God gave
us a great gift in the book of Psalms.
Every person who has ever lived can relate to the expressions of anguish
and confusion found in this collection. Each
Psalm is formed by words that illustrate the reality of a soul in search of
God. Psalm 51 is no exception. It was written by David after he confronted
his own deep, dark sin previously hidden from himself and everyone around
him.
David was
living his life as King of a World Power with little thought of his sin. He had recently married a beautiful widow who
was pregnant with their first child. His
heart was full of pleasures and comfort.
He was living the good life that God has promised him. It wasn’t easy to get to this place. On his journey to becoming a king, he had been
ostracized from his country and had lived with a target on his back, a wanted
man, miraculously protected by God. He
had been a mighty warrior, the first Hebrew to conquer the high and mighty city
of Jerusalem where he built a castle for himself and his large family. His heart, mind and spirit were so full of
the pleasures and necessities of this world that he had little time to think
about sin. If he did think about God at
all, he most likely thought God was pleased with him to grant him such a good
life.
Like Ash
Wednesday and the season of Lent, something stirred his soul in the midst of
his distracted spiritual state of mind.
It was a visit from the prophet Nathan who cleverly exposed the secret
sin David had committed. It was a
forgivable sin, however, it prevented him from being able to build a permanent
Temple for God. Sin has
consequences. Sin distances us from
God. The distraction of sin can be such
that, like David, sin can find us the middle of an active happy life where we
and those around us have grown accustomed to our sin.
When we
become sin-blind; we need a visit in Lent to draw us back to the spiritual
reality. David experienced the harsh
consequence for his personal sin through the loss of his baby who died at
birth. Though he grieved greatly; his
experience of despair straightened out his heart. His experience inspired his deep yet short
dissertation about sin recorded in Psalm 51.
There is so much to learn from this chapter. One thing we learn about sin from David is
found in verse four: Against
you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so
you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
David had
sinned against his country by allowing himself to be in a position of God
deserving God’s wrath. He had sinned against a young couple just beginning
their love story—breaking up a marriage and causing the death of a young
husband. He had sinned against his servants whom he ordered to carry out his
sinful actions. Ultimately, his sin was
against God. The bottom line of all
sinning is that it is against God. The
only answer to all sinning is the forgiveness of God. In Christ we discover that the only way for
all sin to be forgiven is the death of God.
In Christ our sin is overcome.
1 Corinthians 5:7 charges us with
this truth: Get rid of
the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For
Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
As you really are, means that you are in
Christ without sin. Lent invites us to
get serious about our life in Christ; as we really are. Look at yourself clearly. See the truth that all sin is against God
because it is against who God died to help you become. See the connection to your sin and not fully
participating in the freedom from sin that God’s sacrifice made possible in
you. Don’t get stuck on regret or
avoidance of sin. Look at your sin full-on
as rejection of God’s provision through Christ.
See your sin as against God and God only, like David taught in Psalm 51.
Copyright © 2018.
Deborah R Newman
teatimeforyoursoul.com All Rights
Reserved.
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