St. Augustine cited this as his favorite Psalm. It is the Psalm written by David after his victory over the sin of adultery and murder. Psalm 51 was written during the time of dealing with the sin, and this Psalm was written afterwards, for the flavor is sweeter.
Remember the houses destroyed by Hurricane Andrew? They have discovered that they would not have sustained such damage if the builders had stayed within the codes and regulators. Frames were exposed, nailed were viewed, short cuts were taken and therefore, the houses could not sustain the high winds and storm. This Psalm reminds us of the times when we go outside of God’s code. Our lives fall apart, but God can restore us from the guilt.
This is a song of contemplation, of considering this great experience. Every so often we need to sit back and recall what He has done for our soul. Remember that between the incident of sin and the message of Nathan, one year had passed. So, the overall message here is that it is better to reflect on what God has done, than to keep our sin and mistakes in our thoughts. Let’s get past them. David begins with statements regarding the knowledge of the blessings of God in verse 1. The greatest blessing is not physical goods, healings, or answers to prayer. The real blessing we need is a confidence of God’s forgiveness of our past. The word “blessing” in Greek is “makarios”, and it reminds us of The Blest Isle, a place where everything was provided on that island. There was no need to go elsewhere. Similarly, the blessings we seek can only come through One source: God.
The specifics of the true blessing of God are as follows: one whose transgression (or sin-word means “a breaking loose or tearing away”) are forgiven (“nasha” meaning “a lifting up and taking away”, where the sin becomes invisible to God as though it never occurred). God literally lifts off of us the burden of sin and doesn’t see it anymore. He gently leads us back into the corral; one whose sin is covered – the term means “to conceal”. If we allow God to cover our sins, we do not have to cover them ourselves; one to whole the Lord does not impute (“chashah” – “to be reckoned, put to account, charged with) sin. When we conceal our sins, it is like make up, the real face eventually comes out. But when God does not charge us with the offense, but took it Himself, it is taken away permanently; to have no guile – deceit. David deceived himself and others (which is what put him in the spot to sin), but now his heart is open before God. The heart is deceitful above all things, Jeremiah 17: 9 says, so we we need a directive from God to show us if we are being honest with ourselves and God. If we are not, there is no real victory because God only rewards truth (verse 3). Jesus was the perfect One in this area also – 1 Peter 2: 22. Exodus 34: 5-7 reminds us of the One who descended among us and restored us.
David continues with the explanation of what guilt does in verses 3-4. If we keep our actions silent (word “horash” means “be silent, speechless, exhibit silence”), it affects us emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Remember that there was one year from from the incidents to the rebuke, and that is a long time to cover adultery and murder and to know the failure before God. Some effects cited are physical: 1) bones affected – structure of the body. We know depression affects posture and frame, so guilt does as well. Anger in the body produces a poison, so there are physical effects to non-Biblical behaviors. The bones will cry out. It sounds familiar to the Matthew account where Jesus says if man doesn’t praise Him the rocks will cry out. Here, though the mouth is silent, the body is aching and crying out for deliverance; 2) the mind is affected – the offense becomes a weight to our soul (mind, emotions, will). The word “heavy” here, means “be heavy, weight, burdensome”, and it knows it is under the punishment of God. Day and night it is always with them; 3) The spirit is affected – as it says the “my moisture” is dried up, turned into a drought. The term “moisture” is “juice, sap, life moisture”, and it is a vivid picture of our inward life being drained from us because of the torture of our guilt. When we turn away from God’s creative structure, our functions turn away from us.
At the end of this verse, at the end of two others, is a word “selah “. This is a musical notation that denotes rest and it is included to rest from considering these things, and to know God’s rest at the end of dealing with guilt.
What is it that brought the final victory? Verse 5. David acknowledged his personal sing – Jeremiah 3: 11-14, and did not accuse others; It means to admit our fault in walking outside of zones of God’s regulations; Admitting our iniquity, which is guilt or punishment of iniquity. It means not only admitting the offense, but the guilt that accompanies sin. It is our own conscience that becomes a prophet to our soul; He said, “I will confess”. It is a choice; we are not without choice or hope. Victory comes when we do what we say, namely, we confess first to God – Psalm 51: 3-4. God is the only One who can distribute absolution to us. Never think that it is too late to confess to God. He is waiting for honesty, not a perfect package.
We then find a place of refuge – verses 6-7. It is not a place to hide because of our sin; it is rather, a place to hide in and be sheltered from this world. Sin keeps outside of the door of refuge those who hide from God. We need to hide IN Him! Because of God’s promise of forgiveness – Psalm 130: 3-4 we can come freely; Remember, there is a time when He cannot be found and that time is anytime we have unconfessed sin or we walk beyond His authority.
We also can be taught the right way – verse 8. He instructs us through the Holy Spirit – we need to know, learn truth; He teaches us – personally works with us to understand it; He guides us – He is our ruler of life, standard of living; He imparts wisdom to us – verse 9, so that we are not like the stubborn mule or horse, which has to be controlled by a bit in the mouth. James 3: 1-12 tells us what our “bit” is; it is our tongue. God doesn’t want to make us feel like we have to watch every word, but He does want us to use our tongue to free ourself and others.
We end up with uprightness – verses 10-11.
Dwight Thompson said, “God doesn’t remind you of what you’ve done; He has a photograph of what you’ll be.”
We must come through confession and honesty, and then God can lift the load and set us on our way.
You’ve heard the commercial, “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up.”. Though you feel alone, God is there to lift you up if you get the guilt out of your soul and into His hands.