ENTRAPPED (Psalm 51)

Critters dining on our tomatoes and strawberries turned

out to be RATS! Strands of thread wrapped around peanut

butter on the trap caught several. Sin is like that--it

may feel or taste good at first, but watch out!

(A series on 48 psalms recommended by pastor/counselor David Seamands for getting through depression.)

If somebody ever did a Bible version called “The Happy Scriptures,” this is one psalm they’d omit. Ditto the other seven “penitential” psalms (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143) in which the writer admits his shortcomings. They almost groan with agony over spiritual realities pulled out of the sludge of life. To be honest, I’ve resisted writing about Psalm 51.  Maybe it’s a déjà vu, all the muck today’s media is reporting about sexual sin in high places. My church recently offered a meeting for men willing to admit they had problems with sexual issues. I thought of the courage it would take for someone just to walk in the door for that….

NO SECRETS

But here, David is walking through the door to a public confession of what was whispered about throughout his nation. He lusted after a woman, got her pregnant, then had her husband killed to cover up his act. It didn’t work. Sin is a termite in the foundations of our lives. It’s a rat trap laced with peanut butter. We can’t ignore it forever. If we try to overlook it or explain it away, its stench grows. Alongside, depression festers.

It’s not just sexual issues. We’re entrapped whenever we dare cross boundaries of morality or propriety, someone is hurt, and no confession or restitution is made. It covers the range from adultery and murder (David’s traps) to physical or emotional abuse. Get mad, call someone a wretched name in anger, and never apologize?  Abuse. Sin.

Bible teachers point out that David covered the bases when he described his sins with three different Hebrew words that English translates this way (vv. 1-2):.
“Transgressions”—crossing the law’s boundaries.
“Iniquity”—yielding to the twisted sin nature.
“Sin”—missing the mark God set for him.
 “Purge me with hyssop,” he says (v. 7), referring to a bushy plant used to sprinkle blood on sacrifices for sin.  “Wash me,” he adds. He felt plain old dirty in his heart. “Create in me a clean heart…renew a right spirit” (v. 10). “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation” (v. 12)..

PEACE OFFERINGS DON'T SUFFICE

To feel better about ourselves, we don’t have to go to some religious shrine and perform rites over and over, hoping some god will show favor and get us out of the hole. Depression may be symptomatic of a need for spiritual heart surgery: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (v. 10). It’s not about peace offerings.  David was wealthy enough to keep the temple slaughter house busy for years with offerings! It’s about a broken spirit that says, “I was wrong. You, God are right.”

"Avoid every kind of evil," says 1 Thessalonians 5:22. That includes sexual sin, relational discord, anger and bitterness, laziness and selfish entitlement. Deliberate disobedience leads to a muddied testimony and ministry, and opens a back door for depression to sneak in. 

David knew only the Old Testament sacrificial system, but he also knew that only God could take him out of his angst and depression. On this side of the cross, we look to a Hill where the Son of God was murdered, weighted by every sin in the book, paving the way for us to say, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” He who sees into the darkest corners of a rebellious heart is also the One ready to transform it. “Cleanse me,” David pleaded (vv. 1-7). “Restore me” (vv. 8-12). “Use me” (vv. 13-19).

Making 'Psense' of Psalms--Psalm 51: Mercy

Part of an ongoing series on selected psalms.
The young man giving his testimony in the morning service would be baptized in a few minutes. He told of a life gone haywire until he hit bottom. One night, overcome with sorrow for his sins, he slid to his knees by his bed, crying out for a fresh start with Jesus. I listened with tears filling my eyes, thinking how for millions those low points become our highest points as we claim the mercy of God in Jesus Christ.This is the thrust of Psalm 51, which is a king’s confession of sin and prayer for mercy and a changed life.  It’s deeper than deep. Eighteenth century preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who could preach hours off one verse, found himself so overwhelmed by the truths in this psalm that he procrastinated for weeks before trying to write about it. I can understand his reluctance. What more could I add to what is said so well here about God’s mercy and loving us so much that He gave!

Psalm 51 is the fourth of the seven so-called “penitential psalms” (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143). The March 21 blog on Psalm 32 (“Hidden Places”) considered David’s later-in-life perspective of what he learned from his fall into sin. Psalm 51 was probably written closer to his confession of sin after confrontation by the prophet Nathan (2 Samuel 11-12).

