Summer in the Psalms - Week Five Gathering Place

Welcome, once again, to your Gathering Place girls - I can hardly believe that another week has gone by!

This week brought me, among other things, into a study about - Jacob! So, I thought that instead of going through Psalm 51 verse by verse, I would instead just share with you a few things that stood out to me and then allow the discussion in the Comment Cafe to guide our time of learning together.

Have you been enjoying memorizing your selected verse, or verses, from this Psalm? The verses that became more and more pronounced to me were v.6; v.10; v.12 and v.15. Each day these verses have found voice in me and they have deepened my time with God and have also become journaling prompts as I have gone through this Psalm this week.

Behold, You desire Truth in my innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation,
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
O Lord, open my lips,
That my mouth may declare Your praise.
(Psalm 51:6,10,12,15)

Right away, on Monday morning, the superscription at the beginning of this Psalm led me to read 2 Samuel 11-12; this is where we read the account of David; Bathsheba; her husband Uriah; and also the account of the LORD sending the prophet Nathan to David - it is within these two chapters that we also see David's response to the words of God, spoken through Nathan and how God deals with David.

2 Samuel 12:13 only tells us that David's response, when confronted with his sin is, "I have sinned against the LORD." - it's only in Psalm 51 that we get to see the depth of his confession. Because of our study of Psalm 19 in our Week Two Reading, we need to note, that the sin that David had committed in 2 Samuel 11 was not the 'hidden faults' that he had asked God to acquit him of in Psalm 19:12. Rather, the sin (iniquity) that David is now desiring God to 'wash him thoroughly' from, and the sin that he now wanted God to 'cleanse' him from (Psalm 51:.2) were 'presumptuous sins', those sins that he had prayed in Psalm 19 that God would keep him back from - that they (the presumptuous sins) would not rule over him.

This reminds me of when God was speaking with Cain in Genesis 4:7 saying, "...sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, BUT you must master it." Now, God would have never instructed Cain to 'master sin', unless Cain was able to do so - he just didn't particularly want to do so, and so he went with his flesh and sin ruled over him, the result being that he murdered his brother Able.

Same thing with David, he knew the Words (law) of God - sleeping with another man's wife and the murder of her husband was not exactly an 'oops', I made a mistake kind of thing (Exodus 20:13-14), it was completely premeditated and flew right in the face of God and His Word. By way of review, here is (in part) an excerpt from our Week Two Gathering...

David asked God in Psalm 19:13 to keep him back from 'presumptuous sins', I liken this to praying... "Lord save me from myself!" You know, I think a whole lot gets blamed on the enemy of our souls when we should be looking a little closer to home - James 1:14 tells us that "each one is tempted when he is carried away by his own lust." Satan might set out the bait, but it be all about us and the intent of our hearts, whether we are bitin' it or not!.... So, a presumptuous sin are those sins that are in open defiance and rebellion against God's revealed Word, brought about by our own lusts, baited by the enemy. So David was not only praying to be cleansed of hidden sin, but he was also asking God to restrain him from running directly into open sin. If ever a man ran head-long into this blatant kind of sin it was David. He seemed to be minding his own business one day, looks out a window, sees a naked woman in a tub (the bait) and he bit, hook line and sinker. Not only did he sleep with another man's wife and get her pregnant, but he plotted, and had carried out, the murder of that woman's husband. You can believe that David was praying this particular prayer, knowing the kind of man that he was capable of being apart from God.

David may have committed his sin in a dark corner (2 Samuel 12:12), yet his heart and his actions were all open and seen by God (Hebrews 4:13). According to the Word of God, sin is always first committed in the heart (mind) before it is ever committed in the flesh, yet we are told to remember that "God is greater than our hearts" (1 John 3:20) and that "If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. Yet, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness..." (1 John 1:8-9).

And here is a life lesson for us, - when confronted with his sin, David not only recognized his sin for what it was (Psalm 51:3), he also knew there was only One Who was able to cleanse him from that sin (Psalm 51:1-2), and he also knew that any sin that we ever commit, is ultimately against God and God alone, "For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge." (Psalm 51: 3-4).

This Psalm is all about confession and seeking the cleansing work that only God can do; I believe that our primary lesson from this Psalm would simply be the importance of confession to God.

Think upon this Psalm and upon the forgiveness that was given to David in 2 Sam. 12:13b, in the light of 1 John 1:9-10... "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His Word is not in us." 'What 'to do' is bookended on both sides by 'what not to do, these verses are huge, and they were not written to non-believers, but to born again believers, Christians! While sin cannot be the characteristic of a believers life, a habitual lifestyle - God knows that we are going to sin from time to time, and He Himself has made provision for us. We see it in Psalm 51, we see it in 1 John 1, we see it in the Person of Jesus Christ Himself!
Notice in Psalm 51:10 that David is asking for a 'clean heart' and a 'right spirit' - David knew that his sin had come from an issue within his own heart and spirit. He wanted the 'joy of (the LORD'S) salvation to be restored to him - he knew that it was his sin has caused the disruption in the absence of joy in his soul.

