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Psalm 51: When Crushed Bones Rejoice

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Introduction

If forgiveness of sin is one of the glories of the new covenant, and it is (Heb. 8: 8-12; cf. Heb. 10: 17), then this psalm is one of the glories of the entire Bible. In this psalm, we learn the greatness of forgiveness, and in the course of learning this, we learn the true nature of that forgiveness.

The Text

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me . . .” (Ps. 51:1-19).

Summary of the Text

David begins with a cry for mercy, in accordance with the multitude of God’s tender mercies (v. 1), and not according to David’s just deserts. He asks for a thorough washing, a complete cleansing (v. 2). He is not trying to hide or cover up his sin (v. 3)—this psalm is for the chief musician, meaning that his confession is public. God’s law was the law that was broken, and so the sin, while it affected others, was sin against God alone (v. 4). David says that the sin extends down to his very nature (v. 5). Where the sin originated (in the inward parts), that is the place where God desires truth and wisdom (v. 6). He prays again for cleansing (v. 7)—hyssop was a plant used for sprinkling in ritual purifications (Lev. 14:4, 7; Num. 19:18-22). David prays that his crushed bones would be able to rejoice again (v. 8). He prays that God would turn His face away from his sins, and blot out his iniquities (v. 9). He then prays for a new creation, a complete renewal (v. 10). David then asks God not to hurl him away, and not to remove His Spirit from him (v. 11). He does not pray for his salvation back, but he does pray for the joy of it to come back (v. 12). When the cleansing is complete, then David can be used in the restoration of others (v. 13). The king cries out for deliverance from bloodguilt (v. 14), and then he will be able to sing. If God opens David’s mouth, then David will be able to praise Him (v. 15). There was no appointed sacrifice for the things which David had done (v. 16). But God delights in repentance in the inner man, and not just with regard to heinous sins like this one (vv. 16-17). God does not despise a broken spirit (v. 17). David’s sin had not just affected him alone; he was a king. And so David prays for mercy for his people (v. 18). True worship will then be offered to God (v. 19).

An Appalling Sin

We begin by noting that David really was a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:4), and so this should make every last one of us mindful of our step (1 Cor. 10:12). David was around the age of fifty when this happened, and had no business staying home from the war. Uriah’s rejection of David’s temptation highlights David’s initial failure (2 Sam. 11:1, 11). The breech of one duty had begun with the neglect of another. Bathsheba’s father, Eliam, was one of David’s cohort of thirty mighty men (2 Sam. 11:3; 23:34). If her father was one of David’s peers, then she was a lot younger than David, less than half his age. Without removing her possible culpability in this (no protest like Tamar’s is recorded), consider the circumstances. Nathan’s metaphor for this indicates something closer to rape than anything else. He says that the ewe lamb was killed (2 Sam. 12:4). Her grandfather, Ahithophel, was a counselor of David’s who later joined Absalom in his rebellion (2 Sam. 15:12)—and it is not hard to figure out why. The sin was appalling, and had its cascading effects. Amnon’s rape of Tamar happened shortly after this— why may a prince not do what a king may do? But it is when we get to Uriah that the horror really begins. He was a Hittite, meaning that he was a convert, and David had been a spiritual father to him. He also was one of David’s thirty great men (2 Sam. 23:39), and was a faithful convert. What Saul tried unsuccessfully to do to David, David “successfully” did to Uriah. The inscription of the psalm puns on David’s coming in to Bathsheba, and Nathan coming in to confront David about it.

