Psalm 5

The House of God

God,

You are the One who sees and knows all things;

who peers into the hearts of humankind

as if our souls were clear as glass;

who listens to the labored prayers

of saints and sinners alike.

In You are hidden all mysteries and knowledge;

before You, all creation is naked and bare.

Hear me, Lord;

hear my restless groaning.

I wake before the dawn,

to carve a space for silence;

to meditate on Your words;

to wait for the comfort of Your Spirit;

the renewing of my strength.

You see the hidden shape of my heart:

my songs and sorrows;

victories and vices.

If I am proud,

make me humble.

If I am sinful,

make me chaste.

If I speak anything but the truth,

heal my words.

By the miracle of mercy

I am ushered into Your house:

clothed in Your righteousness;

welcomed as a friend.

You have filled me with joy and gladness;

my tongue is loosed with praise.

You have loved me into life—

faithful in my wandering;

steadfast in my unrest.

Guide my steps, Lord;

lead me ever closer,

that those walking in death would see in me

such a witness of Your kindness

that they too might call upon Your name.

For their mouths condemn them;

they speak death as a first language,

cursing Your kingdom

and calling their hatred a love of religion.*

Christ, in Your great mercy,

Your arms are open to receive

all who freely come;

but those who reject You

shall find themselves rejected.

Those who spurn Your grace

will wander in a graceless land,

bent with sorrow,

while the children of God

feast in joy and song.

You are the house about us, Lord—

a safe and secure place

in a world of crooked castles.

You have filled us with gladness,

welcoming us as daughters and sons;

seating us in places of honor,

that we might be called the favored ones of God.

*Inspired by a quote from G. K. Chesterton, essay in Illustrated London News, January 13, 1906, in The Collected Works of G. K. Chesterton (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1986), 27:100: “There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for all religions.”

~Content from Sheltering Mercy: Prayers Inspired by the Psalms by Ryan Whitaker Smith and Dan Wilt~