No More Hiding; Psalm 51, Proverbs 30

May the mumbling commence!

Only God’s magnificent mercy can cleanse us.  Let’s plead for that mercy with the confidence that the Lord will extend it liberally.  At times, God’s mercy is shocking.  Let us give thanks for the part mercy plays in our salvation – together and individually.  Read from Psalm fifty-one:

Have mercy upon me, O God,

According to Your loving-kindness;

According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,

Blot out my transgressions. 

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

And cleanse me from my sin. 

For I acknowledge my transgressions,

And my sin is always before me. 

Against You, You only, have I sinned,

And done this evil in Your sight –

That You may be found just when You speak,

And blameless when You judge. 

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

And in sin my mother conceived me. 

Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,

And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. 

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 

Make me hear joy and gladness,

That the bones You have broken may rejoice. 

Hide Your face from my sins,

And blot out all my iniquities. (Verses 1-9)

All sin, at its base, is against God.  That is a truth that we learn from this psalm…  Even when you didn’t do these things unto the least of these my brothers and sisters you did not do it unto Me.  The righteous judgment and wrath of God is warranted against all humanity. 

Cry along with the psalmist for our forgiveness.  Plead for the mercy of God.  Plead for the mercy of God even when we know that that extended mercy of God will benefit those who have wronged us. 

We need that mercy as much as those people that we might count as our enemies.  Do not begrudge God his extravagant mercy – regardless of who that mercy benefits.   You and I have benefited immensely from that mercy.  We are clean and whiter that snow because of the work of the Lord. 

Praise God!  Come out from hiding.  Jettison those facades that we carry.  Have the courage to live in the light of God and be healed.  Let us leave behind the bitterness of evil in our lives – it is so prevalent.  Read from Proverbs chapter thirty:

There is a generation that curses its father,

And does not bless its mother. 

There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes,

Yet is not washed from its filthiness. 

There is a generation – oh, how lofty are their eyes!

And their eyelids are lifted up. 

There is a generation whose teeth are like swords,

And whose fangs are like knives,

To devour the poor from off the earth,

And the needy from among men. (Verses 11-14)

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out