Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

This is the second ‘Psalm of Blessing,’ the first being Psalm One, where we are told: “ Blessed is the man… whose delight is in the law of the Lord. ” Paul quotes verses one and two when he is ex- plaining the wonders of the gift of salvation to the Roman church: “ however, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are they…’(1,2) ” This psalm is a key scripture for our New Testament understanding of salvation by faith in Christ. It is critical to comprehend exactly what is happening in these opening statements of the psalm: • “ whose transgressions ”- means ‘ a breaking loose or tearing away from God;’ • “ are forgiven ”- ‘lifted up and taken away.’ • “ whose sins ”- ‘ a deviation from that which is well-pleasing to God;’ • “ are covered .”- ‘becoming invisible to God.’ • ” whose sin ”- ‘a perversion, distortion, misdeed.’’ • “ the Lord does not count against him. ” – ‘as though it had never taken place’ 2 . Paul repeatedly used the phrase ‘declared righteous’ in Romans 4 to describe how faith in Christ clears our guilt. • “ and in whose spirit is no deceit ”- The person who experiences the removal of their sins by God has one basic quality, they are completely honest and transparent with him, they are not trying to deny or hide their sin. When Nathan the prophet confronted David concerning his sin, he immediately con- fessed: “I have sinned against the Lord.” (2 Sam. 12:13) When Jesus met Nathanael who was to be- come one of his apostles, he described him as a fulfillment of this psalm: “ Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” (Jn. 1:47) “ When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude (Selah)” (3,4, NLT) Conviction has two sources in our lives, the first being our conscience and the second is the direct influence of the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us that God’s law is written inside our conscience: “ They (the Gen- tiles) demonstrate that God’s law is written within them, for their own consciences either accuse them or tell them they are doing what is right.”(Rom. 2:15) Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will bring conviction of sin to people’s hearts: “ And when he (the Holy Spirit) come, he will convince the world of its sin…”(Jn. 16:8) It was a full year’s time between the sin of David and the confrontation by Nathan, during which David was weak, miserable, guilt ridden and spiritually dry. God declared him righteous and removed his sin because of his open hearted confession. There are three ‘interludes’ (Selahs- see Psalm 3) in this psalm reminding us that we are to think deeply about our remorse for sin and the joy of his forgiveness. II. CONVICTION OF SIN - 3,4

III. CONFESSION OF SIN - 5

“ Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, ‘I will con- fess my rebellion to the Lord.’”(5, NLT)

We are assured in the New Testament that God will forgive one who openly confesses their sin to him: “ But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.”(1 Jn. 1:9) Confession is best kept within the circle of offense. If I have sinned against an indi- vidual, my confession is first to God then to them. If my sin were public such as David’s, a public con- fession would be in order.

IV. CLEANSING FROM SIN - 5,6

“ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude (Selah) Therefore, let all the godly confess their rebellion to you while there is time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment.”(5,6, NLT)

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