THE KING’S BUSINESS
526
h eav y b u t it w as th e h a n d o f love, a n d it h ad accom plished its. lo v in g p u rp o se in b rin g in g D av id to co n fessio n o f h is sin. N o te care fu lly to w hom D av id says he co n fessed h is sin, “u n to th e L o r d /’ D avid ack n ow led g ed his sin, to th e rig h t person. I t is n o t p rim a rily to h um an p rie s t o r to fellow: b eliev er th a t w e a re to c o n fess o u r sins b u t rig h t to G od. I t is w ell a t tim es to co n fess o u r sins to o n e a n o th e r (Jas,. 5 :1 6 ) b u t th e re j s n o in d icatio n w h atev er in th e B ible th a t w e sh o u ld co n fess th em to h um an p riest, an d even th o u g h w e do co n fess to one an o th e r, first „of all an d be fo re all, th e a ll-im p o rta n t th in g to do, w e sh o u ld confess " unto the L ord / ’ D avid stopped co v erin g (th e H e b rew w o rd tra n s late d “h id ” in v. 5 is th e sam e as th at tra n s la te d “co v ered ” in v. 1') h is sin. W h en he sto p p ed -covering his sin, th en G od co v e red it fo r him . “I said, I w ill confess m y transgressions unto the L ord." T h a t w as a g o o d th in g fo r D av id to say. I t is a g o o d th in g fo r US all to say. T h e w ord, tra n sla te d “co n fess” does n o t m ean m erely -to “ow n u p ” b u t to “p o in t o u t” o r “fu lly d eclare.” T he tro u b le w ith m u ch th a t is called “co n fes sio n ” is th a t w e do n o t definitely p o in t out o r fully „declare o u r sin, th e confession- i> n o t fu ll an d fra n k a n d free. W e only co n fess so m u ch as w e feel w e ab so lu tely m ust, an d th en th e co n fessio n is v e ry indefinite a n d vague an d m ean in g less, a n d th ere fo re p ow erless. “T hou forgaveSt the in iquity o f m y sin.’’ T h e re su lt of D av id ’s co n fessio n w as th a: G od fo rg av e th e in iq u ity o f his sin. T h a t w ill alw ays be th e resu lt, o f full, h earty co n fessio n u n to th e L o rd (P ro v . 2 8 :1 3 ; 1 Jo h n 1 :9 ; Jo b 33:27, 2 8 ; L u k e 15:20-23). A sin cere an d h e a rty co n fessio n o f sin is alw ay s accom p an ied by a th o ro u g h tu rn in g aw ay from sin (P ro v . 2 8 :1 3 ; L u k e 26:40- 4 2 ). A n d w h en w e fo rsa k e our- sins, G od is alw ays- re ad y to a b u n d an tly p a rd o n (Is. 5 5 :7 ). T h o u g h G od fo rg av e D av id ’s sin, D av id d id n o t escape all th e consequences o f his sin (2 Sam . 1 2 :13, 1 4). In fact, his sin dogged him to his. d y in g day. B u t in
fo u rth p o in t h as to d o w ith h is state, “in w hose sp irit th e re is n o g uile.” - T h is p e r fected sta te is th e re su lt o f his p erfected stan d in g . W e g et first a p e rfected sta n d in g b e fo re G od by b ein g fo rg iv en arid ju s ti fied, and" a fte rw a rd s, a s th e o u tcom e o f o u r b eliev in g w h a t G od says ab o u t, o u r sta n d in g an d liv in g o u t in o u r ow n liv e s-w h at G od reck o n s us, .we g et a p e rfe c te d ' state. v. 3. “W h en I kept silence, m y bones w axed old through m y roaring all the day long.” In th e first v erse w e see G od 'co v e rin g sin ; in th e th ird a n d fo u rth v erses w e see th e sin n e r a ttem p tin g to Cover his ow n sin. T o h av e G od co v er o u r sin is su p rem e b lessed n ess; to try to co v er o u r ow n sins is su p rem e m isery . E v ery sin n er, be g in n in g w ith A d am , h as so u g h t to cover h is sin fro m G od (cf. Gen: 3:7, 8 ), b u t no sin n er h as ev er succeeded in d o in g it (P ro v . 2 3 :1 8 ). D av id so u g h t to keep silence, to sh u t h is lips from co n fessin g to G od, ¡but in stead o f su cceed in g in fin d in g ' silence, he fo u n d h im self “ro a rin g all th e day long,” H is lips k ep t silence, b u t his b ones ro ared . v. 4. F or day and night thy hand was heavy upon m e : 'm y m oisture w as changed as w ith the drought o f summ er.’’ D avid trie d to escape G od’s h an d s by k eep in g si lence, b u t all th e tim e h e trie d to escape G od’s h an d , G od’s h a n d w as heav y upon him . T h e re is n o th in g th a t a m an can do th a t is m o re foolish th an to refu se to co n fess his sin to G od. W h ile D av id w as so m iserab le in h is ow n soul in th o se days of u n co n fessed sin, h e w as g ro ssly cru el to w a rd s o th ers ( 2 Sam . 1 2 :3 1 ). The- co n sciousness o f u n co n fessed sin an d o f Con d em n a tio n b e fo re G od d riv es m an y 'to cru elty . T h e w o rd “S elah ” in d icates a m u- sieal p au se an d is ju s t an in d icatio n fo r the sin g ers an d p lay ers by w h om th e P salm w as to be ren d ered , but,, o f co u rse, it also in d icates a ch an g e in th e th o u g h t. v. 5. “I acknow ledged m y sin unto thee, and m ine iniquity have I n o t hid.” D avid a t last d id w ith h is : sin w h a t h e o u g h t to h av e done a t first, h e m ad e a clean b re ast o f it. I t w as G o d ’s h eav y h a n d u p o n him th a t b ro u g h t him to th is. T h e h a n d seem ed
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker