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ONE GREAT TRUTH: There are NO throw-away lives!
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“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” –Psalm 51:1-2
King David had committed adultery, murder, and had concocted a cover-up that lasted for a year. In God’s timing, Nathan the prophet came to the King with those stinging words. He told the King a parable of a rich man who oppressed a poor man and the King was wroth. After passing sentence on the rich man (death and four-fold repayment), Nathan then brought the indictment – “Thou art the man.” A year had passed since David’s crimes and no doubt the guilt and shame had taken their toll. Psalm 51 is the record of David’s confession, cleansing, and renewed consecration.
Notice how David begins, not with his past record of goodness nor any other merit in himself, but rather calling upon the merciful nature of God. “According to thy loving-kindness: according to the multitude of thy tender mercies…” David knew well that God was a merciful God. Mercy is a part of God’s nature just as love, holiness, and power are part of His nature. So David begged forgiveness because God is forgiving.
The specific ways in which David asks forgiveness provide a wonderful basis for prayer today. First, blot out my transgressions, which means to erase the record of my breaking of God’s law. Second, wash me from the ways in which I have fallen short as a launderer would vigorously beat a stain out of a garment. Third, cleanse me from the disease that makes me so different (and separate) from God, just as the priest would pronounce a leper cleansed from leprosy.
How can we trust God to forgive? Because of what God has said about Himself… “And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…” (Exod. 34:6-7)
“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” -Psalm 42:11
Depression seems to be such a widespread issue today. It could be that it is simply talked about more than ever, but it seems that the statistics point to an overwhelming increase in reported cases of depression. I believe that depression is a part of life for a large number of people, and always has been. King Saul and King David are two examples of men who suffered depression in their lives. Often theirs was connected with a period of sin and rebellion, but for David, as he wrote Psalm 42, this was not the case.
David asked the question that many people who suffer from depression today ask, “Why? Why am I so down, so upset?” I don’t know that David ever found an answer to why his soul was disquieted within him. I do know that David found a healing solution that King Saul never discovered – praising God from the depths of depression.
David proclaimed, I don’t know why my soul is distraught, but I’m going to praise God anyway and He will be the health of my countenance (my personality). In other words, there may be no real cure for depression, but God can still be praised and He will be the balm that brings a soul-healing. So often today, we handle depression with medication before we search for unconfessed sin, before we work on the relationship with God, and before we search the soul for an answer.
There are times when medication may help the unexplainable depression that comes to a person’s soul as a result of a chemical imbalance. But shouldn’t we search for the possible spiritual cause first? King Saul’s depression was soothed by praise music. I don’t believe Saul was saved but there was a therapeutic effect brought on by the act of praise. David proclaimed as well that praise was wonderful medication for the soul.
God has given us the technology and wisdom to find medical cures for many psychological issues. I’m not for ignoring those medical discoveries, unless we use them to mask over our need for a searching of the soul. Let us first ask the Almighty to try our hearts, to search our souls, and to enlighten us to a possible spiritual cause. Then let us repent of sin and praise His name and let medication be the final step after a spiritual revival.
I shall yet praise Him who is the health of my countenance and my God!
“And it came to pass in an eveningtide that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself… And David sent messengers, and took her.”—2 Samuel 11:2, 4
King David was at the peak of success. He had risen to his greatest glory. All of the surrounding nations had sworn allegiance to him and his nation trusted him as their shepherd-king. But “it came to pass in an eveningtide,” in one night, that he found himself morally shipwrecked.
You may be at the top of your spiritual game, but take heed, stay awake, be sober, for Satan is on the prowl, waiting to knock you off of your throne. The only way for you to prevent it from happening to you is to make sure that Jesus is constantly, moment-by-moment, on the throne of your life.
Terrible things can happen in a single night, things which change the course of our lives forever. Spiritual warfare can be a brutal battle. Are you prepared? If not, then strap on the armor of God today. You can read about it in Ephesians 6:10-18. The most valuable resource is prayer used in conjunction with the Word of God. Now… on guard!
Brandon is first and foremost a follower of Jesus Christ. He's a husband to Angie and a Dad to Ella Grace and Samuel David. He's a Pastor to Bethel Baptist Church, Editor of Fuel Your Blogging and also a logo and web designer.
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