A PENITENTIAL PSALM
Psalm 51: 1-11
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A PRESBYTERIAN PSALTER - by Pastor Max A Forsythe |
There are many excuses for sin. It seems that the worldly never fail to come up with more shocking excuses than even the sins they want to justify. We have only to look at the focus of major American jury trials in the last several years to be shocked. The two young men who murdered their parents, have been able to solicit enough sympathy that those poor orphans avoided conviction twice. The Simpson trial went on and on, like the Eveready bunny, so that the jury and almost all of the alternates were nearly exhausted.
Even those who admit they done it, want to be excused anyway, because they had bad parents, or their potty training was too traumatic. The reinstitution of the chain gang in Alabama is being challenged because the prisoners might be embarrassed to be seen on the highways. Even sin is even rarely mentioned in many theological circles because, someone's self esteem might be impinged.
In that vein, one elementary school in my area is going to start experimenting with self grading! I had a college course like that once, where I was asked to grade myself. Since I had refused to study the aspects of some worldly humanist "art", I suggested that the best I could expect might be a "C". I was given a "B" because everyone else demanded an "A" for doing less work than I had accomplished.
How refreshing it is to find sanity and common sense in the Scriptures. The facts of so many misdeeds and stupidity run rampant ought to tell us something about our society. Just as Calvin Beisner noted in his commentary on Psalm fifty-one, the fact of individual sins in David's life must convince David that he is sinful from birth. We should also note that in David's confession here before the throne of grace, he does not repeat Adam's folly by claiming some excuse. "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions, wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin."
This is the proper relationship between believers and the only God of heaven. But, how difficult it is to maintain such a dependent relationship day to day and year to year. Very often we get self confident and careless much as David did at the lowest point of his career as king over Israel. Adultery and murder, are two of the most important social commandments in the decalogue. Never would David, we suppose take God's Name in vain, or even think of worshiping any other deity. We know that he worshipped the Lord alone. Yet, just as we may covet, bear false witness and be implicated in all the rest at the level of desire, so was David unfaithful in keeping the revealed Law of God.
Even as he hopes for forgiveness, he admits the plurality of his sins. This is a natural condition of mankind, whether the world will admit it or not. If our fallen human nature were not true, there would have been no need for Christ to have come to suffer and die. Since we have to live with the fact of sin, like David, we must learn that all sin is ultimately against God Himself. After all, God has given us rules and regulations built up on the commandments to maintain a civil social order. God has allowed for the punishment of wickedness and instructed us in the means of judging in court guilt and innocence along with a body of law to show us what is right and what is wrong.
Thankfully, the elect, like David learn to recognize sin without the necessity of a trial. But for all of the worldly who refuse the lesson, there will one day be the grandest day of judgment at the end of the age. How is your heart in this matter today? Have you learned like David to know when you sin? Have you learned to confess and throw yourself on the mercy of the Great Judge of Heaven?
Even many of the worldly will admit to doing wrong now and then, but there is still much resistance to the idea that we are all sinful. So, the average person in the street may well admit to a lack of refinement now and then and even participate in a general prayer of confession against the social order. But, to admit to a basic flaw in their character? Not in our time any more. Neither in David's either if the truth would be known. You know, this is how we have reason to know the elect in every time and place: they are sinners who know it and confess it.
As we see in verse six, David well knows that God desires truth to be admitted in our hearts. And how do we know the truth of our fallen nature, look at the second half of verse six. God Himself teaches us the essential wisdom within our inmost heart. And because He does, like David we may hope for God's cleansing. Because only if He cleans us will we be clean. Like our earthly parents, he sees behind our ears and into every nook and cranny of our hearts and minds. He even knows when we are sincerely sorry for our sins and when we are just saying that we are.
I am reminded of two apologies I received from the worldly. Both times, the people who had outraged me with unkind comments against our God, merely recited the new age mantra: "I'm sorry if you were offended". A few years ago, Jane Fonda apologized to everyone who served in the military during the Viet Nam Police Action. "I'm sorry if you were offended!" I don't think too many veterans gave that apology more than a passing notice.
Neither is God pleased with similar pleadings when we admit that we are sorry for doing certain things which God may find objectionable. No indeed, like David, we have to go all the way. I am sorry that I am sinful, please let me hear joy and gladness when you blot out my sins forever. Even more, as we learn to appreciate how this confession and up building in His Spirit works, we must ask the God of heaven to give us a new and a pure heart to replace the one of sin and stone. Even more, hold us fast in the faith and enable our spirit to do your will. The last verse is even more instructive. Here we see that our only hope is being held close to our Father so that we can remain in grace. Even before the coming of Christ, David knew his need for the Holy Spirit of our righteous God.
And like David, how may we know if we have the presence of the Spirit? It is really simple. If you are convicted of sin, if you know your need to confess your sin, then like David in this psalm, you have the Spirit. However, if you never ever feel remorse for any sin, then you need to be in constant prayer for this essential gift, so that you may know your need for forgiveness. This is the first and most essential gift of grace: learning to say that you are sorry for being sinful. May that blessed knowledge be yours today and always. Amen.
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Resources Used: |
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Beisner, E. Calvin. |
Psalms of Promise. | |
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IBS: The Holy Bible, New International Version (1984) | ||
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Psm 051b |
11 June 95 | |