“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your lovingkindness: according to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgression.”
Reading the Bible is like a literary feast. For example, every time you read a passage, you can find a new meaning in it. From my standpoint, I believe that God reveals new meanings to believers. That was the case when I read this verse from the fifty-first psalm that I must have read hundreds of times. I want to share with you what I found in this familiar verse. What I saw in the verse this time are three of the greatest blessings that God offers us. First, I saw the greatest appeal that we can make to God, i.e., the appeal to His mercy. David prayed, “Have mercy upon me, O God.” He added to that “according unto the multitude of your tender mercies.” This is the beginning of David’s prayer for forgiveness for his sin with Bathsheba, and against her husband Uriah, after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan. David knew that he had sinned greatly, and that he was not demanding for God to forgive Him but to have mercy on Him. Any of us who come to God for forgiveness must realize that we are appealing to His mercy and His grace. God doesn’t owe it to us to forgive us, but it is according to “the multitude of (His) tender mercies.” Second, I saw the greatest love that we can claim. David not only appealed for God’s mercy, but he made the appeal, knowing that God loved him. The greatest claim that God has over us is His love. The Bible reveals all kinds of things about the vengeance of God on sin, but despite that, we know that He loves us. David did not come away scot free from this sinful episode in his life, but even in the negative things, David knew that God loved him and was teaching him a lesson. He knew that the nature of God is “loving kindness.” This is still true. You can always make a claim on the love of God, and if you are truly repentant and mean what you pray, the love of God will pervade your life. All of we who are sinners, know that this is true. Know that according to God’s abundant mercy, shown to us through Jesus Christ, He loves you and is ready to forgive you. If He forgave David’s adultery and murder, what have you done that in His love and mercy, God will not forgive. Third, I saw the greatest transaction that can take place between God and people, i.e., that David asked God to blot out his transgressions. “Transgression” is defined as “going out of bounds.” David knew that he had gone out of bounds, and he wanted that blotted out in heaven’s record. I know this, that if you come to God through His mercy and love, in real repentance, He will blot out your transgressions as well. The New Testament claim of this is found in 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This was what David asked for in this verse and what we can ask as well. Well, go to it. These three things can happen in your life. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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