Unlike many of the other Penitential psalms, we want to spend the entire week focused on this one passage of Scripture. Psalm 51 contains some important truths for us to consider. This well-known passage is perhaps the most difficult to expound of all of these special psalms.

The Words of an Expositor

Charles Haddon Spurgeon was the prince of expositors. He and D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones could get more out of a passage of Scripture than anyone I have either heard or read. In the preface to the second part of his first large volume on the psalms, Spurgeon tells that he postponed working on Psalm 51 week after week. He concluded:

It is a bush burning with fire yet not consumed, and out of it a voice seemed to cry to me, “Draw not nigh hither, put off thy shoes from off thy feet.” The psalm is very human, its cries and sobs are of one born of woman; but it is freighted with an inspiration all divine, as if the Great Father were putting words into his child’s mouth. Such a psalm may be wept over, absorbed into the soul, and exhaled again in devotion; but, commented on—ah! where is he who having attempted it can do other than blush at his defeat.

This is the fourth, and surely the greatest, of the penitential psalms.

Derek Kidner

Psalm 51

Psalm 51 provides the first of a series of Psalms that are credited to David. In the second book of the Psalter, all but four of the psalms are ascribed to David. Psalms 66, 67, and 68 are unnamed. Psalm 72 is credited to Solomon. Let’s talk for a moment about the sin that led to the writing of this psalm.

David was guilty of enormous sins. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and later, after discovering that she was pregnant, arranged to have her husband, Uriah, killed in battle. The sins color one of the darkest times in the life of Israel’s great king (see 2 Samuel 11 and 2 Samuel 12). We are unsure how to handle the difficulties of when a leader falls. But it was this very black darkness that led David to the light.

David’s Sins

Murdoch Cambpell writes,

The story of David’s sin and repentance is a story of transformation. Nowhere is the power of God’s word more strikingly evident than in the pages of David’s story.

David had committed two sins for which the Mosaic law provided no forgiveness. For deliberate murder and adultery death was the inevitable penalty. He knew that before God there was no forgiveness through any sacrifices which he might offer or any gifts which he might present. With Micah he could have asked the solemn question: “Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” No! By such offerings God cannot be appeased. David might have said: “If I build him an house, a magnificent temple; if I plead my hitherto circumspect life and all my good deeds in his service, will these not compensate for my lapse, and restore me to his favor?” No! “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.

David’s Words

The significant lesson to learn from David’s response to his sin. David becomes profoundly aware of his sin and its true nature. Not masked by pleasure and pursuit, he sees the sin for what it is. He uses three words in Psalm 51 to describe his own sin.

First, he uses the word “transgression.” The Hebrew word refers to crossing a forbidden boundary with the intent for serious rebellion. If you recall from the life of Julius Caesar, as long as he remained north of the river Rubicon, he was on peaceful terms with the Roman Senate. But once he crossed the Rubicon, he was at war with the legislative body. Civil war was the result.

The second word he uses is the word “iniquity.” It actually means “perversion” and is the word often used in connection with the original sin or our sinful natures.

The third word is simply the word “sin.” It means falling short or missing the mark. We miss God’s high mark of perfection. It is not that we get really close to the center of the target – it is that we fall short of even being close to the target.

Our Conclusions

It is only when we come face to face with our sin that we can begin to realize, understand, and appreciate our need to be cleansed from sin. In verse seven, David asks to be cleansed. It is such an interesting Hebrew word. It literally means “purge” and is based on the word “sin.” David is asking God to “de-sin” him.

In the first century, the material used upon which to write was called papyrus. It was scarce and valuable enough that if for some reason the writing was no longer needed, people would purge and clean the material “whiting out” the prior ink and words so the material could be used again. But because the cleansing was not perfect, shadows of the previous words were often still visible. When a new manuscript was written, they would turn the material sideways so the prior words could not be noticed. The material when used properly could be considered purged.

