May 13, 2012 … Songs of Forgiveness

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Psalm 51 … To study these chapters, go to this link - 
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Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Psalm 32 … To study these chapters, go to this link - 
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Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Psalm 86 … To study these chapters, go to this link - 
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Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Psalm 122 … To study these chapters, go to this link - 
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Highlight Passage #1 : Psalm 51: 1-2, 4 … 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 4 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.
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Highlight Passage #2: Psalm 32: 5-6 … 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord." And you forgave the guilt of my sin. 6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them.  

My Journal for Today: Yesterday the chronological reading plan from youversion.com led me to read, study, and meditate on 2nd Samuel 11, where David’s sinful tryst with Bathsheba and his shameful cover-up of all the sins were revealed. And then in Chapter 12 of 2nd Samuel, we read how the Prophet Nathan held David accountable for this sin; and how David, in his brokenness confessed all that sin.

Well, in today’s reading, we are taken to a group of Psalms David wrote, expressing his confession of those sins and how God’s mercy allowed David to be spared of the penalty of death from his sinful choices; and then how David sings out to teach others the joy which comes from confession and repentance and how God can/will forgive the sinner when sins are confessed.

You will note above that I have listed Psalm 51 BEFORE Psalm 32; because, chronologically, it is very likely the latter Psalm 32, though numbered before the former, was written after Psalm 51. In Psalm 51, we read of David’s contrition and how he, and he alone, must be held accountable for his own sin; and then how David pleads to God for deliverance and cleansing. In Psalm 32, however, David is recognizing the very joy that has come from his confession; and he is now teaching others about how they must let God be their hiding place and how they must let God guide their lives after confession. Hence, we need to see that Psalm 51 chronologically precedes Psalm 32 in the historical sequence of biblical presentation.

But they both, taken in meditation, give the sinner – as we all are – the joy which comes from bringing our sins out from the darkness of sinful cover-up into the light of God’s saving grace, where God can apply His everlasting cleansing, just as the Apostle John wrote about to Christians, like you and me, in 1st John 7-9, which I’m going to copy here today to help you remember how we, New Covenant, Christians can – and must – relate to God in allowing our sins to be covered by the Savior’s blood.  

1st John 7 – 9 [NLT] - … 7 But if we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from every sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to Him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.

It’s that simple, my friend. And David’s life and his songs, as we meditate on them here in this place, should give us encouragement and hope as to keeping short accounts before God with our conviction, which comes from His enlightenment, and our contrition, which is the result of His enabling grace giving us the power, which comes right from the cross, to overcome and confess our sinfulness.

And the result? … Well, the result is what David recognized in his life and was most willing to share with God’s people in Psalms 51 and 31. And when we are the beneficiaries of these truths, exercising the same contrition of confession, repentance, and right living, we gain what David did … the joy of our salvation.  

My Prayer Today: … Lord, thank You for shedding Your blood that I may be cleansed of my sin. And may I always, even this day, keep short accounts before Your throne of grace. Amen