn’t. The Bible has many voices, some of which are quite dissonant together, but they sing one song about the presence and providence of God.  9. Job is an old story, but a young book, relatively speaking. Since Job doesn’t mention Abraham or Moses or the laws or the Temple, some interpreters have considered it the oldest story ...
Post a Comment
Read more

While to That Rock I'm Clinging (Epiphany 2025)

I recently read a book that contained this line, “God can only be drilled out of us, not into us. I can see that now, from a distance.” God can only be drilled out of us, not into us. The author was discussing the griefs and losses of her life, but also her awareness of the larger scope of the movement and power that carries us all, even in the difficult seasons. You do not survive these seasons by thinking there is no God unless the idea of a God who cares, who is slow to anger, who is abounding in steadfast love has been drilled out of you.   How does the idea of God get “drilled out of a person”? In today’s scripture passages, we have an example of people who have held on to the majesty and mystery of God, even in times of trouble. Then we also have a person whose awareness of the Divine has been drilled out by a desire to retain power and worldly influence.  The magi or wise men were probably Persian astrologers or maybe Zoroastrian priests from the same region, modern-day...
Post a Comment
Read more