Psalm 26 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 26 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
Verse 2Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and mind.
Verse 3For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in faithfulness to you.
Verse 4I do not sit with the worthless, nor do I consort with hypocrites;
Verse 5I hate the company of evildoers, and will not sit with the wicked.
Verse 6I wash my hands in innocence, and go around your altar, O Lord,
Verse 7singing aloud a song of thanksgiving, and telling all your wondrous deeds.
Verse 8O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell, and the place where your glory abides.
Verse 9Do not sweep me away with sinners, nor my life with the bloodthirsty,
Verse 10those in whose hands are evil devices, and whose right hands are full of bribes.
Verse 11But as for me, I walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me.
Verse 12My foot stands on level ground; in the great congregation I will bless the Lord.
Devotion
Saying thank you was probably one of the first things your parents ever taught you. A relative handed you a piece of candy or gave you a compliment and your parents were on top of you: “And what do you say?”
Most of us reached our pinnacle of thankfulness when we were four, which is why I will be your parent today.
When someone lets you squeeze into congested traffic, what do you say?
When you have to pay your taxes, what do you say?
When you realize that God created you, brought you into being and gives you every breath you take, what do you say?
When you walk, see, cry, laugh and love, what do you say?
When you look around the table at the loved ones gathered, what do you say?
When you realize that the God of all creation cares about you and died on a cross for you,
what do you say?
Prayer
Dear God, thank you. Amen.