HAVE MERCY! (1-2)

 Under the Mosaic law of the Old Testament, no sacrifice could be offered to forgive adultery and murder, both of which David committed. His only hope of forgiveness was God’s “mercy.” The Hebrew word for mercy (hānan) pictures bending or stooping in kindness to an inferior. Don’t skip over the “O” in front of “God” (the Hebrew “Elohim,” referring to the most high God). In English, the “O” indicates intensity of expression, almost a deep sigh. He precedes God’s name with “O” four more times (vv. 10, 14, 15, 17). He appeals to God’s “unfailing love,” from the Hebrew hesed, referring to God’s covenantal love. Then he appeals to God’s great compassion before three specific sin-descriptions (the same as in Psalm 32).

I SINNED! (3-6)

We want our elected officials to rule with integrity, but many fall. How well I remember the sad episode of a former president accused of adultery—in his oval office!—who tried to weasel out of the accusations that nearly removed him from office. David didn’t shrug off his wrongs with a casual “I blew it.” He was specific about the scope of sin against a holy God:
            “Blot out my transgressions”—sin that crosses over into forbidden territory.
            “Wash away all my iniquity”--perversion, what we call “original sin.”
            “Cleanse me from my sin”—falling short, missing the mark, like an arrow missing a target.
David didn’t say, “Everybody sins a little once in a while.” He looked at himself as one tainted with the original sin passed through Adam and Eve (v. 5), and confessed his great fall: “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (v. 4). Today, pride and being “culturally correct” keep us from the flat-out honesty about the seriousness of sin. “One of the greatest crises of our day,” wrote Oswald Chambers in Devotions for the Deeper Life, “is that we are contented with easy satisfaction in our spiritual lives. We are content with moral fastidiousness.  If we are to get at the heart of the religion of the Cross, we will have to forget such religious trivialities. We must be ‘unblamable in holiness before God’….We need broken-hearted preachers with an awful conviction of sin, preachers who cry, ‘My God! My God! Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned!’” (Zondervan/God’s Bible School, 1986, p. 83).
 

CLEAN! (7-9)

David wanted:
*Cleansing (literally, purging) “with hyssop.”  This small, rock-clinging plant was used as a brush or to sprinkle. In the Exodus, the Hebrews used it to smear blood on their doorways to alert the angel of death to pass over them.  It was also used in ceremonial cleansing for people with skin diseases (Lev. 14:4, 6) or who had touched a dead body (Num. 19:18). Hebrews 9:19-22, in pointing to Christ’s death, explained, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” In asking cleansing with hyssop, David was literally saying, “De-sin me.”

*A new, pure spirit, clean like new-fallen snow. Though rare, Jerusalem does get some snow, and David had probably witnessed a morning when pure white covered the usual dirty landscape. This part of Psalm 51 inspired James Nicholson, a devout Christian and postal worker, to write this much-loved Gospel hymn, published in 1872:

            Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;
            I want Thee forever to live in my soul.
            Break down every idol, cast out every foe.
            Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

RENEWAL (10-12)

David wanted a fresh start, so he asked God to:
 *Create a pure heart for him. This was a bold request, for in asking God to “create” this new heart, he used the word “bara” which was also used in Genesis for the creation of the heavens and earth.  In other words, he was asking God to create something brand-new out of nothing! He couldn’t have made a bolder request.
*Never cast David away. This verse has stirred up a lot of controversy among those who dispute “eternal security.” But what David seems to be saying is not a matter of “losing” salvation but that he needed God’s help to live in holiness.
*Restore the joy of salvation. Sin took away his joy. Momentary pleasures brought long-term grief. Now, with repentance and cleansing, he wants to enjoy again his sweet fellowship with God.

PROOF OF A CHANGED HEART (13-17)

Today, people who commit a crime are often “sentenced” to a community service that seeks to compensate a wrong or convince others not to follow the same negative paths. For example, a teen arrested for drunken driving might speak to student groups about what he or she learned from breaking the law. As Psalm 51 ends, David promises to warn others not to make his mistake. “Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you” (v. 13). An obedient life is far better than a cycle of sinning and sacrifices.

CHANGED PEOPLE=CHANGED NATION (18-19)

Proverbs 14:34 says: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” We don’t know if David influenced the writing of that proverb, but we do that the ending of Psalm 51 is a similar appeal to his nation to turn from sin and serve the living God. With such an ending, Psalm 51 leads us to look in the mirror ourselves and ask: Am I the weak link of national health? Am I open to the counsel or rebuke of a godly, caring person? Have I thoroughly faced my sin and sought forgiveness?  And am I praying for loved ones who haven’t yet made that decision?
Next blog: Psalm 56