God wants to purge your heart of sin by writing a new story, a new covenant, a new life on a heart turned upside-down.

How do you feel about sin? You may be tempted to answer, “I feel guilty” or “I am filled with remorse.” Certainly, we should feel badly or negatively about the fact that we have been lured into Satan’s snare. Reading Psalm 38 gives a peek into how David felt. Though he does not actually name the sin, his confession reveals that he asks for mercy and help from God because of the terrible sickness, loneliness, and isolation he feels because of sin.

More than a psalm, the words in Psalm 38 are more a lament or a prayer. P.C. Craigie says, “Psalm 38 is a prayer … evoked by the experience of sickness and the consequent sense of alienation from both God and fellow human beings.”

Responsibility for Sin

Let’s look at some verses of the Psalm and notice how David must feel about sin.

David begins by pleading with God not to continue to rebuke him in anger (Psalm 38:1). It is the same way that Psalm 6 begins. He sees the physical and emotional problems that he goes through as either caused by God or at least allowed by God. David is begging for mercy (note Psalm 6:2). Mercy is not getting what you deserve. David understands that he deserves everything that he feels and gets, but he asks God to give mercy.

When we go before God feeling the consequences of sin, we first need to admit that we deserve punishment because of sin. On the surface, we act as if our sins are not that bad, or that we don’t sin very often. David understands the nature and depth of his sin. He accepts full responsibility.

Notice David says, “I am deprived of my health because of my sin” (Psalm 38:3). In verse 5, David adds “because of my foolish sins.” When we are in the midst of sinning, the path seems like the answer. We can escape the stresses of the world. We can pursue pleasure in the way we choose. When the dust settles – and eventually it will – the pursuit and the sin have been nothing but foolish. Look at the cost of our sin.

It is interesting that the psalmist uses the word “overwhelm” to describe what sin does to him. Sin after sin places amazing weight on our shoulders. It damages all of those around us.

How We Should Feel About Sin

How do you feel about sin? Notice some of the powerful words that David uses.

  • Humiliated (Psalm 38:6)
  • Shame (Psalm 38:7)
  • Numb (Psalm 38:8)
  • Anxiety (Psalm 38:8)
  • Heart beats quickly (Psalm 38:10)
  • Friends distance themselves (Psalm 38:11)
  • Words used against him are destructive and deceitful (Psalm 38:12)
  • Incapable of trying to argue to defend himself (Psalm 38:14)

Two Actions to Take

David gives two specific things that we should do – but neither of them are easy. First, David says we must wait for the Lord (Psalm 38:15). We tend to be impatient, wanting our circumstances and our feelings to change. Waiting on God to redeem and restore is not an easy thing to do.

The second thing David suggests that we do is equally difficult – and one that we do not completely understand. He says it is vital that we confess our sins. Our “image” of confession probably takes us to a private meeting with a priest. We will talk about confession in more detail on Friday.

As we continue our journey through the season of Lent on the way to the resurrection of Easter, how do you feel about sin?

Has there ever been a time – maybe even right now – when you have so much going on that you are struggling to cope with it all? Perhaps you don’t have too much going on, but one thing is so stressful that you are having a difficult time making decisions or functioning. What are the signs of being overwhelmed, how does it make you react, and what are some ways to cope with it.

When a person is overwhelmed, thoughts, emotions, and even physical sensations can become difficult to manage. Everyone feels overwhelmed from time to time. It is a completely normal response to the stresses of everyday, according to Sabrina Romanoff, a clinical psychologist and professor at Yeshiva University. Being chronically stressed and constantly feeling overwhelmed can take its toll on your mental and physical health.

While one or two events causing stress are normal for most, when a series of stressors accumulate and pile up, the weight of them all can be overwhelming. A lack of coping skills can also contribute to the sense of being overwhelmed.

Often there are triggers that can cause you to feel overwhelmed. Death or loss of a loved one, excessive workload or a very stressful work environment, conflict in personal relationships with family or friends, financial problems, health concerns, traumatic experiences, political issues, and major life changes can be the triggers.

