Psalm 51:1 (NLT), "Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love."
Friday... Now this can be ours.
Psalm 51 was written by King David when he was confronted by the prophet Nathan after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba which broke his relationship with God. This Psalm shows his guilt but then his returning to joy. Yes, there were consequences because of his disobedience to God. Yes, he did have a choice.The first verse tells of how to start in our getting back to where we can be in our relationship with God if we too have sinned. It says, "Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love." And that is a where we start. We need to first realize who God is and what He is like. Yes, He can be merciful and he is unfailing in his love.
Now over in Jeremiah 11:1-3 it says, "The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 'Remind the people of Judah and Jerusalem about the terms of my covenant with them.' Say to them, 'This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Cursed is anyone who does not obey the terms of my covenant!'" And that doesn't sound like a merciful God who is a God of unfailing love, does it? The problem isn't with who God is but it is with the responses of the people who have not responded to the merciful and unfailing loving God. The whole book of Jeremiah is about the consequences of his people in their disobedience.
Yes, David disobeyed but Psalm 51 shows the difference to his response to his sin. He said, "Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love." The people that Jeremiah was talking to didn't change and their were consequences to their disobedience and the same would have been true of David.
Here is what David says in verses 3-4 says, "Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what I say, and your judgement against you is evil in your sight."
And then verse 7, "Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me - now let me rejoice."
And in verse 15 he says, "The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart O God."
Now there were consequences in Jeremiah. In verse 10 he says, "'For I have decided to bring disaster and not good upon this city', says the LORD. 'It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will reduce it to ashes.'"
Yes, God wants to give us mercy because of his unfailing love. Yes, this can be ours. It is our choice. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

Comments
Post a Comment