The text is silent on the point, so we don’t know if Bathsheba was being a seductress, or as is more common in covenant circles, just a dope. It was not likely to have been simple voyeurism on David’s part. So in either case, we see from the subsequent history that her restoration was also genuine. We don’t need to dwell on the point—the point here is David’s sin—but as Christian women remember their responsibilities in modesty, they need to consider the basic alternatives. If a woman can’t leave the house without assuming that she is taking “the girls” for an outing, then she is either being really bad, or being really dumb. If others think they are going to the worship of God, but she is going to the heavenly Zion in order to headlight the saints, then the same alternatives are there. You can tell the difference if the subject is ever broached with her. If she is nonchalant, and knew all about it already, then she is the kind of woman that the book of Proverbs, your mom, and numerous blues songs warn you to stay away from. If she is offended and distraught, and can’t believe you would ever bring up such a thing, then she is just a dope. Either way, the sin should be dealt with before the kingdom is ruined, not after.

Take Not Thy Holy Spirit from Me

Once he received the rebuke from Nathan, David knew that he had become another Saul. And just as Saul’s house, Saul’s dynasty, had collapsed because of his lesser sin, David knew that his house, his throne, was forfeit because of his greater sin. Saul’s ability to govern had collapsed when the Spirit removed from Saul (1 Sam. 16:14), and David knew that he deserved exactly the same thing. So he is not praying for his personal salvation here (v. 12), but rather praying for the preservation of the messianic line (vv. 18-19). Ultimately, this prayer of David’s includes us.

Three Things

This does not mean that David does not pray for himself also. In the context of his plea for cleansing, David asks for three things for himself. The first is the creation of a new heart, a renewed spirit. The second is fellowship with God, and the third is a restored joy. But he is not just checklisting his way through this. He has asked for a thorough washing. The word for wash in v. 7 does not mean anything like rinsing a plate, but rather a washing of a deep stain that had gotten down into the texture of the cloth. He is asking that his crushed bones might be able to rejoice. The multitude of God’s mercies is greater than the multitude of our sins—but the potency of His grace is such that it crushes us in repentance first. It is crushed bones that learn to rejoice.

Then I Will Teach

Drunkards in taverns don’t understand the grace of God, and so it will be easy for them to continue to mock David in their songs. Uriah’s life could not be given back to him, nor Bathsheba’s purity. So now David says he’s sorry, and has the unmitigated gall to set up shop to teach people on the basis of his experience? God has to do it. If God opens a forgiven sinner’s lips (v. 15), then the testimony can be compelling. Otherwise it is just another sob story on Oprah.

Fellow Transgressors

This puts everything in perspective. The blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin, but it does not do so in light and trivial ways. And when we see others who need to be converted (v. 13), and they really do need to be converted, we can speak to them with real compassion, and not with any air of superiority or self-righteousness. This psalm teaches us in profound ways, and the message is thoroughly evangelical. This is good news for a sinful race.

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Dealing With Discouragement

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Introduction

Although the occasions can be many, there are two basic reasons for discouragement—internal and external. The internal occurs when for some reason we have given way to sin, and the external occurs when we are buffeted by circumstances, as Job was, but without sin. And, of course, it is possible to get discouraged in both ways. How are we to understand this? How are we to respond to it?

The Text

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God” (Ps. 42:11).

Summary of the Text

We have dealt with this psalm in detail before, and so here we will just consider the implications of this one verse. First, the psalmist presupposes that the condition of peace is normal. He is cast down and disquieted, and he wants to know the reason why. This disturbance of his soul is the thing that requires explanation. “Why are you cast down?” he asks himself (v. 11). Second, the psalmist remonstrates with himself. He talks to himself, which is a good alternative to listening to himself. He preaches to himself, and it is a convicting sermon. Third, he comes to a pointed exhortation, commanding himself to hope in God. Not only this, but he anticipates that he will in fact obey the command, for he will in the future praise God.

False Comfort

When we speak peace to our hearts, we can do it in accordance with the Scriptures, or we can do it in accordance with our own pipe dreams. For example, someone who has become and idolater by turning away from the Lord can speak peace to his own heart, in his own name and on his own authority. “And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst” (Dt. 29:19). What I am declaring here are the words of the gospel, and the gospel does not sew cushions for sin.