Mental health conditions, such a depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or obsessive compulsive disorder might predispose a person to feeling overwhelmed.

For a believer, does the presence of personal sin contribute to stress? Sin is not the normal behavior for a believer. Sin probably triggers the following emotions and resulting stresses.

Signs of Being Overwhelmed

Irrational Thoughts

Paralysis

Disproportional Reactions

Withdrawal

Pessimism

Mood Changes

Fatigue, Depression

Physical Symptoms

Strategies for Coping

Coping Mechanisms

Change Your Perspective

Challenge Your Assumptions

Seek Support from Others

Simplify – Calm Down Your Life

First, sin breeds sin. Sin often involves a cycle of action and cover-up. Sin rarely travels alone. If you cave into one sin expect a parade to follow. Sins often travel in pairs. The Bible gives several examples: rebellion and malice; immorality and anger; laziness and theft; anger and disobedience; jealousy and strife; bitterness and fornication; as well as hatred and murder.       

Next, sin leads to guilt and shame. We misuse the word “guilt” often. When we say that we are feeling “guilty,” we are mistaken in our use of the word. Guilt is an objective, legal term. Guilt is our status when we break the law. We are guilty. Shame is the feeling we have when we are guilty of breaking the law. We feel shameful in relationship or comparison to those who have not broken the law.

How can we cope with the overwhelming presence of sin in our lives?

Psalm 32 provides instruction for dealing with our sins. James Montgomery Boice suggests that Psalm 32 and Psalm 51 need to be understood together. David has committed adultery with Bathsheba, He has sinned by manpulating battle plans so that her husband Uriah would be killed. He tried to hide the sins for awhile, but when Nathan confronted him, David confessed and was restored.

Psalm 32 is given the title “Maskil” which means “a psalm of instruction.” It is one of twelve psalms which bear the title.

The first step is handling our sin is to let God’s Word instruct and convict us of the sin. Nathan brought God’s Word to David. Though we are not condemned because of our sin, we are certainly damaged by it. Our sin can also damage others.

We need to hear God’s teaching, and like David, understand that we stand before God both guilty and shamed.

The second step in this psalm is to confess our sin. Although we will go into much more detail on Friday about the meaning of confession, at this point let’s define it by saying we do not rationalize our sin, we admit it and accept its consequences.

The beginning verses of Psalm 32 provide a classic example of Hebrew poetry. It perfectly describes Hebrew parallelism. There are three terms for sin in verse one. The psalm begins with the word “blessed.” Literally the word is plural, meaning “blessednesses.” A man is blessed – trifold – when he has sinned, has repented, and knows the joy of restoration.

The first word for sin is “transgression.” The word in the Hebrew literally means “a going away” or a “departure” – in this case a rebellion against God and His authority. There is something powerful here that we should not miss. Even when it appears that our transgression is against another person, who may be hurt by our sin, ultimately the sin is against a God who tells us how to behave with our neighbor. This is why in Psalm 51 David can proclaim “Against you, and you only have I sinned” even though David’s sin was directed toward Uriah and Bathsheba. As Alexander Maclaren writes, “You have not gotten to the bottom of the blackness until you see that sin is a flat rebellion against God himself.”

The second word for sin in verse one is translated sin. It means coming short or falling short of the standard. The term was used in archery to describe a person who shoots at a target but the arrow comes up short of hitting the target. It is not that the arrow barely misses the bull’s eye, nor that it powers past the target. God’s Law is the target and this word describes that we fail to measure up to it.

The third word for sin is iniquity in verse two. The word means “twisted, crooked, or corrupt.” These three words round out our understanding of sin: first, we are seen as being in rebellion against God; second we fall short of what is necessary because of the Law; and finally, this type of sin describes what the sin does to us – it mars and disfigures who we are.

