Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

• Unfailing love- Because of your unfailing love . The second foundation stone supports the first. If God were not steadfast in his love, humanity has no chance of forgiveness. “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Rm. 5:8) • Compassion- Because of your great compassion,…” (v. 1) God’s compassion activates his mercy and reaches out to mankind with unfailing love. Blot it out- “blot out the stain of my sins.” (1) We will either have our sins blotted out or our names blotted out of God’s book of life. “All who are victorious will be clothed in white. I will never erase their names from the Book of Life,…” (Rev. 3:5) • Wash it away- “Wash me clean from my guilt.”(2) This word implies strong kneading and scour- ing of the garment not just a casual rinsing. • Purify it- “Purify me from my sin.” (2) This means; ‘de-sin’ me, completely remove the cause and effect of sin. David realizes three important things in the process of repentance: • He recognizes his offense: “For I recognize my shameful deeds–they haunt me day and night.” (3) He owns it all and makes no excuse for the sickness of what he has done. • He recognizes whom he has offended: “Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.”(4) Paul quotes this verse in his letter to the Romans. ( Rom. 3:4) There he is arguing that God is right in justifying the sinner by grace and his judgment is just. “We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins.” (Rom. 3:22) God forgave the sins of David based on the future sacrifice of his Son: “God was being entirely fair and just when he did not punish those who sinned in former times.” (Rom. 3:25) • He recognizes the effects of original sin: “For I was born a sinner–yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.” (v.5) Delitzsch says of this verse; ‘ …the fact of hereditary sin is here more dis- tinctly expressed than in any other passage in the Old Testament.’ While David does not excuse his ac- tions he sees ’hereditary sin as the root of his actual sin 1 .’ We are born with a sinful nature because of our membership in the human race. David asks for three things in regards to his sin: •

“But you desire honesty from the heart, so you can teach me to be wise in my inmost being.”(v.6)

In older translations ‘inmost being’ is translated as ‘reins’, the means by which the rider directs his animal. The question David settles here is that he wants God to have control over his …’deepest inward parts…the seat of his most tender feelings…the secret life of both conscience and mind 2 .’

II RENEWAL - 7-15: God’s 12 Steps to a New Life!

This wonderful passage prophesies of the renovation and new birth that is now made available to us in New Testament times. David asks for the full benefits of the Lord’s salvation. 1. Complete Cleansing- “Purify me from my sins, (purify me with the hyssop branch.) and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” (v.7) The hyssop branch was used to sprinkle the blood of animals upon the covenant people of Israel foreshadowing the day when the blood of our savior would cleanse us from sin. “For after Moses had given the people all of God’s laws, he took the blood of calves and goats…and sprinkled both the book of God’s laws and all the people, using branches of hyssop bushes and scarlet wool. Then he said, ‘this blood confirms the covenant God has made with you.’ …Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.”(Heb. 9:19, 20, 22) 2. Restoration of Joy- “Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me–now let me rejoice.” (8) The Lord does not want us to dwell on past sin; there is joy when his children are restored! “Always be joyful in the Lord. I say it again–rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4) 3. Removal of Guilt- “Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.” (9) Guilt is the stain of sin that lingers in the conscience and memory; only the blood of Jesus can remove it. “No mat- ter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you as white as wool.” (Isa. 1:18)

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