Triune Peace

Remember that your salvation has occurred because God has included you in His triune life. The gospel is triune, just like the God who established the gospel. And this is why peace for your distress is triune peace. What do I mean? God the Father has declared that the comfort of peace is to be announced to us (Is. 40:1-2). Christ has become our peace by His own blood (Eph. 2:13-14). And why would the Father not give to us what Christ has purchased for us? And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Christ so that He might comfort those who mourn, that He might bind up the brokenhearted (Luke 4:18). Because Christ died, the executor of His testament is the Holy Spirit. Remember then, when you are struggling with discouragement, that Father, Son, and Spirit, are all engaged on your behalf.

Discouragement in Sin

One reason why Christians are discouraged in their attempts to live the Christian life is that they are attempting to run the race with cords around their feet, and a 150 pound backpack on (Heb. 12:1). And so the way out of discouragement in sin is repentance. Discouragement in such cases is disciplinary, and God’s hand is heavy upon you for a reason. Make sure to repent the sin all the way down to its foundations, and secondly, make sure to repent of the right sin. Don’t go snipe hunting in your conscience.

Discouragement in Afflication

But don’t make the mistake of thinking that hard circumstances mean that you must have sinned. This was the error of Job’s failed comforters (Job 2:11), and it was the error of the disciples concerning the man born blind (John 9:2-3). But at the least, every trial contains a temptation to murmur, an invitation to think that the God of universe has bungled matters when it comes to your case. But God does all things perfectly well (Rom. 8:28).

Two Advocates

When Christians sin, or when they struggle with affliction, there is an accuser of the brethren in heaven who accuses them there. But, thanks to God, we have an Advocate there on our behalf. Christ is our attorney, defending us before the Father (1 Jn. 1:1-2). But the devil does not just accuse you in the heavenly courts—he also accuses you to you. What kind of Christian do you think you are? We have an Advocate on earth, as well as in heaven (John 14:16). The same word describes the office of the Son and the Spirit. Whether you stand accused in heaven or on earth, you have a court-assigned defender. And neither the Son nor the Spirit have ever lost a case. “How could they get me off ?’ you might wonder. “I’m guilty.” They successfully defend sinners like you and me because they never, ever argue from your virtues or mine. Their case presupposes our guilt. They always plead the blood of Christ, shed on earth, and then they plead the blood of Christ, sprinkled on the altar of heaven.

Pictures of Your Peace

The Puritan William Bridge pictured it this way. First, distinguish the money in your bank account, and the money in your wallet. There is your basic, foundational wealth, and there is the money you have on you. If you are mugged, then the thieves can only take what you have on your person. They cannot get at your bank account, which is not on you. In the same way, a hard day can only disturb that day’s peace. You have a fundamental peace that a rainy day cannot touch (Rom. 5:1). Second, distinguish peace in the seed and peace in the flower. Often peace in the seed looks like trouble. When you were converted, you were now troubled over things that never bothered you before. Don’t be troubled over that kind of trouble. And third, distinguish peace from a distance, where you can only see the dancing, and everybody looks crazy, and peace up close, when you can hear the music.

The peace of God is a guardian, a fence, but it does not encircle your vices and sins. Rather, your hearts and minds are protected by the peace of God, which passes all understanding (Phil. 4:7).

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Psalm 118

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Overview

Part 1 (v. 1-4 ) Enduring Mercy – First, the author of the Psalm begins with an exhortation to contemplate God’s goodness and his enduring mercy.
Part 2 (v. 5-18) A Godly Confidence in Turmoil – Here the Psalmist remembers a time when he was surrounded on all sides by entire nations that wanted him dead. But, in the name of the Lord, he had the victory and conquered them. And God has become his salvation.

Part 3 (19-24) A Triumphant Entry – Now he enters through the Gate of the Lord, triumphant, praising God for having saved him from his enemies. Again he declares that God has become his salvation. But the onlookers are startled by this triumphant entry.
Part 4 (25-29) Hosanna – And now the author calls to God, “O please send salvation O Lord.” It’s strange because he has just finished describing several cases where God has sent salvation. But, it’s as if the author is begging for another salvation, a salvation still to come.

