‎Just as we saw in Psalm 14, the fool here is not someone who lacks knowledge or the ability to discern. That would be an entirely different word in the Hebrew.  The fool in question here is someone who has willfully turned away from God, stands back, and mocks Him. No greater fool exists.

‎We live in the age of “the new atheist.” This is a moniker assigned to those who publicly ridicule believers as being irrational and unreasonable.  Their predominant claim is that the existence of God is a scientific hypothesis that has been tested and proven false.  We’ve seen them on TV, heard them on the radio, and we who know the truth shake our heads at the utter foolishness of their rant.

‎God knows all things, sees all things, and does all that He intends to do.   To say, with surety, that God does not exist is tantamount to saying; “I know all things, see all things, and discern all truth; and I’m telling you that there is nobody who knows all things, sees all things, and discerns all truth.” In actuality, there is very little that is new about the new atheism. There have always been scoffers. Proverbs 21:24 names them.  They laughed at Noah, and then begged for help when the rain came.  They jeered at the army of Israel then fled when their hero was felled by a rock flung by a shepherd boy. And, they nailed the Son of God to a cross, placed him in a tomb, and still deny against all evidence that God raised Him from the dead.

‎It’s important to remember that the atheist is not our enemy. Even those annoying hyper-intellectuals who have made careers out of publicly ranting against God are nothing more than casualties of a war being waged by a foe that is already defeated.  Their rants do nothing to hinder the gospel, and should they die in their sin, they will stand before God with no defense for their wickedness (Rom. 1:20).  Rather than our disdain, they deserve our pity.  They have embraced the lie of Satan, and in their pride and arrogance have set themselves against the God who provides every breath they take.  Arguing against a scoffer will only bring dishonor and insults (Prov. 9:7-8). They are frighteningly deceived—pray for them.  But remember God will be glorified either in their salvation, or their destruction (Rom. 9:22-23).

‎This Psalm, however, is not only referring to those who loudly and publicly dishonor the living God with the passion and zeal of an evangelist. When we proceed through life without regard to our dependence on Him; or, when we charge ahead with our own agenda, forgetting that it is God who directs our steps, we are acting like practical atheists. The psalm tells us that it is a fool who says “in his heart” there is no God.  Do you cry out to the Lord only when a crisis arises? Do you worship on Sunday and reserve the rest of the week for yourself?  Are you neglecting the importance of abiding in Christ?  When these things are true of us, we are playing the fool. There is no greater fool that he who knows the truth, but chooses to ignore it.

‎Richard Dawkins was asked what he would say to God if, when his dies, he finds that he has been wrong about Him. He responded, “I would ask him why he didn’t make himself known to me.”  Could he stand before the creator and sustainer of all that exists, who alone possesses infinite power, and in his utter arrogance suggest that God has somehow failed to make His presence known?  Perhaps he could; but I fear for his soul.

‎“It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” Hebrews 10:31.

‎One of the greatest things about studying the Psalms is the wealth of truth to be found about both God and ourselves. As I read Psalm 51, I became amazed that I could simultaneously gain insight into the mind and ways of both God and man. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that truth pertaining to the creator would also shed light on the creature, but as I began make notes highlighting truths about God, I was amazed to find an equal amount of truths about myself.

‎It’s important for us to remember that Scripture contains only those truths that God has chosen to reveal about himself. It does not, nor could not, contain all truth about God. He is infinite, and the pages of Scripture are finite. As has been said, as God is limitless, we can look forward to spending eternity learning about Him. ‎Right from the start and continuing through the entire Psalm, we see that God is gracious, loving and compassionate, even when we are not.  We cannot take these attributes of God for granted, however.  Jesus exhorts us in Matthew 6:14-15 that God will hold back his forgiveness if we fail to exhibit a forgiving spirit ourselves.

‎All through the Psalm David is seeking relief from the heavy burden his sin has placed on his heart.  He longs to be freed from the pain of the constant mindfulness of his own wickedness.  There is an interesting plea that David makes in verse 14. He asks that God deliver him from bloodguiltiness.  The only other instances where this word appears are in the Pentateuch.  There is described those sins where the guilt of shedding blood is upon those who’ve committed acts of violence, or committed sins resulting in their own blood being shed.  Nowhere else in Scripture do we find the removal of bloodguiltiness expressed; and, we know that for the remainder of his days, David’s house would be one of violence and bloodshed.

