General Articles

Psalm 32 and 51: We Are Sinners, not Mistakers :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: by RR10

Over the past few weeks, I have had a chance to take time to review a few things about modern Christian music. Let me begin by saying that I like a lot of Christian music. My kids grew up and are growing up listening to Christian music. I have attended concerts and the like, spent money on cassettes and CDs, and I have sung songs in the car in times of deep sorrow and in times of joy as well. I love a lot of the Christian music out there. Christian music, like any other thing, can be abused and misused, and sadly that is happening.

The Psalms are the Songs of the Jews. They taught doctrine and told the story of the Bible in song. In the Psalms we can see the Creation – Psalm 139. We can picture the crucifixion in Psalm 22. We can find rest in Psalm 23. We can learn life lessons in Psalm 73, and on and on we can go. Many of the older songs of the Christian faith had doctrine to tell, songs like “It Is Well with My Soul,” “Blessed Assurance,” “How Great Thou Art,” and a myriad of others. Recently, there has been a drive toward the worship chorus, we have a few of these short Psalms as well, like Psalm 150.

One of the doctrines that has of late been watered down is that of sin. We hear a lot about mistakes, a lot about messing up and other things, but sin is not a big thing with many. It divides; it seems harsh, judgmental, and really is not inclusive. But in the Psalms that we will look at today, David is rather clear that we are sinners. He used words like iniquity; this means immoral, gross, and unfair; he uses words like transgressions, and, of course, sin. These are harsh words; they remind us that our sin, our grossness, our immorality put Jesus on the cross.

It was not a few mistakes, not a mess-up; no, my sin, your sin was the reason He was nailed to the cross. When we cheapen the language, we cheapen the sacrifice as well. Thus, when Horacio Spafford writes “My sin–oh the bliss of the glorious thought—My sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,” it is a different understanding of what Jesus did.

We learn in Psalms 32 and 51 that confession is an essential part of the Christian walk. David tells us in Psalm 32:3-5 that keeping silent about his sin sapped his energy and that God’s hand was heavy on him in conviction; it was only when he confessed that there was forgiveness. In Psalm 32 we have the theory, so to speak, but in Psalm 51 we have the theory played out. Psalm 51 was written after Nathan confronted him, David, about Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 12. Notice the language in Psalm 51: transgressions, iniquity, sins, and in this Psalm, we see him begging for God’s tender mercies. David pleads with God to blot out his sins, to wash him, and to not remove the Holy Spirit from him.

At that time in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit did not indwell the redeemed as He does today. David asked God to restore the joy of his salvation in verse 12; he asked to be delivered from guilt in verse 14, and then he can truly praise God.

Sadly, we have churches filled with people who have unconfessed sin. They have no understanding that, even as saved people, they need to confess their sin, their iniquity, and their transgressions often; it should be daily, and as we mature more and more, a moment-by-moment confession that runs all the day long. Notice in Job 1:4-5, he offered a sacrifice on behalf of his kids in the event that they had sinned. He, as the high priest of his home, was the mediator between them and God.

Is there unconfessed household sin that is stealing your joy, your praise, and your worship? Confession is an essential part of the Christian walk. 1 John 1:8-9 calls us to repent, to confess, and to tell God all; He knows everything. We are sinners, horrible sinners saved by grace. When we diminish the gravity and the true depth of our evil (Isaiah 64:4, filthy rags), when we sugarcoat how egregious sin is to God, when we water down how offensive evil is to God, we also water down and take for granted His loving kindness, His grace, His forgiveness, and His patience.

Most of us – me included – do not want to confront the evil that lies within. Most of us that are maturing in Jesus are only beginning to realize just how sinful we truly are. It affects the way we think about others; it affects the reactions we have in many situations, and it seems to show up in every situation. Sometimes we can see the horizon, and we plan ahead, and we still sin; we still say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, and react the wrong way. Oh my, how sinful we are!

We are reminded that love covers a multitude of sins; we bring the multitude of sins that is being referred to, and only the Loving, Gracious, Merciful, Kind, Supernatural God can cover them. Now…go out and forgive people with the same love and frequency that God uses to forgive you (Matthew 18:22).

seangooding@yahoo.ca

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church
70 Victoria Street, Elora, Ontario

 

Knowing God: Encouragement in the Opposition, Part 1 :: By Angela Scohy

Published on: by RR10

If we’re looking for ways to be prepared to give a reason for the hope we have, one way to do it is to look for the promises, nature, character, and attributes of God through the Word of Jesus and His prophets, and then look for everything we see in opposition, which would be “anti-Christ.”

Everything we see happening in Revelation, which will occur during the tribulation, is a good place to start; it’s easy to see what doesn’t fit in with the gifts and promises we’re given. It’s encouraging proof of a pre-tribulation deliverance (rapture).

So here we go:

One of the big oppositions is that we’re exhorted and specifically commanded not to fear hundreds of times. The opposition to that is that the tribulation will be terror and torment for those on Earth during that time. He does not want this for us! We’re not called to fear – we’re called to soundness, health, safety, and peace. We should obey this command and only believe Him, because if we do, we’ll be blessed.

Mark 5:36 “As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, ‘Do not be afraid; only believe.’”

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’”

Here is the opposition:

Isaiah 2:19 “They shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, from the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily.”

The tribulation begins with the sudden destruction and the thief breaking into the house. However, Jesus has told us that although the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, He came so that we’d have abundant – and eternal – life. Eternal life doesn’t mean we’re saved, and then unsaved, turned over to the devil, and then saved again. We don’t turn back, as there is no shadow of turning with Jesus. We go on a straight path upward and forward into salvation – not down and backwards. Those in His name are not falling away (apostasia).