King David

Traditionally, this Psalm has been assigned to King David. The events described in the Psalm seem to resonate with the events in David’s life – a man surrounded by enemies on all sides, who puts his trust in the Lord and, as a result, has his right hand strengthened so that he conquers all his enemies.

Feast of Booths

But there was another aspect to this Psalm for the Jewish reader. Look at Leviticus 23 where you will see a list of the Old Testament festivals. The last feast listed is the Feast of Booths, which celebrated God’s bringing the Israelites into the Promised Land of Israel. This feast became closely associated with Psalm 118 and the cry “Hosanna.”

Failure

In a very important way, however, both the Exodus and the anointing of David failed to bring about the salvation of Israel. This Psalm describes something much bigger than what happened with Moses or with David.

New Testament

Psalm 118 is quoted at least a dozen times in the New Testament, and is used in all four of the Gospels to describe Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. See – Mt. 21:9,42, 23:39; Mk. 11:9; 12:10-11; Lk. 13:35, 19:38, 20:17; Jn. 12:13. This Psalm found its real fulfillment in Jesus, who has become the salvation of the Lord. (See also – Acts 4:11, Heb. 12:5-6, 13:6, 1 Pet. 2:7.)

Application

There is a kind of moral outrage and indignation that worshipers are capable of generating that is devoid of godly fear and filled with a hard-hearted self-righteousness. This is a self-deception that we are just as capable of as the first century Pharisees. Fortunately, we worship a God whose mercy endures forever.

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Pomosexuality

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Introduction

As we look around us, we see nations and cultures in disarray. There are so many things going wrong, that is would be quite easy to despair. Where to start? What battles should we fight, and what should we let alone? This is itself quite an important issue, as Martin Luther once wisely noted. “If I profess, with the loudest voice and clearest exposition, every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battle fields besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.”

The Text

“Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them” (Ps. 115:4-8).

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18).

Summary of the Texts

We have noted this principle from Scripture before, but it is necessary to state it again in order to make a particular application. We are seeking to understand the disintegration of the culture around us, and in order to do this rightly we have to keep coming back to the foundational principle. Worship drives and shapes all of human existence, and it does so according to this principle: you become like what you worship. Note this principle in our texts. The idolaters in Psalm 115 are worshiping idols that have mouths, but no ability to speak (v. 5). They have eyes, but are blind (v. 5). They have ears, but they are deaf (v. 6). Their noses don’t enable them to smell (v. 6). Their hands cannot handle, and their feet cannot walk (v. 7). Those who make these idols are just like these idols (v. 8). You become like what you worship.

In the other direction, with regard to salvation, we see the same thing. As we behold the glory of the Lord (which we do in worship), we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory. We become increasingly like what we worship (v. 18). Because we worship Jesus Christ, the true and final man, we are growing back up into our full humanity. The image of God is being restored in us by this means. At the coming of the Lord, the capstone of this process will be placed at the top of the living temple. We will become like Him, and why? Because we will see Him as He is (1 Jn. 3:2).

Malleable Worlds

Now what does this mean for the materialistic atheist, or for the new age neo-pagans? Both of these groups believe that ultimate reality is infinitely malleable. The materialist believes that matter is eternal and that, given enough time, anything can turn into anything else. In the beginning was an enormous amount of hydrogen, with lots of potential. This is what evolution is all about. Anything can morph into anything else. And for the neo-pagans (and the ancient ones too , the same basic process is occurring, just with a different explanatory mechanism. For Ovid, chaos gave birth to the gods, and they in turn shaped other stuff. And for the rest of his book Metamorphoses,

shape shifting was the order of the day. This is basic to the unbelieving mind. And it is the theological/religious explanation for all forms of gender bending, not to mention Michael Jackson’s face. People today genuinely believe that it is possible to “reinvent oneself.”