Because of Christ, our sin does not leave us with eternal consequences, we need to see that our sin has consequences in our lives and in our relationships. Jesus covers our sins.

Corresponding to the three words for sin, there are three words in this Psalm that speak to how God deals with our sin. The first word is forgiven. The word literally means “to lift off.” The weight of sin on our shoulders is a burden that we cannot bear. Do you remember the words to the hymn? “My sin – O the bliss of this glorious thought – my sin, not in part, but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul.”

The second word is covered. It is a strong word taken from the imagery of the Day of Atonement. In Greek, the word means “propitiation” – turning aside the wrath of God. In Hebrew the word is covering, the term that David uses here.

The third word speaks to what God does not do. He “does not count” the sin against us. The word “count” is the word impute. It is a bookkeeping term. It means to keep a person’s account activity on a ledger. God does not “count” our sins against us.

We need to consider one last thing from Psalm 32 as we think about what we need to do with the sin in our lives. Look again at verse 10. I like the NET version of this passage because it captures the meaning of the word from its Greek translation of the Hebrew.

An evil person suffers much pain, but the Lord’s faithfulness overwhelms the one who trusts in him.

Sin causes pain. The pain touches the people around us. Like a cancer, it eats away the threads and strength of our soul. Sin in our lives causes suffering and much pain.

Sin can overwhelm us.

But as sin slowly dissolves the foundation of our lives, the faithfulness of God overwhelms the one who trusts in Him as a tsunami overwhelms the ocean’s coastline.

Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you who have been forgiven. Indeed, you are blessed.

The ultimate goal of Biblical teaching is to restore man’s relationship to God. Today, we want to talk about two doctrines that developed because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Paul discusses them in the passage from Ephesians that we are considering this week. You may want to re-read Ephesians 1:7-10 before you continue with this devotion.

Understanding these two concepts is vital for our spiritual growth, but I have become increasingly convinced that we misunderstand and misapply truths about these doctrines. Let’s discuss the doctrines of redemption and forgiveness.

A Pharisaical Attitude

But first, let’s talk about why we misunderstand the truths of these doctrines. We certainly are familiar with the terms. We have heard about forgiveness in sermons and Sunday School lessons since we were very little. Jesus asks that we forgive others just as God has forgiven us. How could we mess that up?

While we probably are not as familiar with redemption, we have heard the term and stories about how slaves or prisoners were redeemed by someone paying the debt they owed. We apply the truth that Jesus redeemed us – paid the debt we owed because of our sin – and bought our freedom. We have a working knowledge of these doctrines.

In Jesus’ day, no one knew more about the Scriptures than the Pharisees and Sadducees. Yet no one misunderstood the Scripture more than these religious leaders. Jesus often condemned their attitude and their application of biblical truths. The Pharisees and Sadducees could not agree on the interpretation of many Scriptures.

If Jesus came to earth today, many of us would be the Pharisees and Sadducees of our day. We know the Scripture better than many. But are we doing a better job of applying its truth than our ancestors? Sadly, I may find myself as guilty as the most learned Pharisee of two thousand years ago.

Forgive and Restore

Take the concept of forgiveness. It is easy for me to forgive someone. My personality rarely holds grudges. When I read about Jesus telling Peter to forgive someone, not seven times but “seventy times seven,” I smile and nod, “I can do that.” I even understand that Jesus isn’t being literal; He is urging us to forgive someone as many times as it takes.

I cannot tell you the number of times that after I forgive someone, I add on the thought, “But it will be difficult for me to ever trust them again.” I immediately think of the old saying, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” For me not to be “hurt again,” I often avoid working closely with the individual again.

Let’s also think about the word redemption. The word comes from the Latin term “redemption” meaning to buy back or restore. In the Bible, it symbolized the act of God freeing humanity from the bondage of sin and death through the sacrifice of Jesus. Please grasp the importance of the symbol. God is freeing us from sin so that we can have a relationship with Him.

