Notice how many times the psalmist uses the word “they” in this passage. As humans, it is our tendency to define the world in terms of “us” and “them”. And I’m fairly confident that when we think of “us,” we think of the good guys. Alternately, when we think of “them,” we consider them the bad guys.
In a blog on the Waking Dreamer website, Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm writes this: “Even so, it may be hard for us to admit that we might not be as ‘good’ as we’d like to think we are. It is incredibly difficult to admit that we are the ones who have gone astray, that we are the ones who do wrong, that we are the ones who do not truly seek God. What happens when we take the risk of admitting that we have gone astray? We might think it would be humiliation and shame. But in fact, when we admit this—at least to ourselves—we find it liberating, not humiliating. We’re taking the first step toward a fresh start. The amazing irony is that when we admit that it is we who have gone astray, we find God’s mercy overflowing to give us new life.”
Offer a prayer of confession for the specific ways you have gone astray and find freedom in the assurance of God’s pardon.
