Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Blogging the Bible: Psalm 6



                As you might have noticed, there were no posts last week.  It was a rather busy week with a lot going on – not all of which I can get into here.  Needless to say, some other things came up that took priority.  Don’t get me wrong here, spending time with God and doing devotions is very important, but so is the communal aspect of Christianity and last week was spent engaging in community with friends. 
                This week we dive back into the Psalms and take a look at Psalm 6.  The notes refer to this as one of the “penitential” psalms, of which there are seven.  David has sinned against God and now he is praying that God is not too harsh with him.  David pleads for God’s mercy instead of his wrathful anger.  “O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.  Be merciful to me Lord, for I am faint” (Psalm 6:1-2).  David’s sin causes him much distress and he spends all night honestly crying out to God for mercy.  David isn’t asking God not to punish him; he’s asking God to show mercy in judgment.
Without mercy, our sins deserve death.  As Paul writes, “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:23).  David’s writing before the birth of Christ, but he understands this basic truth.  David knows he deserves death; he knows he did wrong and God’s justice demands death.  But, God is also merciful and in His mercy, He chooses to discipline and correct us.  When we sin, we need to be like David.  We should openly and honestly pray to God and ask for His forgiveness.

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