Merry Christmas!

God bless us everyone!

Psalm 38 from my book, "Praying the Psalms for the Unborn Child."

Psalm 38
Jesus takes the place of sinners on the cross and intercedes for them to the Father⁷⁰.

1 O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your rage!
2 Your arrows have struck deep,
and your blows are crushing me.
3 Because of your anger, my whole body is sick;
my health is broken because of my sins.
4 My guilt overwhelms me—
it is a burden too heavy to bear.
5 My wounds fester and stink
because of my foolish sins.
6 I am bent over and racked with pain.
All day long I walk around filled with grief.
7 A raging fever burns within me,
and my health is broken.
8 I am exhausted and completely crushed.
My groans come from an anguished heart.

9 You know what I long for, Lord;
you hear my every sigh.
10 My heart beats wildly, my strength fails,
and I am going blind.
11 My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease.
Even my own family stands at a distance.
12 Meanwhile, my enemies lay traps to kill me.
Those who wish me harm make plans to ruin me.
All day long they plan their treachery.

13 But I am deaf to all their threats.
I am silent before them as one who cannot speak.
14 I choose to hear nothing,
and I make no reply.
15 For I am waiting for you, O Lord.
You must answer for me, O Lord my God.
16 I prayed, “Don’t let my enemies gloat over me
or rejoice at my downfall.”

17 I am on the verge of collapse,
facing constant pain.
18 But I confess my sins;
I am deeply sorry for what I have done.
19 I have many aggressive enemies;
they hate me without reason.
20 They repay me evil for good
and oppose me for pursuing good.
21 Do not abandon me, O Lord.
Do not stand at a distance, my God.
22 Come quickly to help me,
O Lord my savior.

Jesus describes His suffering because of the sins He bears for us on the cross. He is crushed, sick, overwhelmed with guilt, racked with pain, filled with grief, burning with fever, exhausted, in anguish, losing strength, going blind, a pariah, beset by demons and in constant pain (38:1-17). Yet, He intercedes for us by expressing our deep sorrow for having offended our God whose love we have rejected (38:18). Jesus begs His Father to not abandon us, but to stoop down from heaven and save us (38:21-22).

Prayer for life: Jesus, we beg God's forgiveness for the sins of those who support abortion. You are still suffering for those who return evil for good, hate for love, death for life. Remove the veil of sin that blinds those to the evil they perpetrate by killing the innocent unborn. Give them the grace to seek God's forgiveness for their grave sins. Do not abandon them, but save them for You are our Savior. Amen.

Have a blessed day!
John

⁷⁰The Orthodox Study Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008. 707. Print.

Scripture quotations (Psalms 37-41) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2010 by John P. Gross. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this material must be done in its entirety with the copyright notice intact. This book is not for sale, but is offered to the public free of charge in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and for the glory of God.