Podcast Introduction

Our reading today is Psalms 6-8. After that I’ll have some comments on chapter six. I’ve been a bit long-winded on the last couple episodes, so today’s comments are shorter. Then we’ll do our “On This Day In Church History” segment.

Thoughts

This is the first of the seven Psalms of Confession: Psalms 6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, and 142. These Psalms are characterized by confession and humility before God.

In this Psalm we see David asking God to withhold His wrath. David is in agony, both physically and spiritually. We can’t tell if this pain is from an illness, because of the sorrow he feels for a sin he committed, danger from pursuing enemies, or perhaps a combination of these afflictions. It does seem that his health is leaving him as well as his confidence. Yet he’s still is sure that God will be the faithful One He always has been, and He will come to David’s aid. As the psalm begins, we see David’s repentance. As it ends, it is his confidence.

When we are in similar circumstances, it is all to common that we remain in a place of misery. To be sure, if we have sinned, it is appropriate that we have remorse. After all, we made the decision to reject the right course of action. As believers, we have the benefit of the Holy Spirit’s guidance. He tells us when we are about to “leave the reservation”, yet leave we do. The remorse, the guilt we feel is because we belong to God, and we chose to follow our flesh instead of God. 

And it is right that we own the consequences. If what we have done in sinning causes pain to ourselves or others, we must accept our responsibility. Being a believer does not give us a “get out of jail free card” in terms of this life. To be sure, if we are believers in Jesus, if we have asked Him to be our Lord and our Savior, we have assurance that our sins are forgiven. 1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” But if our sin has caused consequences here, we have to face them and make things right. 

Now with all that said, it’s important to allow ourselves to be confident in the mercy of God, as David did in this psalm. Near the end he confidently declared, “The Lordhas heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer.”

Sorrow and consequences are meant to make us reconsider our behavior. Repentance is not the feeling of guilt or sorrow. Repentance is an action. It’s making an about face. It’s turning from the sin and toward God. And the wonderful thing about that is that we know that God is always there to greet us with open arms.

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 6 NLT, Ch. 7 CEV, Ch. 8 NIV

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