I'm the Problem (Not Other People) - Psalm 51

May 30, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 51

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin!
3 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O God of my salvation,
    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
    build up the walls of Jerusalem;
19 then will you delight in right sacrifices,
    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

We like to blame other people for the world’s problems. But one of the problems with finger-pointing is that I always place myself in the company of the righteous and good while I tell other people they are the problem. True confession, however, is only about me and only about us. This is why the 51st Psalm is such a powerful psalm of confession. In the psalm, David makes it clear:

I am the problem!

(The superscription gives us the context for the psalm: it was after David slept with Bathsheba—who was not his wife—and then had her husband Uriah killed to cover up the pregnancy.)

Man or Mule? - Psalm 32

May 11, 2023 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Psalm 32

A Maskil of David.
1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
    and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
    and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly
    offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
    they shall not reach him.
7 You are a hiding place for me;
    you preserve me from trouble;
    you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
    which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
    or it will not stay near you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
    but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
    and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

It’s good to confess:

1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

But David knows from personal experience how stubborn we can be in refusing to admit wrongdoing:

3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

So, I like his warning to us:

9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
or it will not stay near you.

Will you be the confessing man of verse 2 or stubborn mule of verse 9 today?

The Problem With Pointing Fingers [Psalm 51]

June 02, 2020 by Andrew Forrest in Bible

Racism is evil; Jesus died for the whole world, and he invites all people into his church.

Here’s the problem:

When I say that kind of thing in church, everyone nods and agrees. We want to believe that those nasty racists over there are the problem.

One of the problems with finger-pointing is that I always place myself in the company of the righteous and good while I tell other people they are the problem.

True confession, however, is only about me and only about us.

This is why the 51st Psalm is such a powerful psalm of confession. In the psalm, David makes it clear:

I am the problem!

Provided to YouTube by catapultdistribution Psalm 51 (Wisdom in the Secret Heart) · Shane & Shane Psalms, Vol. 2 ℗ 2015 WellHouse Records Released on: 2015-1...

Psalm 51

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

The superscription gives us the background to this psalm: David’s adultery with Bathsheba. When the prophet Nathan confronts him, to his credit David immediately takes responsibility for his actions.

How can you and I take responsibility for our actions today?

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.

Note that David asks for “mercy.” Mercy—by definition—isn’t owed; rather, mercy is unmerited favor. But, David asks for it because he knows that God is merciful by nature.

We don’t deserve it, but we need it—pray for mercy today.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!

David doesn’t just want to be forgiven, he wants to be CLEAN.

God doesn’t just forgive sinners, but he makes them into saints.

Too many of us accept the first part of the gospel—forgiveness—but reject the second—sanctification.

Pray for God to remake your character today.

3 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment.

See, this is the truth about sin: all sin is ultimately against God.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.

No excuses here, just the truth:

David admits that he has been sinful since the beginning.

Can you imagine if we admitted the same thing today? It’s not anyone else—I am the sinner.

6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

I love this verse and often pray it over my own life:

“Lord, make me truthful from the inside out, and make me wise.”

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Hyssop is a plant, and among its other uses, the Israelites used it to smear blood on their doorframes in preparation for the Passover. (See Exodus 12:21-23.)

8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

David wants God to remake him from the inside out, and he desperately wants God to stay close. Hell is separation from God, and for God to remove his Spirit would be like dying before you die.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O God of my salvation,
    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
    build up the walls of Jerusalem;
19 then will you delight in right sacrifices,
    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

God doesn’t want sacrifices but honesty from us, and honestly requires that we own our sin, confess it, and ask for mercy.

Don’t point the finger at someone else today.

YOU are the problem.

Or, to be more accurate:

I am.

Man or Mule? [Psalm 32]

May 14, 2020 by Andrew Forrest in Bible