‎For me this begs the question, does the forgiveness of sin result in the removal of guilt?  In other words, does justification remove the guiltiness of our sin?  Remember, justification refers to our forensic, or legal, status before God.  ‎When God declares us justified, He is choosing to regard Christ’s death on the cross as full payment for our sin.  We are made righteous by Christ’s obedience to death (Rom. 5:1, 19).  When God looks at us, He sees Christ.  The guilt of our sin is removed from the sight of God who cannot abide sin (Psalm 51:9), and we are made clean by the blood of Jesus (1 Cor. 6:11; Titus 3:5).

‎So, in one sense the guilt of our sin is taken away; but in another, the guilt of our sin remains in our memory as a reminder of what we are capable of, as well as a reminder of the magnitude of God’s grace toward us.  We see in David’s life, and in our own, there are sins that we commit that result in ongoing consequences.  And, even if the consequences don’t remain, the memory of our sin does.  Although these reminders may be fraught with pain and regret, we need to regard them as a blessing.

We know that it is for these sins that Christ went to the cross; and, we also know that because of the cross, we are made righteous in the sight of our Father in Heaven.  Being mindful of these truths will bring us to hear joy and gladness, and will make our broken bones rejoice.

‎Again, as the title implies, we need to read Psalm 51 within the context of the account recorded in 2 Samuel 11-12.  David engages in an adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, who becomes pregnant. He then seeks to cover up his sin by bringing her husband, Uriah, home from battle to lie his wife and take responsibility for the child. When this fails, he has Uriah placed in the battle lines where he will certainly be killed.  He is then free to take the woman as his wife.  Here we see, for the first time, David’s actions described as being “evil” in God’s sight.

‎Upon being confronted by Nathan, the prophet, David faces his sin with the words, “I have sinned against the Lord.”  Nathan then tells him that God has “put away” his sin, and it will not cost him his life. However, it will cost him the life of the baby born out this sinful union.  In addition, David will be living with the consequences of his sin for the remainder of his earthly life.

Psalm 51 expresses poetically the deep, consuming agony contained in the simple sentence, “I have sinned against the Lord.”  In the first two verses of this song, David pleads for God to “blot out” his transgression, “wash” him thoroughly, and “cleanse” him from his sin. It is inadequate to simply say that David seeks forgiveness from his sin.  Clearly, David is drowning in a sea of guilt and shame. To be forgiven means that God is no longer holding our sin against us.  Nathan told David immediately that he was forgiven, but yet David makes these pleas. Clearly, Psalm 51 is about more than just forgiveness.

Verse 3 gives us some insight into what is motivating David’s pleas.  He says, “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.”  Knowing that God had forgiven him did not remove the anguish over what he had done.  The word “ever” is translated elsewhere as continually, perpetually, always, and regularly.  David is expressing that he is unable to rid himself of the nagging, unending pain over what he had done. Perhaps the most telling phrase is verse 8:

“Make me hear joy and gladness,

Let the bones that you have broken rejoice.”

He’s not asking that God mend his broken bones. They are a consequence of his sin, and God is justified in breaking them (Psalm 51:4).  He just wants to experience joy again.  He just wants his broken bones to rejoice.

It’s important for me to understand that cleansing and purifying are works that God must do.  I am completely unable to wash myself of my sin.  The only thing I’m able to do, and far too effectively, is hide from my sin.  I can act as though all is good in the world, and I’m good in it, but it’s just an act.  The agony of my sin continues to gnaw at me even though I know that, in Christ, I am forgiven.  I understand that the price of my sin was fully and completely paid on the cross, but the agony of my sin still haunts me.  In order to hear joy and gladness again, I need God to “create in me a clean heart,” (Psalm 51:10).  I need God to “renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

I also need to understand that the memory of my sin serves God’s purpose for me.  It keeps me humble by reminding me of who I am in the flesh, and what I’m capable of.  It teaches me the magnitude of Christ’s sacrifice, and the extent of His love.  It also reminds to look forward, with anticipation, to the day that I will be “free from the body of this death,” (Romans 7:24).  One day soon, the continuous cycle of sin will be no more.  The battle will be forever behind us, and we will fully know the joy of our salvation.

