The Practices of Hard Days

¹ Have mercy on me, God, according to your faithful love! Wipe away my wrongdoings according to your great compassion! ² Wash me completely clean of my guilt; purify me from my sin! ³ Because I know my wrongdoings, my sin is always right in front of me. ⁴ I’ve sinned against you—you alone. I’ve committed evil in your sight. That’s why you are justified when you render your verdict, completely correct when you issue your judgment. ⁵ Yes, I was born in guilt, in sin, from the moment my mother conceived me. ⁶ And yes, you want truth in the most hidden places; you teach me wisdom in the most secret space. ⁷ Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow. ⁸ Let me hear joy and celebration again; let the bones you crushed rejoice once more. ⁹ Hide your face from my sins; wipe away all my guilty deeds! ¹⁰ Create a clean heart for me, God; put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me! ¹¹ Please don’t throw me out of your presence; please don’t take your holy spirit away from me. ¹² Return the joy of your salvation to me and sustain me with a willing spirit. ¹³ Then I will teach wrongdoers your ways, and sinners will come back to you. ¹⁴ Deliver me from violence, God, God of my salvation, so that my tongue can sing of your righteousness. ¹⁵ Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will proclaim your praise. ¹⁶ You don’t want sacrifices. If I gave an entirely burned offering, you wouldn’t be pleased. ¹⁷ A broken spirit is my sacrifice, God. You won’t despise a heart, God, that is broken and crushed.