Miserere mei, Deus: Music and poetry for a Lenten Friday

Thanks to Emily at Barnstorming for such a beautiful post yesterday.

Her Lent devotional features Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere, setting of Psalm 51, sung by the choir of Clare College, Cambridge.  It’s absolutely worth the full 12 minutes.  Truly FANTASTIC.

You can buy this rendition of Allegri’s Miserere at Amazon, from the album Choral Classics from Cambridge.

As you listen to this incredible musical setting of Scripture, ponder the truth that God indeed shows mercy towards and washes clean all who cry out for forgiveness in Christ’s name and turn to Him in repentance.

Here’s what Emily writes in her reflection:

Every day, as the sun goes down,
I pause to remember how often I messed up that day,
in big and small ways.
My mistakes seem illuminated,
weighing down my heart, and impossible to forget.
Yet, as I pray like David did in Psalm 51,
as I pray for mercy,
there follows a peacefulness at the end of the day,
as my errors are blotted out,
covered over by the descent of the night.
The slate, one more time,
is wiped clean,
whiter than snow.

I remember, once again,
as new morning dawns,
there is renewal,
there is cleansing brightness,
a promise provided within each new day.

I am given another chance to get it right.

Oh how wonderful the truth of God’s mercy, pardon, and His cleansing of our hearts!