#DailyDevotion Who Did You Sin Against & Why?
Psalm 51 0 God, You are so kind — be merciful to me, Your grace is so great — wipe out my wrong; 2 wash me thoroughly from my guilt, and cleanse me from my sin. 3I realize the wrong I’ve done, and my sin is always before me.
Well it took a little nudge from the prophet Nathan to get David to this point but eventually David came to recognize his sin in the Bathsheba affair. Having been confronted with his sin and at his confession, receiving a judgment from the LORD, David begins a seven day fast and no doubt, this psalm is something he wrote during this time.
David appeals to the name of the LORD revealed to Moses in Ex. 34:6. The LORD is kind, merciful, forgiving, steadfast in love and disciplines those who sin. The LORD’s grace is great as we see Him becoming one of us and dying for our sins in the person of the LORD Jesus Christ. God’s grace can wipe out our wrongs. It washes us from our guilt and cleanses us from our sins. We can receive this grace as we are baptized, go to confession with our pastor and go to the LORD’s Supper. When we listen to the sermon, the lessons of the day and in our conversations with fellow Christians.
But how can we receive such grace if we don’t think we have done anything wrong? David realizes the wrong he has done. The sin he has committed, which he has been confronted with is before him. It is only removed, consoled and the like when the LORD applies to us the means of grace.
4I sinned against You, against You only, and did what is wrong in Your sight; so that you are just when you speak and pure when You judge.
We may wonder how David can say he only sinned against God when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and then arranged to have her husband killed at the front lines in battle. But all of us are made in the image and likeness of God. When we sin against one another, it is the image and likeness of God we are sinning against. On top of that we have the commandment from God to do or not do something. So we sin against the LORD twice when we sin against our fellows. The LORD is just then when He speaks to us and pure when He judges us. He is not wrong.
5Yes, I was born guilty, and when my mother conceived me I was in sin.
This is one of the proof texts for original sin. While Genesis 6 and 8 and the first half of this verse tell us our inclinations, which are sinful, are there from our youth, here we see our condition is deeper than even that. At the moment of conception, we inherit Adam’s sin and we are made sinful, spiritually dead, without fear, love or trust in the LORD. We cannot free ourselves from this sinful condition. Only when we receive the forgiveness of sins and God gives us His Holy Spirit are we able to think, believe and do what pleases the LORD.
6You desire truth in my heart; You want to teach me to be wise in my inner being.
Making such a confession ourselves, truth is in us. The LORD desires this truth to be in us. He was to teach us to be wise in our inner being. He makes us aware of our sinful condition. He makes us hate our sin and all sin. By exposing the ugliness of our sin and even more so the sin within us, we gain wisdom that we must constantly put our hope and trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and renewal of life.
Heavenly Father, make known to us our sinful condition and our sins, so we may rightly confess them to You and receive from Your grace, kindness, forgiveness and wisdom. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.