Ouch!

(Psa 51:7 KJV)  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Here we have another picture of what it means to get right with God.  He wants to “purge” (purify NASB) (2398) us.  This is an interesting choice of words.  To be honest it forced me to look at the commentaries I have in my software because the most common translation of the word is “sin”.  One helpful comment said it means to offer up as a sin offering.  Perhaps the KJV gets it a little closer to the point.

There is often a time when the process of growing in grace can be painful.  Sometimes the pain is being forced to confront our sins.  Sometimes it might take the form of realizing we have to give up something that was important to us.

So?  The question for each of us is, “Do you want to be clean.”  God does the scrubbing but we might be the one that feels the scrub brush. 

Deep Cleaning

(Psa 51:2 KJV)  Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

Verse 2 gives us two more words for the process of being forgiven.  God can “wash” (3526) away our “iniquity” (5771).  We all know how this works in our daily lives.  We wash our clothes on a regular basis.  We wash our windows when forced to.  We wash our cars depending on our OCD status.  On many projects I would assume it might get done better if someone else did it for us.

God can “cleanse” (2891) our “sin” (2403b).  This picture is deeper than just washing.  This to me means going after the germs and inflections.  You can wash the surface but cleansing goes to the heart of the matter.

So?  God is not satisfied with the superficial. 

Wipe Out

(Psa 51:1 KJV)  To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

What does it mean to be forgiven?  We toss off the concept so readily.  We sing about it.  We testify to it.  There are many different expressions to describe what is going on when it becomes a reality.  Here, David begins to look at this.  God can “blot” (4229) out our “transgressions” (6588).  This is the first of the words used for removing our sin.  

When the KJV was translated they had something called “blotting paper”.  It was used when writing to absorb the excess ink that might run or get smeared.  That is not the concept here.  This can also be translated “wipe”.  God will take a celestial paper towel, put some cleaning fluid on it and remove the filth from our lives.  What a glorious thought.

So?  Rejoice!  God is cleaning up your act in ways that you can’t even touch. 

Question

(Heb 4:16 KJV)  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Have you considered the glory of this verse recently.

Repeatedly in the Old Testament we are told that we cannot see God and live.  It seems clear but there are exceptions so it must need some study.  In the NT we know God because we know Jesus.  While we should not be losing our awe of the majesty of God we are told by Jesus that if we have seen Him we have seen the Father.

When we practice the worship of prayer we need to remember that.  When we have the audacity to stand in the congregation and lift our voices to the Holy One we need to remember that.  When we watch the glory of creation it should be on our mind.

So?  There is only one God and He has revealed Himself to us.  He has given us the gift of approaching Him.  Rejoice. 

Mine

Exodus 20:2 (KJV) I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

I have been advised that the old testament is written to the Jews, and not to the church.  In this verse specifically I would be told that this is written to the Jews, because they were the ones who were brought out of Egypt.  All that is true.  I was not brought out of Egypt.  I was not in the house of bondage.  Does that mean that the Lord cannot be my God?

To paraphrase someone from the Bible, “may it never be”.

Yes, God led Israel out of bondage.  That is an historical truth.  He also paid to free me from sin. I know that truth from other scriptures, and I am free to apply it here because it is a reminder to me.

So? Acknowledge truth; remember truth; apply truth. God speaks to us in the entire Bible.

More than Know About

(Psa 23:4 KJV)  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

I had not noticed this before, but the focus of the Psalm changes in verse four.  I was noticing at the beginning that he talked about God and in verse 4 changed it so that he was talking to God.  As I worked through the Psalm, I realized eventually David was actually talking to God instead of just about him.  That was much more personal.  And then, at the end, he goes back to talking about him again.

Interesting change.  It is also something that it would do us well to remember and emulate.  Knowledge can be factual or personal.  German uses different words for each.  In English we need to plug in our perception more.  

So?  Know God.  Don’t just know about Him.  Take the extra time to get acquainted.

Cost of Living

(Pro 4:7 KJV)  Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

The New American Bible has an interesting way of saying this.

 “get wisdom at the cost of all you have”.  

This brings to mind what we studied on Wednesday night about the pearl of great price and about the treasure found in the field.  We often explain why we don’t do something with “I didn’t have time” or “I could not afford it.”  In reality it was a case of not wanting to bad enough.

When I say “not wanting to bad enough”, I am not talking about the person who would need to go a couple of days without food to buy shoes for their child.  I am sure such people exist but I have never met one.  As a child I was raised in a family that would be considered poor.  We never went hungry or naked.  We also did not go to Disneyland or eat out much.  We tend to do and buy what we really want.

So?  What are your priorities?  Wisdom.  It is available.  Liposuction?  Also available.  Choose wisely, if you will excuse the expression.