God does not forgive our sins or buy our freedom and then turn and walk away. He paid an insurmountable sum so that He can have a relationship with us. He faced eternal death so that we would not have to.

Hosea: A Story of Restoration

One more example helps us understand the depth of how we are to forgive. More than any other prophet in the Old Testament, Hosea threaded his message closely with his personal life. By marrying a woman he knew would eventually be unfaithful and by giving his children names that represented messages of judgment upon Israel, Hosea’s words and his life were connected deeply. Even after her unfaithfulness, Hosea is told to buy her back out of slavery and take her again as his wife. There was no guarantee that she would be faithful. There was only a demonstration of Godly love, forgiveness, and restoration.

How do we apply this truth? Chuck Swindoll writes, “as a redeemed child of God, have you offered “redemption” or forgiveness to those in your life who were once under your judgment? Not only does the book of Hosea provide an example of God’s love to a people who have left God behind, but it also shows us what forgiveness and restoration look like in a close relationship. The book of Hosea illustrates that no one is beyond the offer of our forgiveness because no one sits outside God’s offer of forgiveness. Certainly, God brings judgment on those who turn from Him, but Hosea’s powerful act of restoration within his own marriage set the bar high for those of us seeking godliness in our lives.”

Maybe its time I start trying to forgive and forget and restore.

We tend to try to make the mysteries of God more mysterious, don’t we? We expect the things of God to be complex and complicated. One of those mysteries for us is the doctrine of providence – how God interacts with the events and affairs of humans. How is God involved in our lives?

Over the next few weeks, we are going to explore how God works in our lives. We will think of how He works, what we can expect, and how we process things when they are not working out the way we perceive they should. While the material here can be worked through individually, we would encourage you to work through the Scriptures and then share them with your friends. Several times in a lesson, we will make suggestions for how you can use the material in a small group setting.

If you are working with a small group, here are two resources you can use. The first is a pdf handout containing some important truths from this lesson. The second is a pdf of some discussion questions from this lesson. You have permission to make as many copies of these handouts as needed for your small group setting.

HANDOUT ONE

HANDOUT TWO

Understanding God and His Mysterious Ways

The question of whether God is involved in our lives has been an issue of theological debate for centuries. There is a strong thread of religious thought that believes that God created the world but has a “hands-off” approach to daily life on earth. Like a watchmaker, God made his creation, wound it up, and now sits back to watch what happens.

But the majority of religious people – including most in the three major Western religions, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity – believe that God is somehow actively involved in daily life. He has the ability to hear and answer prayers, interacts with humans through the events of life, and engages in the world and with people’s lives. He is said to love His creation. The specifics of how this involvement takes place caries depending on the religious traditions.

Most stress that God is something completely different than us. If that is true, how do we understand and relate to Him? Theologians speak of the immanence of God. It is a theological term describing the nearness of God. When we say He is immanent, we mean that He is near to us. He is close to us.

But because He is different, we do not always understand how God moves and operates. He seems to be able to be everywhere at once. He also has no beginning or end – He is not limited to time. Many people conclude that God works in mysterious ways to be involved with His people and His creation.

Opening the Doors to Providence

When God intervenes into moments in history, because He is different than we are, He can either operate within the laws of nature or He can operate outside of those laws. When He operates outside of those laws, we call that a miracle. When Jesus walked on water, we call the event a miracle.

Are there things we can do to be more open and receptive to God’s involvement in our lives? Is a part of that openness simply mean that we pay more attention and notice it more? Do things happen by chance or could “fate” or “chance” actually be the activity of God?

A part of this debate asks, “If God is involved in one event in life, must He actually be involved in every aspect of life?” How much does God control and how does He allow for our own personal choice?

Disciplined Thoughts

A Pure Heart

A Clear Path

All Things for Good

Daily Scriptures

Here are seven Scriptures to help you explore today’s lesson on the providence of God. Use the Scriptures as a daily devotion, or work through the passages as you have time.

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