My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought,

My sin, not in part, but the whole

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Oh my soul!

-Horatio Spafford, 1873

I anticipate that Psalm 51 will be the location of an extended stay for me. There is much for me to learn from this great prayer of contrition. Volumes have been written, by far greater minds than mine, on the deep insights to be gleaned from these verses. As always, I appreciate that you’ve landed on my little blog site, but if you must choose between reading my thoughts and reading the Psalm itself, read the Psalm.  That being said, what follows are simply my initial thoughts and meditations.

Sin. It is the curse of man’s existence from the moment he is conceived to the moment he takes his last mortal breath. It is the cause of grief, pain, sickness, poverty, despair, and war. It is the inescapable cancer that permeates all of humanity and that portion of God’s creation that man occupies. Sin is the cause for our disconnection from our creator; and, sin is the reason Christ had to die.

‎Psalm 51 is the classic example of one man’s grief over his own sinfulness. It is, of course, David’s prayer of contrition over his sins of lust, adultery, deceit, and murder (2 Sam. 11:1-12:15). This Psalm teaches us how to approach the throne of grace in our sinfulness. It teaches us how to regard our sin, and the depth of the damage is brings.  And, it teaches us how to press on in our sin, and continue the battle against our lusts of the flesh.

There are comparatively few Psalms that contain in the title a description of the event that inspired its writing.  Clearly, God wanted us to know the extent of David’s transgressions, and what brought about his repentance. With this in mind, it’s tempting to pacify ourselves in our own sin, telling ourselves that we’re not as bad as David. The problem with this kind of thinking is that it betrays in us a desire to “let ourselves off the hook” regarding our sin.  It shows that we don’t fear God as we should; and, we don’t take our sinfulness as seriously as we should.  We need to remember that God removed Saul’s spiritual anointing for killing a few cows.  Let’s not forget Achan, who for taking a few trinkets brought about the slaughter of his whole family—not to mention the 36 men who perished in the Hebrew’s initial attempt to take the city of Ai. God takes our sin seriously, and so should we.

‎More than anything else, in Psalm 51, David is expressing in words the agony of a heart broken by the ugliness of his own sin.  The final product of the prolific pen of John Bunyan was a little book published after his death called, An Acceptable Sacrifice, The Excellencies of a Broken Heart.  In it, Bunyan expounds on Psalm 51:17, focusing on the high regard God has for the heart broken over sin.  He tells us,

…that a spirit rightly broken, a heart truly contrite, is to God an excellent thing. That is, a thing that goeth beyond all external duties whatever; for that is intended by this saying, The sacrifices, because it answereth to all sacrifices which we can offer to God; yea it serveth in the room of all: all our sacrifices without this are nothing; this alone is all.

‎‎While expressions of brokenness are essential, this is not what we see initially expressed in Psalm 51. David first appeals to God’s love and compassion. He begins with what he knows to be true of God.  Does He need to remind God that He is loving? Of course not—he needs to remind himself. He needs to remember that God loves him with an eternal love that transcends his sin. He knows that God’s love and compassion are divine attributes as manifest in God as are His holiness, eternality, and wrath.  In fact, as Tozer points out in his classic little book, Knowledge of the Holy, because God is eternal, His love is eternal; as God is infinite, His love is infinite; as He is holy, His love is holy.

‎God’s love transcends our sin, our folly, and our weakness. His love is an everlasting love (Psalm 103:17).  75 times in the Psalms alone, God’s love is described as being eternal.  In his letter to the Romans, Paul reminds them that because we have been brought in to a right relationship with God through Christ, we possess a hope that cannot fail, because of the love of God (Romans 5:1-5).  He goes on to remind us that it was His love that sent Christ to the cross, even while we were lost in our sin (Rom. 5:8). Drawing on this truth, John in his first letter, tells us that the love of God should result in expressions of love for each other; and in this, God’s love is perfected in us (1 John 4:10-12).

