Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. We had another Psalm roundup today, and all but one were written by David. It's really remarkable how well he covers a wide variety of emotions in such detail. Psalm 25 is a lament that opens with praise and closes with a request. There were a few verses I love that I just want to highlight.
Verse 8 says, Jesus said a similar thing in Luke 5. He said, Sinners are the ones who need him. That's me. That's all of us, by the way.
In verse 11, David admits his guilt, which positions him among the humble people he references elsewhere in this chapter. He says, Surely it's for his sake too, but this shows us that when God pardons sinners, it displays His character as one who is loving, forgiving, patient, merciful—
By pardoning sinners, the sinner is blessed and God's character is exalted. You'll notice this phrase, for your name's sake, attached to a lot of prayers in Scripture. It's an appeal to God to show the world who He is. And I just can't skip over verse 14. It's been one of my favorite verses for many years. It says, "...the friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him."
Other translations of this verse say, the secret of the Lord is for those who fear him. What? I don't care which translation is more accurate. I want both. I want the friendship. I want the secrets. Dear the Lord, please give me all of it.
In Psalm 29, David portrays God as a thunderstorm moving across the land, leaving nothing untouched by His presence and glory and power. And then in the midst of His booming, thunderous voice and lightning bolts and flooding waters, God gives His people strength and peace. He can be both powerful and peaceful all at once.
Psalm 33 opens by saying that praising God fits the righteous. It's not just good, it's right. So when I'm failing to praise Him, I'm acting against my created purpose. Wow. And near the end of the psalm, it says God's eye is on those who fear Him. For anyone who is afraid of God, that probably sounds like a threat. But for those who rightly fear Him, who delight in Him and are in awe of Him, this is a comfort.
Psalm 36 is another lament, and it starts out by saying, Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart. Then it goes on to define what it means by the wicked. We could probably all find ourselves in this list at some point in our lives. Have you ever thought too highly of yourself? Have you ever thought you could get away with something? Ever lied? Ever planned to sin? Does that mean this psalm is calling us all wicked?
What this psalm seems to be marking out is that the person who follows a pattern of these kinds of things, unrepentant, is the person described as wicked here. Here, the word wicked seems to refer to those who have given themselves over to sin. And on the other hand, Christ followers are people who are for God, but who do still sin. Even though we do wicked deeds, we're not defined by that term.
We're often called the righteous in Scripture because Christ's righteousness has been transferred to us despite our sin. In Psalm 39, David has sinned in some way and he admits his guilt. He talks about the pain it has brought him, and he even asks God to bring an end to his discipline. Not because he doesn't deserve the discipline, but because God's rebuke is heavy and David feels like he's learned his lesson already. Haven't we all felt like this? Like, okay, God, I get it. You can let up now. Promise.
David is also careful about how and when he talks about his struggles because he doesn't want it to leave a bad impression about God on people who don't know God. I love that. So instead of complaining in public, he complains in private to God, which is totally fitting and right. He takes his complaints to the only one who can solve them. This reminds me of something else we've covered. Do you remember how the Israelites grumbled about God in the desert and God rebuked and punished them?
Then Moses came along with the same complaints and it was no big deal. Why? Because when Moses had complaints, he took them to God. Whereas the people just gossiped and complained to everyone around them. What we say matters, but who we say it to also matters. David paints a really clear picture of God's loving discipline in verse 11. He says, "'When you discipline a man with rebukes for sin, you consume like a moth what is dear to him.'"
God loves us too much to let us continue in idolatry, so sometimes He takes away our idols. We knit cashmere scarves for all our idols, and He sends His little love moths to eat them to pieces. He does it all out of love. What was your God shot today? Mine was in Psalm 3321. It says, "'Our heart is glad in Him because we trusted in His holy name.'"
If you've ever delighted in Him, that almost certainly means you trust Him to some degree, probably even more than you realize. It's very difficult, maybe even impossible, to delight in someone you don't trust. Think about the people you don't trust. Aren't you always on your guard, trying to read their motives and self-protect? But if you've trusted God enough to let your guard down, there's a good chance you've had an opportunity to delight in Him. It feels good, doesn't it?
If you're not there yet, I pray He keeps revealing His character to you and building up your trust in Him over time. I hope soon you'll be able to confidently say, He's where the joy is.
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