Thursday,
March 18, 2021
Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there. Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me—now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Psalm 51:1-12
The twelve-year-old
in the picture is yours truly, 60+ years ago.
It was a family vacation to New England.
The pillory in which I’m incarcerated was a 16th century
public device for shaming those caught in the act. It was placed in the town square where every
passerby would have an opportunity to view what happens to those who defied the
laws. My Dad was the one who suggested
Russell should be the one in the photograph; his sense of prophetic irony is
not lost…the eventual preacher on display for his sins!
So,
what does this have to do with King David’s psalm? Everything…and more! Psalm 51 is David’s public
confession. The marginal notes in our
Bible tell this story: For the
choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Nathan the prophet came to
him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.[1]
For the
king to have sinned is expected; to publish it, memorialize it for all to see,
and have it sung about, preached about in church, and remembered forever goes
against human nature. The picture of me
at 12, pilloried, was a bit of family humor; Russell’s real sins would not be
so funny. To make King David’s point with
clarity, there is no such thing as hidden sin. David’s actions caused immense pain. Hence the penitent nature of Psalm 51; sin
requires reckoning.
I am
not suggesting a return to the days of locking someone head and hands in a pillory
on the town square. There is nothing so
ingenuine as a coerced plea for forgiveness when your hand has been caught in
the cookie jar. In such cases, there may
be remorse – for getting caught – but very little contriteness of the heart, no
real confession, only hopes to shorten or avoid the punishment.
A case
in point was President Clinton appearing before the Grand Jury to answer
questions about his affair with Monica Lewinsky in 1998. Responding to the question about if he’d lied
about whether there IS an improper relationship going on
between he and Ms. Lewinsky, Mr. Clinton replied: Define IS.[2] This vividly illustrates human nature, a man,
a powerful, public leader, caught, and standing with no defense, trying to
create as much wiggle room as possible against the threat of facing the
consequences. This was Adam telling God,
it was the woman you gave to me…she gave me the fruit; deflect
the truth, distort the truth, do anything but face the truth!
By
contrast, consider King David, not only facing, but owning the truth. Here is an earthly king, accountable to no
other human being, publicly humiliated, guilty of adultery, conspiracy, and murder…and
accepting responsibility without reserve.
To be
sure, former President Clinton is not alone.
Recalling Jesus’ words about the difference between finding Heaven or
hell, we understand the choice to avoid conviction of our sins:
“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. Matthew 7:13-14
For You Today
The answer…always…to the God-question, can we
talk about this, starts with a repentant heart. Contriteness isn’t natural, but forgiveness
demands it.
[1] Title Image: Brownworth Family photo Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
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