Imagine if the English people would start and end the day in reciting and believing Psalm 51 from the Authorized Version of the Bible.
Imagine these words resonating in our minds, over and again until they had permeated our being:
1. Have
mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto
the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
2. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
4. Against
thee, thee only, have I sinned...
5. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
14. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
15. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
*
7 comments:
A man can dream, Bruce.
In America, we used to say the pledge of allegiance every morning at school. Imagine replacing that with this.
Today we had the Canticle of Zachariah - in my childhood, one of my favorite parts of the Morning Prayer service.
Alas we recited it reponsively by half- verse; whereas back then we always sang it.
But I could hear the old music in my head clear as a bell.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel : for he hath visited, and redeemed his people;
And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us : in the house of his servant David;
As he spoke by the mouth of his holy Prophets : which have been since the world began;
That we should be saved from our enemies : and from the hands of all that hate us;
To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers : and to remember his holy Covenant;
To perform the oath which he sware to our forefather Abraham : that he would give us;
That we being delivered out of the hands of our enemies : might serve him without fear;
In holiness and righteousness before him : all the days of our life.
And thou, Child, shalt be called the Prophet of the Highest : for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
To give knowledge of salvation unto his people : for the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God : whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us;
To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death : and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
But Dr. Charlton, no one nowadays has any sins to repent. One by one all the old sins have been absolved by society. "Honor thy father and mother?" when you don't even know who your father is and your mother sleeps with a different man each week? "Do no work on the Sabbath?" while every shop is open for business and therefore it is just another day of the week? I could go on and on. No one commits any sins and therefore no one needs to repent in the great modern society we live in. No one has a "Lord" to bow down to, no one is in awe of the Creator, because there is no God and everything happens by chance. No one is responsible for anything, even his own behavior. And, of course, ultimately the Government, not the Lord, will take care of everything - that's what the Government is for, isn't it?
Somewhat off topic, Mr. Charlton, but since you said you enjoy the LDS biblical videos, I strongly recommend the one just released for the Christmas season:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ugV6QGcafEE
@MC - I had already looked at this lovely and spiritual video a day or two ago - I can't remember how I linked to it; but I hadn't noticed the LDS source because I was mostly listening to the music (while working on another window) rather than watching (otherwise I would have recognized the movie scenes).
A very certain prescription for the ailments of modernity, Mr. Charlton.
I keep coming back to this one...
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