Confusion Below

Sexual boundaries follow the same kind of pattern. The revolt of our current generation against the triune God (who made heaven and earth) is a revolt in the direction of a pagan polytheism—multiple gods, multiple voices, multiple laws, and a general clamor out of which it is possible to select whatever suits him at the time. The political name for this is pluralism, and the philosophical and cultural name for it is postmodernism. Radically relativistic (whether it means to be or not), it has fallen off the cliff and cannot be prevented from eventually hitting the craggy rocks below—nihilism and despair. But while falling, a number of people have the temporary sensation of absolute freedom, and they seek to use that freedom in the creation and pursuit of various sexualities. And that is why we are now dealing with metrosexuals, sodomites, catamites, lesbians, virtual perverts, bisexuals, and transgendered individuals—not to mention the ecclesiastical variants, the lesbyterians. Sometime in the next ten years, look for more to push to the front of the line, all demanding societal respectability—pederasty and bestiality included. But because all this is a function of sexual postmodernism, we should simply call all of it pomosexuality. You cannot believe that ultimate reality is ultimately malleable, and yet not believe the world we live in is equally malleable.

And God Divided Everything

But in the world created by the triune God of Scripture, the boundaries don’t blur—like a watercolor left out in the rain. God divides, and He loves to call those divisions good. God created heaven and earth, which created the fundamental division between that which is God and that which is not God. The gulf there is an infinite one, and God called what was on the other side of the divide from Him good (Gen. ). Having done this much, God was on a roll, and He divided the sun and moon, the sea and dry land, the earth and sky, and He kept calling all of it good (Gen. 1:4,10, 18). And then, at the pinnacle of creation, male and female He created them, in the image of God He created them (Gen. 1:27). God made Adam into two, so that He could bring Adam and Eve back into one— with a richer unity this time, one that presupposes genuine division.

Worship Shapes Culture

If you want to be healthy, you should eat three good meals a day. This is generally true. But if you apply the rule when you are in the grip of the flu, all you are doing is giving yourself something to throw up. In this fallen world, should the laws reject pomosexual marriages, liaisons, and perverse unions? Of course. But should we fight the battle there when the general pattern of worship is given over to pagan assumptions? You are only giving the culture something to throw up. This does not mean that there is no Savior for our culture; it simply means that our culture is not that savior. It means further that our culture is the skid row bum needing to be saved. And so what should we do? Worship the Father in the power of the Spirit in the name of the Son.

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Psalm 50: Rite and Ritual

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Introduction

This is the first of twelve psalms ascribed to Asaph. Mostly likely this is the Asaph who lived at the same time as David (2 Chron. 29:30), although that name does appear later (2 Kings 18:18). This psalm is a wonderful illustration of how thoroughly the godly saints of the old covenant understood true worship.

The Text
“The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come. . .” (Psalm 50:1-23).

Summary and Outline of the Text

According to theme, the psalm should be divided in this way. The first section represents the Lord summoning the entire earth to hear what He has to declare (vv. 1-6). This is a message for all men in all times—the times of the new covenant included. In the second section, He defines the sort of worship that is acceptable to Him (vv. 7-15), and closer to the point, the kind that is unacceptable to Him. The third section outlines the moral misbehavior of religious hypocrites (vv. 16-21). The conclusion then comes with a savage warning (v. 22) and is then followed up with a very gracious offer (v. 23).

The Lord speaks—the Hebrew has “El, Elohim, YHWH says . . .” The entire earth is summoned to come (v. 1). God shines out of Zion, His select city (v. 2). As God comes, a fire and tempest come with Him (v. 3). He will call heaven and earth as His witnesses in the judgment of His people (v. 4). He gathers His holy ones, those who have made covenant by means of true sacrifice (v. 5). The heavens will say amen to His righteous judgment (v. 6). Think on this.