Thankfully, God’s love is not dependent on our behavior.  The gospel itself is the story of God’s infinite love; and, Psalm 51 is a reflection of the good news that God loves us even in our sin.

A deer pants for water because it is thirsty.  A soul thirsting for God, feels that God is not as near as it needs Him to be.  Throughout this psalm and the next the writer is expressing his despair as he lacks the “closeness” to God that he had come to know while serving as a worship leader in the house of God.  Not only was his desperation felt within his soul, but it also manifested itself in his appearance to others.  The ungodly around him would use it as a taunt saying, “Where is your God?”.

Many scholars speculate that Psalm 42 and 43 were at one point the same psalm.  There are two reasons for this.  First, they both contain very similar refrains that we read in 42:5, 11, and 43:5.

Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him
For the help of His presence.

The second reason they are considered to be one, is that Psalm 43 contains no title in the Hebrew text.  When read together, the two songs flow from one to the other as if one continuous stream of expression.  That being said, whether they are one song or two, we can derive from these psalms tremendous insight into effectively handling our own moments of despair and anxiety.  First, let’s look at what is said in this refrain.  There is much to see.

He begins by inquiring of his soul—”Why are you in despair?”  and, “why have you become disturbed?”   He remembers the times when he would lead the people in procession to the Temple for worship.  His was a voice of joy and thanksgiving, (1 Thess. 5:16-18, Col. 3:15-17).  Then, he poses his questions, as if to say, “What do I have to be despairing about?”.

We spend most of our days beating back the effects of the curse.  Our spirit fights against our flesh, and at times we become weary of the battle.  Our prayers feel paper thin, and we feel like God is a billion miles away.  We examine ourselves; we confess our sin and seek forgiveness; and still our prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling right back on us.  So, we change our environment; we change our posture; we change our background music; but still, our spirit feels empty.  Our problem isn’t technique, environment, or anything else so superficial.  Our problem is sin.

We may not be holding on to some grievous transgression that we refuse to let go; and there may not be some hidden offense in the remote corner of our consciousness that we’ve failed to deal with.  The problem may not be any particular sin at all, but simply that we are sinners.  What we are lacking may not be forgiveness – we know that we are forgiven.  But the effects of man’s sinfulness have left us living out our lives in a constant battle between the desires of the flesh and Spirit that indwells us, (Romans 7:14-25, Gal. 5:17).  As this songwriter tells us, the remedy to our despair may be summarized in two words—resolve and perseverance.

The writer of these two Psalms repeats his two questions, and by the end of Psalm 43, he remains in his state of despair, still wondering why.  But he has a response, and a response is better than a reason.  Rather than simply telling us why we feel the way we do, it gives us a course of action.  Notice what he says.  “Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.”

Hope in God…

First, notice that hope, in this context, is a verb.  It’s not something we feel, nor is it something we intrinsically possess.  We tend to think of hope as something we simply have, but in this psalm it’s something the writer is resolved to do.  It’s a choice he’s making, not just an emotion he’s feeling.  It’s also interesting to note that the Hebrew word for hope in this passage, yachal, can also be translated “wait for.”  So, he is resolved to wait for God; but he doesn’t stop there.

…for I shall again praise Him.

Praising God takes our focus off of ourselves and places it on the one and only person deserving of it.  With our eyes fixed unwaveringly on God, and offering up sincere praise of who He is and all He’s done, we can begin to see our despair dissolve into joy.  Better yet, we can experience joy in the midst of despair.  It is also noteworthy that the word for “again” in the original can also be translated “still.”  In other words, the psalm writer is not saying that he knows he will someday praise God.  He’s saying that he will not stop praising Him.  Why? Because he knows that the only remedy for his despairing soul is God.

