For lack of a better way of saying it, I use the phrase “owning the text” to mean that whatever Scripture says, you are in agreement with it as you read. You really want what the Psalmist writes, You really feel the way he does, You understand what he is thinking and feeling about God, life, sin, holiness, Jesus, forgiveness, etc.
You agree with the truth in the text. Its as if you needed to praise God or express your feeling and the Psalmist or Paul did it for you and the words are your words. Their feelings are your feelings. Your heart and their are one. Thus our hearts are in agreement with the Word of God.
For example the Penitent Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143. Your thoughts and feelings should agree with the truths the Psalmist is saying. Its as if you wanted to say the same thing but couldn’t really put it in words but David did. It’s like David and you are one in agreement with Truth and your heart has a proper response to that truth. Your thinking what he is thinking and your feeling what was feeling to some degree.
In the Context of confessing sin. Ps. 51
I know I deserve the lake of fire, I deserve your Wrath for I have sinned. I ask for what I do not deserve or have not earned but Christ has earned it for me, I ask You to..
51 “Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
4 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.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.”
To own the text
- In order to apply this Psalm to yourself what you need to do is where David talks about himself, you should think as if these were your words. The expression of your heart when thinking of your sin and sins and desire forgiveness and cleansing. Knowing the whole time that can only come because Jesus is God’s Son and He bore our sin on the cross in His Body. Was buried and rose again. Risen to sit as King of king and LORD of lords.
- Verse 4 may be tough because you must be thinking to some degree of clarity what David was thinking when he said “Against You, you only have I sinned” Now in order for you to own the text you have to have right ideas. David was thinking about who it was that he sinned against. He sinned against God. You and I can somewhat clearly understand that and know that we has sinned against God.
- Verse 4 must be thought of in a biblical way. In some true sense David only sinned against God. In the sense that David was thinking about his sin as being only an offense against God.
- How do we go from not knowing that our sin is only against God so that we could confess with David as he said “Against you only
- You have to make some new connections, believe and delight in the Truth.
- Here there is a relationship between Creator and creature. God and man. God and sinful man. God and a man who knows that he has sinned against God alone.
- Genesis 39:9
“There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?” Joseph felt that if he would lust that sin would be “a great evil” “against God” The greatness of the evil is because of the Greatness of God. Joseph and David are seeing their God Great and their disobedience would be a great evil. Woe is me for I am undone. I acted unholy and ungodly toward Great God. The offense to Bathsheba and Uriah were nothing compare to how great his sin was against a Great God. - Get a greatest sense of the evil of sin, while your sin is ever before you in your mind, by understanding that God your Creator is the Great Holy Law Giver. It is right for you to joyfully love and obey Him. We do a great evil to disobey His Law! Against you only have I sinned. And done such a great evil, in His Sight. God the Holy Spirit is the one convicted his conscience of sin. David’s sin was in the full sight of God. God know everything and judges the thoughts and intents of the heart, His Word in our heart convicts us. Against such a great God, none like Him, I have sinned against. God in Jesus has eyes like blazing fire that see right to your heart. Rev. 1:15 Sin is missing the mark. God wanted you to hit the mark and you didn’t you sinned. You didn’t hit the mark and you feel guilty, but now don’t condemn yourself, look to Christ on the cross bearing your punishment, you do not have to fear the Wrath of God, Jesus Loves you and your holiness of heart.
- Thinking of your sin and you feel guilty, this is good, your sin is ever before you. You are guilty. But look to Jesus who paid the penalty for your sin. Think of Him bearing the weight of your guilty and sin. He felt an eternity of hell in a 3 hour period. Your sin was transferred to His account and He paid the debt in full and said “It is finished”. You have sinned and feel guilty, know that your sin is against a Great God. Infinitely majestic in holiness. Holy, Holy, Holy, there is no mixture of evil in Him. He acts perfectly in harmony with His Son and Holy Spirit and glory. All of Him is everywhere all the time, God is immense. Immutably Good and hates evil and those who continue in sin. God is infinitely Wrathful and Powerful. Unrepentant sinners will feel the full extent of their punishment in the lake of fire. Having a high or higher view of God and understanding His great works gave you a view of a Great God, you have sinned against this Great God, and are guilty of a Great Evil. Worse than you could image, but for the moment you see God Great and your sin, iniquities, transgressions as great, therefore any other sin against a human is nothing compared to how much or great I have offended God who also is the only Law Giver and Judge. Now go back and read verse 5 with these ideas in mind.
“Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
4 Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight.