The word 'broken' is used four times throughout Psalm 51 - in verse 8 it is used in the context of a verb - DAKAH דָּכָה meaning 'to crush, to collapse down'. It is also used twice in verse 17 in the context of a verb, SHABAR שׁבר meaning 'to shatter, to break, to rend violently, to maim, to cripple'. So where is the fourth use of this word 'broken'? It is in the word 'contrite', which translates SHABAR meaning 'to shatter, to break, to rend violently, to maim, to cripple'. This just astounded me and took this study in a whole different direction, it took me to Jacob.

Without going into all the details, think about this... in Genesis 32, Jacob not only came face to face with God (v.30), but he also came face to face with himself (v.27).

We know from v. 30 that the 'man' that Jacob wrestled all night with was God. Because of v.29 I do not personally believe that Jacob knew Who he had been wrestling with (much like us, when our flesh wrestles against God and His ways and purposes -many people may not be aware that they are actually wrestling against God)- but as dawn is breaking, God finally touches Jacob's hip and puts it out of joint (you can see how this is with us as well!). Jacob is in no position to further wrestle with God (he never really was, but God allowed him the room for a time) but instead he clings to Him and tells the 'man' that he will not stop clinging to Him until the 'man' blesses him. God then asks Jacob his name and he confesses his true self, "Jacob" 'the schemer'. Jacob had spent a goodly portion of his life in manipulative scheming, a self governed man, and yet it was here in this feeble confessing of his true self, that God did indeed bless Jacob and changed his name from 'Jacob, the schemer' to 'Israel, God governed man'. God then (v.28) gives Jacob his new name, Israel, 'he who strives with God'. I believe it is at this point that Jacob, now Israel, begins to realize Who this is that he has been striving with all night and asks, "What is your name?" And then what happens next is so profound to me, because... God asked Israel, "Why is it that you asked my name?" In other words..."you know exactly Who I AM...and then God... blessed him!

You cannot imagine how I want to go further with you on this - but just know this, that the blessing of God was upon Jacob, just as surely as it was upon David and just as surely as it is upon us today!

And here is the thing - look at v.31, "Now the sun rose upon him (Israel) just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh."... Jacob, now Israel, had a new name, and a new way to walk - it was the dawning of a new day, a new beginning. A hip that had been SHABAR'ed by God Himself! The 'brokenness' that God is looking for in our spirit and in our heart (Psalm 51:17) is the 'collapsing down' of ourselves before Him, putting an end to ourselves so that we can be free to fully become all that God created us to be.

I know that you can see the parallels here with Psalm 51:17! When we are confronted with God through His Word of Truth, just like David was confronted through the prophet Nathan, our sins are readily seen in the Light of Him for what they are ...a direct sin against God Himself. No manipulating of circumstances, no gathering of people to tell you contrary, will ever be able to wash away the stain of sin that becomes clearly evident when God Himself asks you, "what is your name."

Jacob didn't do it perfect, the very next chapter begins using his old name Jacob, and not his new name Israel. We see him once again walking by sight and not by faith. We are no different, yet Psalm 51 and 1 John 1:4-10 should give us great comfort. Same thing with David, no sooner has he committed the sin of adultery and murder than we see him going ahead, moved by Satan to number his fighting men! Putting his trust, not in the Lord, but in the size of his army, if the lust of his flesh wasn't going to trip him up then the pride of life would. Listen girls, it is always going to be something! No wonder Psalm 51 has been such a haven for believers throughout the generations - God has given it to us to bless us in our walk with Him, and to free us up through confession and repentence!

Which leads me to ask you - this week, were you saying Psalm 51 out loud like I suggested? This is a practice that I began in the early days of my Christian walk; and I highly recommend it!

Hebrews 4:12 tells us that "...the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

Many of you will remember from Joshua 1:8, that before Joshua ever set foot in the Promised Land, God spoke to him saying, "This book of the law (God's Word) shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate upon it day and night, so that you may be careful to do all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success wherever you go." Basically what God was saying was, "Get my Word in your mouth and think about it all the time!" In Jeremiah 1:12 God says, "...I am watching over My Word to perform it."

I don't know about you, but when I become actively involved in reading God's living and active Word out loud, it penetrates deeper and does a deeper work in me than when I just sit and passively read it. Remember when I told you not to just think of this Psalm as 'David's', but that this is 'your' Psalm as well ? This, your Psalm, originated with God!, this is His Word and He is watching over it to perform it.

As you read out loud, you are getting His Word familiar on your tongue, you are literally declaring the Word of God which is doing an active work in you. For instance, many times, when we take the simple reading of His Word, into the declaring phase, you may be confronted with unbelief in a certain area. This would be a place that you would stop and begin to confess to God your unbelief and allow Him to begin to heal you of that. For instance, you may have come to v. 5 in Psalm 51, spoke it out loud, and realized just exactly what it was saying - perhaps this is something that deep down inside you really never truly believed to be true. You need to talk to God about this...remember, His Word is sharper than a double edged sword and it will penetrate those places within us that have remained hidden...we can talk more about this in the Comment Cafe if you would like.

Well, I don't have time to proof read today, so if I have made a mistake that could be lethal...let me know!