{"id":3356,"date":"2020-10-28T13:21:45","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T19:21:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theclarion.org\/?p=3356"},"modified":"2020-10-28T13:21:45","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T19:21:45","slug":"thoughts-from-the-bible-10-28-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/?p=3356","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts from The Bible: &#8211; 10\/28\/20"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Psalms 51 \u2013 David\u2019s Penitential Psalm<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>by Terry Broome<\/em><\/p>\n<p>David, King of Israel, \u201ca man of God\u2019s own heart\u201d (I Sam. 13:14) \u2013 what a fitting description of this man whom Jehovah had personally chosen not only to be King of Israel, but the very seed line of whom the \u201crighteous Branch\u201d (Jer. 23:5-6), the Messiah Himself, would come.<!--more--> The story of David the shepherd boy who became David the mighty King of Israel, is a character study in the depth and capacity for feeling within the human soul. His life\u2019s story and his works in the Psalms give us a glimpse at man in victory, as well as in defeat, yet one who sustains a childlike faith in God. We learn from David how to trust in God in Psalms 23, how to avoid the pitfalls of life \u2013 Psalms 1, and how to approach God in deep penitence when we fall into sin \u2013 Psalms 51.<\/p>\n<p>It was in the midst of a very colorful part of Old Testament History that we come to the event that triggered the text of our study. David was in the heyday of prosperity and power. His soldiers under Joab went to battle to finish the job begun a few months earlier of putting down an Ammonite uprising (II Samuel 10-11:1). \u201cBut David tarried still at Jerusalem\u201d (v. 1). The reader may rehearse the story more carefully in II Samuel Chapter 11 of the ensuing adulterous union between David and Bathsheba, and the eventual plot to murder Uriah the Hittite in order to cover David\u2019s sin that lead to a child being born.<br \/>\nWhen Nathan\u2019s rebuke \u201cThou art the man!\u201d smote him, it was as though the whole fabric of his earthly bliss melted like a dream, leaving him alone with these two \u2013 conscious guilt and Divine displeasure. David had in an instant recognized the horribleness of his crimes. With a broken heart he cried out, \u201cI have sinned&#8230;.\u201d (II Samuel 12:13). He had lost what the world could not give, and all the world cannot make up for. In a Psalm of deep penitence, he would later cry out for God to \u201crestore the joy of thy salvation\u201d (Psalms 51:12).<\/p>\n<p>In Psalms 51, David captures the true significance of our Lord\u2019s words yet to be uttered from the Sermon on the Mount: \u201cBlessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven\u201d (Matt. 5:3). We have here a man who is so spiritually impoverished and bankrupt, that he empties himself of foolish pride. David cries out from the depth of ruin and despair with a full realization that he cannot of himself bring about a reconciliation with God. He is indeed \u201cpoor in spirit,\u201d which is where all true penitence and relief begin.<\/p>\n<p>Note the penetrating depth of David\u2019s prayer for forgiveness. He begins by throwing himself totally on the mercy of the Lord without any efforts at excuse making. David does not plead innocence and ask God to vindicate him. Instead, he appeals to God\u2019s \u201cmercy,\u201d \u201csteadfast love,\u201d and \u201cabundant mercy\u201d (v. 1). These three phrases describe the attitude that he yearns for God to have toward him. A guilty soul can only seek mercy.<\/p>\n<p>Who could ever have felt a deeper, more heart-lifting joy than David who wrote in Psalms 32: verses 1 and 2, \u201cBlessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.\u201d Sweet and pleasant was the relief flooding a distraught soul when God\u2019s word of forgiveness came to David. Nathan said: \u201cJehovah also hath put away thy sin\u201d (II Sam. 12:13). David knew a good and loving God.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, great is our God. \u201cBe glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart\u201d (Psalms 32:11). In the words of a great old invitation song, \u201cIf you are tired of the load of your sin, let Jesus come in to your heart.\u201d<br \/>\nThe author can be reached for comments at 256-574-2489.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Psalms 51 \u2013 David\u2019s Penitential Psalm by Terry Broome David, King of Israel, \u201ca man of God\u2019s own heart\u201d (I Sam. 13:14) \u2013 what a fitting description of this man whom Jehovah had personally chosen not only to be King of Israel, but the very seed line of whom the \u201crighteous Branch\u201d (Jer. 23:5-6), the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tho"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3356"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3357,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3356\/revisions\/3357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.theclarion.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}