John 10:9-10 “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

In addition, the thief can’t break into our house, because, in Matthew 24:43, we’re told that if the master of the house had known when the thief was coming, he wouldn’t have allowed it to be broken into. As children of God, God is the Master of our house. He knows when the thief is coming because it’s His Book and His plan.

The first seal in the tribulation has a conqueror, but we’re told we are more than conquerors. The second seal takes peace from the earth (but Jesus has promised us peace over and over. His Gospel is actually called the Gospel of Peace; peace does not include terror and death); the second seal has everyone killing each other (yet Jesus said He would deliver us away from our enemies, which means we are certainly not going to be there killing each other); and the sword appears in this seal as well. We should believe His Gospel of Peace.

The sword is mentioned numerous times in the Bible. Every time we see this word, if we look them up and the verses with this word in them, we will see who is getting the sword and who isn’t. This sword is actually seen coming out of the mouth of Jesus Himself, as part of His wrath, in Revelation 19:15:

“Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

We are the body of Christ; we will not be receiving the fierceness and wrath of God, whose beloved children we are, when He strikes the nations with His sword!

The third seal has famine. We won’t be here for this either because Jesus promised that we would never go hungry or thirsty. He doesn’t just keep us from the famine; He removes us from it to feast in abundance in His Kingdom. This is the first half of the tribulation, so that means we must be gone for the entirety of it. Not to mention the hundreds of 7’s in the Bible. Some of these point us to the 7 years where there is either abundance or famine. The tribulation has 3 ½ years of no rain, yet we are promised we will never thirst if we go to Him. He is all the nourishment we need for life when that Day comes upon the earth.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd, so He gathers us into His arms. He longs to gather us into His arms and take us to safety! He gave His life for us so He could do this. However, there is a wolf in sheep’s clothing who doesn’t care at all for the sheep, standing in opposition to Christ, to scatter:

John 10:11-12 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.”

Jesus is the way to eternal life, but a perverted gospel “turns” the people and causes trouble.  This stands in opposition to Christ. He is truth, but the deceiver is a liar and wants to deceive people into staying for his betrayal in the tribulation so He might take their lives. His path is crooked, which stands in opposition to the straight path, which is the way Jesus leads us.

Matthew 3:3 “For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.’”

No crooked path!

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”

The tribulation is for His enemies, but Jesus calls us His Friends.

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”

Here is the opposition:

Nahum 1:2-3 “God is jealous, and the Lord avenges; the Lord avenges and is furious.
The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies;
The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.”

Jesus gives us the Cup of the New Covenant, also called the Cup of Thanksgiving, and the Cup of Salvation. The first miracle Jesus did was to make water into wine at the wedding (John 2:1-10), which is a promise.

Matthew 26:27 “Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.’”

1 Corinthians 10:16 “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?”

Psalm 23:5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.

Psalm 116:13 “I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.”

Here is the opposition: Cup of Wrath, Cup of Fury. This cup just does not align with any of His promises for us, His own body who is clothed in His own righteousness.

Psalm 75:8 “And the wine is red; It is fully mixed, and He pours it out. Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth drain and drink down.”;

Revelation 16:19 “the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath”;

Jeremiah 25:15-16 “For thus says the Lord God of Israel to me: “Take this wine cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. And they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”

Revelation 19:15 “Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

Also, see Isaiah 51:17, and Revelation 14:10.

He will raise us up, lift us up, exalt us, bear us up. Numerous scriptures of being lifted up or in opposition, falling.

James 5:15 “The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well…the Lord will raise him up.”

1 Corinthians 6:14 “And God both raised up the LORD and will raise us up by His power.”

James 4:10 “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up.”

Psalms 28:9 “Save Your people, and bless Your inheritance; Shepherd them also, and bear them up forever.”

Job 5:11 “The lowly He sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.”

Luke 1:52 “He has put down rulers from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly.”

Here is the opposition:

Psalm 27:2 “When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.

Jeremiah 50:32 “The most proud shall stumble and fall, and no one will raise him up;
I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it will devour all around him.”

Psalm 20:9 “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright.”

Psalm 36:12 “There the workers of iniquity have fallen; They have been cast down and are not able to rise.”

He promises us not to add more sorrows or pain.

Proverbs 10:22 “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow to it.”

Psalms 32:10-11 “Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”

Here is the opposition, again, numerous verses.

Isaiah 13:8 “And they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them;
They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; They will be amazed at one another;
Their faces will be like flames.”

Jesus offers us solid, firm, level ground on Him, who is the Rock. But the opposition is sinking sand, shifting ground, being shaken, and being moved. Numerous scriptures for this one as well, on both sides. Our Kingdom (His Kingdom) will not be shaken. The ones who are left on earth will be around for the world-wide earthquake, as well as the heavens being shaken. We must believe and trust Him when He says we will not be moved or shaken.

Psalm 16:8 “I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.”

Hebrews 12:26-29 “whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.” Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”

We will not stumble or fall because we are a chosen generation, but that which stands in opposition, because they’re disobedient to the Word, will stumble and fall.

1 Peter 2:6-9 “Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,

‘Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.’

Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,

‘The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone’

and

‘A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.’

‘They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.’”

Here is the opposition:

Psalm 27:2 “When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell.”

Psalm 35:8 “Let destruction come upon him unexpectedly, and let his net that he has hidden catch himself; Into that very destruction let him fall.”

Stay tuned for Part 2, as there are many more. I pray for all of us to see these things which don’t align with Jesus, so we can believe without a doubt we won’t be here for it. Grace and Peace to all! Amen.

Angela