Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
—Psalm 51:14-15
This part of the psalm seems to be pushing it—for me, at least—since I am not a shedder of blood. Except, of course, I am. My unquestioning commitment to and financial investment in an economic system that is both capitalist and militarist ensures my complicity in both active and passive harm to innocent people the world over.
But I may have jumped the gun. The "bloods" (formerly interpreted as "bloodguiltiness") the Hebrew is referring to is probably not the cause but the effect. The psalmist might not be praying here for deliverance from committing the crime, but from the punishment for it. And if I take the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount seriously, I am given even more reason to pray this prayer.
"You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall
not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’
But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you
will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you
will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be
liable to the hell of fire."
—Matthew 5:21-22
You, O God, take my sin seriously. Help me to take it seriously, too. Show me where I have done wrong in thought, word, and deed. Forgive me and renew me, so that when I open my mouth to declare your praise, I can do so with integrity. Amen.