When He comes in the fire and tempest, what does He say? Come, and listen up. I will testify against you (v. 7). They had not failed in the outward requirements (v. 8), and so that is not why they were reproved. God does not want our sacrificial animals (v. 9). He already has plenty of wild and domestic beasts (v. 10). He owns all the wild fowl and the beasts of the field already (v. 11). If God were hungry, He wouldn’t tell us about it (vv. 12-13). Offer thanksgiving to God (v. 14). Pay your vows, sincerely and from the heart (v. 14). Then God will deliver you in the day of trouble (v. 15).

But what does the showboating hypocrite do in worship? First, he declares God’s statutes, and takes God’s covenant into his mouth—and God doesn’t like it (v. 16). He knows the liturgy, and so therefore he hates true instruction (v. 17). He connives at theft (v. 18), consents to adultery (v. 18). He gives his mouth to evil and deceit (v. 19). He slander’s his own brother, a thing not to be borne (v. 20). On top of everything else, he misinterprets delayed judgment to mean no judgment, thinking God to be as fickle as he himself is (v. 21).

Those who forget God need to think about it because God will tear them into little bits (v. 22). But the one who praises God, and orders his life rightly, this person will see the salvation of God (v. 23).

The Great Summons

True worship begins with a right vision of who God is. Isaiah sees the Lord, high and lifted up. Moses saw the glory of the Lord on the mountain. The apostles called upon the one who had made the sea and sky and dry land. If you don’t start there, you have never started. When we look at the disparity between the “fire and tempest” and the complacency of many worshipers, the surprising thing is that more worshipers are not struck dead by lightning every Sunday. The mercies of God are remarkable. Note this: God summons (v. 1); God shines (v. 2); God comes

in tumult (v. 3); He calls heaven and earth to witness (v. 4); He gathers His true saints (v. 5); and the heavens declare His righteousness (v. 6). Now is it possible to talk about rites and liturgy. Anyone who moves straight to liturgics is a fool and a spiritual imbecile.

Rite and Ritual

In a remarkable turn of events, I believe this is the first time I have ever quoted Ambrose Bierce in two sermons running. That able lexicographer defined rite as “a religious or semi-religious ceremony fixed by law, precept or custom, with the essential oil of sincerity carefully squeezed out of it.” And as for ritualism, he said this: “A Dutch garden of God where He may walk in rectilinear freedom, keeping off the grass.” However much we might want to chafe under such definitions, Asaph would have grasped this point immediately.

God does not rebuke them for messing up on the externals (v. 8). Notice that God is bringing a case against them, an accusation (v. 7). The spiritually stupid think that God requires certain things of us because He somehow needs them, which is crazy (vv. 9-13). What does He really want? He wants gratitude and integrity (v. 14). If you have those, you may use a formal service to call upon God—and He will hear (v. 15). If you don’t have those, then save your breath for something else.

Whited Tombs

God asks the wicked why they came to think that He wanted them to talk about His word (v. 16). God never asked thieves, homos, or adulterers to become chancel prancers. Neither did He ask them to become covenant theologians. What is their problem? First, they are unteachable (v. 17). Second, they consent to thievery and adultery (v. 18). Third, they love to lie (v. 19). Fourth, they slander their own relatives (v. 20). And last, they reveal that they worship a god created in their own image (v. 21). Over all of it is a beautiful white robe and stole, like two inches of snow on a dung heap.

God Under Glass

The hypocritical liturgist believes that he has God under glass, God in a box, God under control. He knows the magic words, many of them in Latin. He knows the magic dance steps. He has flowing robes, and greetings in the market place. He loves religion, and all the trappings of religion, but he forgets God Himself. A man in such a position is in for a rude awakening. Like Belshazzar, he does not know what his cup contains until it is full and about to overflow. The only alternative is gratitude and thanksgiving, coupled with honest Christian living.

This Word For Us

We are involved in the work of liturgical reformation, and we thank God for it. But never forget God in the service of God, and never forget that the characteristic sin associated with this form of worship (over millennia) is going to magically disappear in our day.

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