God is the only answer.  This is Paul’s perspective when he talks of what he calls “momentary light afflictions,” (2 Cor. 4:16-18).  Speaking in verses 8-9 of being “afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed,” Paul, like the writer of Psalm 42, was resolved to keep his eyes firmly fixed on Christ, persevering until that which is temporal has faded into eternal glory.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Helen Lemmel, 1922

We will have moments of despair.  Thankfully, we can know joy in the midst of despair by fixing our eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross to establish and preserve for us a place in His Kingdom that can never be taken away.  Hope in God.  Do not cease to praise Him.  Look with thankfulness, wonder, and anticipation of what He can and will do.

Psalm 47 is a call to worship. As many other Psalms, it serves to call the people to joyfully praise God for conquering enemies and ruling over the earth in power and sovereignty. ‎The first line of the Psalm tells us what we are to do in praise to God; and, it tells us who is to be involved. In saying we are to clap our hands, does this mean applause? Does it mean that we are simply to keep time with the music? Or, does it refer to a physical expression of praise?

‎Matthew Henry, in his great commentary has this to say:‎”Clap your hands, as men transported with pleasure, that cannot contain themselves; shout unto God, not to make him hear (his ear is not heavy), but to make all about you hear, and take notice how much you are affected and filled with the works of God.”

‎In addition, we are to shout with a voice of joy. The Hebrew word for shout here is rua. It is the same word used when the people shouted and the trumpets blasted, and the walls of Jericho came crashing down. This gives us an idea of the volume, or exuberance we are to employ in praise. The word for joy in this verse is rinnaw. It is often translated singing. So, we see that we are to offer exuberant praise to God, expressed with our whole physical being; and, we are to sing to God with a volume that can bring down walls. And as yet, we’ve only looked at the first verse of this Psalm!

Truly, God is fearsome. But, why should His fearsomeness give us cause for celebration? It seems to be a strange response to a fearsome being. How is it that we can both rejoice and tremble at the same time? The dwarves of Tolkien’s epic didn’t celebrate the fearsomeness of Smaug the dragon; neither did the Poles and Czechs celebrate the fearsomeness of the invading German army at the outset of Hitler’s attempt to conquer the world. Why, then, would God’s people celebrate His fearsomeness?  ‎First, God is to be feared because His power is infinite, His rule is absolute, and He accomplishes all that He intends. Second, in light of the first, no enemy of His has even the slightest hope.  ‎But do we, in fact fear God as we should? Or, are we casual in our regard for Him who holds our very existence in His hands.‎

‎The Fear of the Lord

I look at commentaries and listen to sermons about fearing God, and they leave me confused. It’s so often explained that to “fear” God doesn’t mean that we are to be afraid of Him, but to hold Him in reverent awe. If this is true, then I need a definition of reverent awe.

‎Imagine you are an inhabitant of a small mountain village situated at the foot of a towering, shear mountain face. One day you look up and see that the only thing keeping the mountain from falling and crushing your village is a being that towers above the mountain that is holding back the precipice with his massive hand. Nobody else sees Him simply because they don’t look up. At that moment, your fear of the mountain pales in comparison to the being that holds your doom in His hand. Are you afraid? You are terrified. ‎

He tells you that He will not hold back the mountain forever. Eventually, He will let go, allowing the mountain side to destroy the village and everyone in it. Your task, He tells you is to convince as many people in the village to look up and flee from the coming destruction. He promises that He will pull you from danger prior to letting go, not because you deserve it, but because He chooses to. From that moment on, you will live in real fear, knowing that you are living at the mercy of this being that has the power to destroy everything, should He choose to.  ‎Your fear is real. Is it reverent awe? Probably. Unfortunately, the concept of reverent awe has come to mean no more than solemn religiosity, expressed in the weekly ritual of church attendance.

‎Modern evangelicalism has adopted a diminished, and therefore wrong, view of what it means to fear God. We listen to preachers who tell us that fearing God doesn’t mean to actually be afraid, but to hold Him in reverence; and, we take that to mean something less than being afraid of a coming thunderstorm. Should we fear an earthquake and not fear the hand that holds the earth? Should we fear the kings of enemy nations, and not fear Him who turns their hearts wherever He wishes?‎

Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”  God is exalted because of who He is, what He’s done, and what He’s promised to do. God is feared by those who know Him. Those who don’t fear Him simply haven’t looked up.