A Devotional Exposition
of Psalm 51
by Son Nguyen
1. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness:
according
unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my
transgressions.
2. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil
in thy
sight.
6. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the
hidden part
thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
10. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
12. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me
with thy free
spirit.
13. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners
shall be
converted unto thee.
19. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness.
"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy
lovingkindness: according
unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my
transgressions."
* We appeal to God on the
basis of His lovingkindness and tender
mercies, not on our hurt/need or the hurt/need of others.
"Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me
from my sin. For
I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before
me."
* Before we take actions
to correct any "damage" we think may have
done, be sure to get God to purge the crud in our hearts first or
we'll end
up complicating things even more because we don't have the proper
vertical
perspective.
"Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight."
* Our 1st concern, no
matter how grievous or dire or sad or whatever
we or the other persons are experiencing, is getting hold of God
and look
straight at His holiness. Everything else can be put off
till this is done
and He has responded back to us. Better yet, we can rest
knowing that while
we're going to Him, He will make everything else to work out
right. God is
always at work for His children.
* Worry not what anyone else
says about us for now. If God does not
condemn us, then cease from devoting attention to what we think
others may
say about us. In fact, rejoice greatly and take heart that
we have followed
God's leading. Unfounded fears and doubts are sins for that
is the way the
devil gets at us.
"Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in
the hidden part thou
shalt make me to know wisdom."
* Make sure we are
entrenched and firm with God in His truth for us on
the inside before we interface with the people who we have to
deal with.
Ask the Lord Jesus for wisdom and He will give it to us
abundantly. But 1st
ask, before act. Emotions are tricky things - they may make
us look
righteous and compassionate (according to our own eyes) but may
end up
hurting others more and making us to waver from the path that God
wants us
to enter.
"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."
* We all need a daily
renewal of our spirit. Discard everything (good
and bad) and run hard to Jesus afresh.
"Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which
thou hast broken
may rejoice.... Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and
uphold me with
thy free spirit."
* The best thing for
anyone to experience is to be broken by the Lord
Himself. A man who seeks after God's own heart knows this
and is glad for
it.
* Ask for His joy to be upon
us. True joy and gladness must come the
Lord Himself. They do not come from fixing our
deficiencies/mistakes and
patching things up.
"Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners
shall be converted
unto thee."
* Only after getting the
vertical right, THEN we will move out and
act, or not act, according His Spirit leading (EXO 33:13-15).
"Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness."
* Are we reflecting His
characters (which require a clinging to His
righteousness that is taught to us in the Word and manifested in
Jesus) or
are we more concerned with proving our own righteousness and
displaying our
own glory?
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