Example 1 “Be gracious to me, O God, according to your lovingkindness.” This is David asking God to be gracious to him. David prayed this to God. David was no hypocrite. God did not want David to sleep with Bathsheba nor kill Uriah. David sincerely confesses his sin. So now you with a guilty conscience because you disobeyed a Great God and have a desire to not fear punishment from God nor sense His displeasure but sense only His Love and know Grace through the forgiveness of sin in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. “Be gracious to me, O God, according to your loving kindness”. You can’t just jump into “Be gracious to me, O God…” Your mind and thought need to be in a certain context in order for you to own the text or align your heart with the Word of God.
- I know I have sinned and I deserve hell, Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your Lovingkindness.”
- According to Your Love, be Gracious to me, O God for I deserve the lake of fire forever without a drop of any grace.
- Apart from Christ I deserve the hottest hell but in Jesus Name I ask “Be gracious to me, O God, according to your Lovingkindness.”
- I see Lord that your Lovingkindness motivates you to be gracious to sinners. “Be gracious to me, O God according to your Lovingkindness.”
Homework
What God is like? How attributes of God does David use in the Psalm?
Why do you think David was asking for Mercy?
What is the Mercy of God?
What is the Grace of God?
Why would you need the Mercy and Grace of God?
How can someone today receive God’s mercy and Grace?
What is our relationship to Him? He is our Creator, God, LORD and Savior.
What is he feeling guilty of? sin, Transgression, Iniquity, evil in His sight
What do you deserve?
Do you feel this eternal fire to be just? v4
What are transgressions?
Whatever sin or sins you are feeling guilty about must be forgiven, cleansed, then revived by the Holy Spirit.
What are iniquities?
- Now think of the sin or sins you committed that you feel guilty for and want blotted out. and then own the text, put yourself where David uses the words, “I, me and my”. Then when thinking of your specific sin or sins you know that they are transgressions. God has drawn a line and you transgressed over that line.
in in to the text so that you get your application. David has in his mind a specific sin in 51:2 but in verse 3 he has in mind multiple transgressions. David has right and holy ideas about God, sin, confession etc. We should think and feel the same way.
So in order to own Psalm 51:1
- You must be in a similar context as David. Read the text over and over to get the idea. David see’s his sin as a great evil against a great God and wants it blotted out. So when your conscience convicts you of a sin and you want it blotted out then you go to this verse and apply the truths in the text to apply to your specific sin. Seeing your sin really really bad and desiring God to forgive you, to allow you to know that He is not Wrathful toward you, but that Wrath was the cup that Jesus drank. According to your lovingkindness.
So when you are in the context of feeling disciplined by God and you are weeping over sin, then you can pray through Psalm 6
Psalm 6
6 O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am pining away;
Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed.
3 And my soul is greatly dismayed;
But You, O Lord—how long?
4 Return, O Lord, rescue my soul;
Save me because of Your lovingkindness.
5 For there is no mention of You in death;
In Sheol who will give You thanks?
6 I am weary with my sighing;
Every night I make my bed swim,
I dissolve my couch with my tears.
7 My eye has wasted away with grief;
It has become old because of all my adversaries (Satan, the world and my flesh).
8 Depart from me, all you who do iniquity,
For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
9 The Lord has heard my supplication,
The Lord receives my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and greatly dismayed;
They shall turn back, they will suddenly be ashamed.
What changes are made so that the believer can be guided by thought by thought but as David had enemies. They were the enemies of God. So also the Christians have enemies that they have a righteous hatred for. Which are, Satan, the world and the flesh.
Satan tells us lies. He is the father of lies. A murderer from the beginning. He is not for us but against us. Satan is our enemy.
The world and its sinful influences are our enemies. There will someday be a new world, new heaven and earth where there is only peace and rest for Gods people from their enemies.
Our flesh is our enemy. The unredeemed part of our soul. Wrong ideas of God and his ways. Truths need to replace the lies we believe. Doctrinal beliefs, our mind, will and emotions are all spiritual. We must renew our mind in the image of God. What is left not renewed in the heart is what is considered the flesh, stinking thinking or desires that we still have that war against our soul/spirit/Spirit in us. At war. We are at war with an enemy within. We hate our flesh, it is our enemy or adversary.
Agreeing with Paul’s prayers
Ephesians 3:16-21 (modified to be prayed by any Christian for all of us)
I pray LORD, that according to your glorious riches that you would strengthen us with power through Your Spirit in our inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. And I pray that we, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—as we behold His Matchless Glory and Infinite Beauty at the cross, that we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Colossians 1(modified for better memorization and prayer for all the saints)
I ask that we may be filled with the knowledge of Your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that we may walk in a manner worthy of our calling in Christ. That we may be fervent in Spirit, serving You with all our hearts an in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in grace and knowledge of You. May we be strengthened with all power, according to Your glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to You, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For You rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of Your beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Phil. 1
9 And this I pray, that our love may abound still more and more in true knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that we may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; 11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to You belongs the glory and praise.
SaveSaveSaveSave
Categories
Uncategorized