MHoggard_Lesson2- King David and Psalm 51

[Margaret Hoggard]

What really strikes me in looking more closely at Psalm 51 than I have in the past is that it includes the problem of King David’s sin and the emotional consequences he suffered, as well as the solution and its benefits surrounding his redemption. As a person who struggles to forgive myself for my many sins and still in fact ruminates on transgressions dating back to my early childhood, I discovered some answers in this passage.

First of all, I take comfort in knowing my awareness of being a sinner can be seen as an important part of the process because it leads me to repent and ask for God’s forgiveness. One challenge is accepting that forgiveness (that is, forgiving myself), but King David describes the next steps on the path that lead to righteousness. The solution to the anguish that results from guilt rests in also asking for a clean heart and for the continued presence of God’s Holy Spirit and the sacrifice of a “contrite spirit” and a “contrite, humbled heart” (v. 19).

The way to experience “the gladness of salvation” (v. 14) is to ask God for a willing and renewed spirit, to “open our lips” so we can “sing joyfully of [His] justice and “proclaim [His] praise (v. 16-17). Kind David also promises to “teach the wicked [His] ways that sinners may return to [Him]” (v. 15). The benefit of these actions is that the Lord will purify us and give us the ability “to hear gladness and joy” (v. 9-10).

This passage brings me enormous comfort! As I reflect on the emotional toll my consciousness of my sins has caused me and the toll it has taken on my relationships, my health, and my productivity, I can now see the journey ahead as I seek a closer relationship with God and continue to grow spiritually. The new insights this passage has given me seem very timely indeed as I continue in the process of crafting my rule of life.

Blessings,
Maggie Hoggard

Quoted portions are from the New International Version
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[jeffrbassett]

Thank you, Maggie. Everything good comes from the Lord, even a willing spirit and open lips. Wow! It is wonderful to read a redemptive take on the incessant knowledge of our own failures, sins, and mistakes. The consciousness of our sins can serve to corrode so much that is good, as you have described, or it can prompt us to seek those gifts from God.

I wonder–now 3+ years later–how your Rule of Life has spoken into this tendency for you. Have you been able to discover some victory in this area so that the “emotional toll” of this consciousness has given way to “hear[ing] gladness and joy”? Are there practices that have made a difference or is the awareness itself powerful to make the change?

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