The Psalms bring to life the gamut of emotions and experiences of mankind. David is to be admired for his honesty and transparency before God.

Psalm 51

We know David was called “a man after God’s own heart” and yet – his life was filled with grievous sin.

But David knew God – he knew God was full of mercy. David came humbly, confessing his sin to God.

“Fully acknowledging his sin, David called it what it was – not weakness but wickedness, not an accident but an atrocity … No alibi or shifting of blame here.”

(from The Holman Old Testament Commentary, Vol. 11, page 266)

May we not shake off conviction when the Holy Spirit reveals our sin to us.

“Conviction is a gift. It is a gift because the Spirit gently reveals our need and also points us to our Savior.”

(from Wait by The Daily Grace Co., page 97)

When the Lord forgives us, He is demonstrating His grace, His mercy, and His love towards us. Once we stand before Him, forgiven, we can experience change in our lives for we are then restored in relationship to God.

David asked three things of God:

1. to be cleansed
2. to be restored to God
3. to be used of God

Our desire should be the same. Every part of the circumstances in our lives matters. The mistakes we make, the sin, the Lord can redeem and use it in the lives of others.

The study asks: God wants transformed hearts and not just outward conformity. How are we sometimes tempted to just conform our actions and not our hearts?

May we not just cease in our sin, leaving our hearts unchanged, but come before God seeking for Him to make us more like Him.

May we not leave the soil of our hearts hardened but ask God to break it up so that we are able to be restored to God, respond to God, and be used of God.

~*~*~

Psalm 53

“The fool has said in his heart, “There is not God.” (verse 1, NASB)

We may not be so foolish to often say that out loud, but … we can live at times as if we think that:

• We make our choices without seeking God.
• We walk in sin thinking it won’t make a difference.
• We compromise.

In Scripture, the word “fool” means anyone who tries to live without God.

The study does a wonderful job of differentiating between intellectual atheism and practical atheism. We truly must acknowledge every day that we cannot live a day without Him.

We also need to see the depth of our sinful hearts so that we come to appreciate all the Lord has done for us and in our lives.

May we realize there is no goodness in us apart from God. Left to ourselves we would not do good. The problem will always be our hearts and thankfully, God works in us, changes us, and gives us new hearts through the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The study asks: How do people live as if there is not God? How can we live differently?

In this world that has things so jumbled, may we catch ourselves when we go our own way. May we quickly get things back on track, keeping first things first.

The typing of the last sentence brought to mind this song:

~*~*~

Psalm 55

In this psalm, we read of David’s suffering and more so, of David recognizing the closeness of Jesus.

This is a psalm concerning false friends and those who betray us. Perhaps we are never more aware of the nearness of Jesus than when all others have left us.

“Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” (verse 22, NASB)

Cast your burden. Give it back to Him. Release the weight of it onto His shoulders. He is big enough to handle it for you.

“Because when nothing else makes sense, He does.”

(from Wait, by The Daily Grace Co., page 109)

The study asks: What three words would you use to describe this psalm?

I think I would say:

• Anguish – we see David as being hurt by those who had turned on him.
• Anger – he is moved by anger, maybe righteous anger (?) and wanting God to contend with his enemies.
• Assurance – he knew God would hear him as he called on God (verse 17). He also knew God would redeem his soul.

This is the assurance we can have as well. What burden are you casting on the Lord today?

~*~*~

Let’s acknowledge our sin,
keeping the first things first in our lives,
and casting our burdens upon Jesus.

 

Photo 1: by Cristina Gottardi on Unsplash
Photo 2: by Joe Pohle on Unsplash
Photo 3: by Vera De on Unsplash

Today I may be joining … Tell His Story and InstaEncouragements .