April 28- May 5

“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.” – Psalm 32:7

My heart is full with the passages this week, focusing on the most beautiful Psalms of forgiveness David wrote after his affair with Bathsheba. Who better knows the joy of forgiveness than one who sees his sin ever before him, then feels the Lord’s song of deliverance? David on the heels of great victory in conquering the Philistines was “sitting pretty” for a fall that would bring death, loss, and pain. As his son later warns in Proverbs, “Pride cometh before destruction; a haughty spirit before a fall,” I wonder if young Solomon sat at his dad’s feet and heard that little piece of advice. One is never more vulnerable than when he thinks he is invincible. So we join David this week as he is dancing in the street to give his God some praise for the victory.

2 Samuel 6:21-22 “I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.“

Our joy should be so overwhelming that we simply must dance before Him. David tells Saul’s daughter. I WILL celebrate before the Lord. I have to give credit where credit is due. I will make a fool of myself doing it, but my soul rises up to sing and dance “You are my Lord and my God, my deliverer, my avenger. There is none like You.” This was not just any dance, but a dance before the Lord. I have to love David, a man that writes poetry and dances, and is not ashamed to do so.

2 Samuel 11:1 and I Chronicles 20:1

“In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.” “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, Joab led out the armed forces.”

Then, David was probably tired from battle and maybe a little lazy after the great victory. He decided he needed a break. Springtime came and it was time for David to go to war, but he sends Joab out to lead his army. The verses make it very clear it was David’s job. He was king. He should have been busy fighting wars, but most of his comrades were away, and he got bored, and couldn’t sleep one night. So he walks out on the roof and sees Bathsheba. Next thing you know, Bathsheba is pregnant so he has Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband set up to fall in battle. Then, to look proper, he waits the appropriate mourning time, and takes Bathsheba as his wife. It is a dangerous thing to be “whitewashed” on the outside yet harbor secret sin. Nathan, his buddy the prophet, after a vision from the Lord, bravely tells David about his sin.

2 Samuel 11:11-14

“This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ “Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.”

Nathan tells David a parable, and David is angered. He then shows David that the parable spoke of David’s sin. The Lord is angry with David and his sin does not go unpunished. There are huge consequences to sin, particularly covert offenses. David’s first words out of his mouth are not a fearful “What is going to happen to me?” He sorrowfully proclaims, “I have sinned against You Lord, the One who saves me and has seen me through every trial.” David grieves his sin. And the Lord lets him know he is forgiven but there are consequences. This is when some of the most comforting Psalms in all of Scripture are written. Here is where reading the Bible chronologically comes in very handy. To know exactly where David’s heart was as he writes “You are my hiding place and you protect me from trouble, surrounding me with songs of deliverance.” These are the psalms that speak to my soul. These psalms cause me to love my Lord even more with all that He does on our behalf. Out of our worst trials, we often experience our greatest victories with the Lord. We finally see Him for who He is.

Psalm 103:3-22

“who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children- with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, O my soul.”

Here is just a short list of why I am crazy about my God. There is none like Him. Who else:

• Forgives all my sins
  
• Heals all my diseases
  
• Redeems my life from the pit
  
• Crowns me with love and compassion
  
• Satisfies my desires with good things
  
• Renews my youth like the eagle’s
  
• Works righteousness and justice when I am oppressed
  
• Makes His ways known to me, His deeds to all
  
• Is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love
  
• Does not treat me as my sins deserve
  
• Loves me as high as the heavens above the earth
  
• Forgives my sins as far as the east is from the west
  
• Has compassion on me like a father
  
• Remembers I am but dust
  
• Is from everlasting to everlasting with His love
  

Praise the Lord, oh my soul! You are my King and my God.

Thanks for joining me on the journey through His Word this week. For more insights on these passages, visit Bev at Cover to Cover.