JUNE 20
In Psalm 51 David is repenting with a broken heart because
of his awful sin with Bathsheba. He had committed adultery and
attempted to cover it up with murder. It is encouraging indeed to
find that the blood of Christ, God’s Son, was sufficient to cleanse
David from all sin. This Penitential Psalm gives the Scriptural
route for a wayward Christian to return to the fellowship of God. We
would all do well to constantly pray, “Create in me a clean heart, O
God.” David knew he was a sinner, and in this Psalm he confesses his
sins. True confession of sin involves repentance. There is a vast
difference between repentance and confession. Confession is
admitting that we have committed sin; while repentance involves
godly sorrow for sin and a willingness to turn from that sin.
In Psalm 52 we see David trusting in God and confident of
the fact that he would be delivered from his boastful enemies.
In verse 1 of Psalm 53 we read, “The fool hath said in his
heart, There is no God.” Those who advocate that there is no God, or
that “God is dead” should note this great verse carefully. How can
anyone observe the beauty of nature and say there is no God? The
budding of the flowers and trees, the clouds and the rain–
everything about us–speaks of God. Truly, only a fool could say
there is no God.
Although there are many who claim to believe there is no
God, this is generally based upon bitterness because of failure in
some area of life. The person has a “chip” on his shoulder against
God. Therefore, he mentally decides to disclaim the very existence
of Deity. The Bible calls this man a fool. God never speaks of
mentally deficient people as fools. The fool is always a person who
is arrogant and self-sufficient.
In Psalm 54 David cries to God when the Ziphites told Saul
where David was hiding; and in Psalm 55 David is betrayed by his
friends. This Psalm, like Psalm 41, seems to belong to the time of
Absalom’s rebellion, referring specifically to Ahithophel.