Laughing Bird Liturgical Resources (www.laughingbird.net) are a gift to the wider Church
from the South Yarra Community Baptist Church in Melbourne. At St Margaret's worship
service on 22 March, Rev Chris Lockley used Laughing Bird’s modern Australian
paraphrase of Psalm 51:1-12 for the responsive reading. For readers who missed it (and
those who would like to see it again) here it is:
O God, your love never gives up.
........Have mercy on me now!
I’m relying on your record of generous mercy:
........please wipe my slate clean!
Scrub away the filth I’ve been living in;
........Scour away the stain of my sin.
I know only too well what I’ve done;
........my sins stare me in the face.
It is you I’ve double-crossed, you I’ve betrayed;
........I’ve done things which I knew you despised.
You have all the facts and you know what I deserve;
........what ever you decide is fair enough.
I’ve been on the wrong side of you forever.
........I turned my back on you before I was born.
You want honesty that comes from deep within,
........so teach me your wisdom,
........let it take root in my heart.
Get the bleach out and give me the treatment!
........Soak me and wash me
........until I’m as white as snow.
Open my ears to laughter and music.
........Though you ground me into the dirt,
........let me now rise to the sounds of joy.
Turn a blin