One of, if not, the greatest penitential psalm is Psalm 51. This is the famous song King David wrote after Nathan the prophet had confronted him about his sin regarding Bathsheba. This sin involved at least adultery and murder and I'd argue rape and murder, and the murder of a trusted and close friend.
This psalm has many famous lines about begging for forgiveness, admitting sin against God, about original sin and the inability to live a righteous life without God, request for cleansing and restoration and God's love of a broken and contrite spirit over the desire for burnt offerings.
Read Psalm 51 if you haven't for awhile. This psalm is dripping with applicable goodness. This song is soaked with lines worth memorizing. However its ending is one that surprises the modern reader. At first glance, to me, it looks out of place with the rest of this intensely personal psalm.
"Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
build up the walls of Jerusalem;
then will you delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar." Psalm 51:18-19
Why is this the ending to this psalm? Why does King David all the sudden intercede for the city of Zion? Why this here?
I believe the reason King David does this is simply this: Our personal reconciliation and personal confession is always also about the fullness of the Church both local and universal.
We often pray for and seek large scale revival. We hope for revivals in a college campus, a city, a country and the whole world. But the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed. It is like yeast in dough. The Kingdom though large is also in individual hearts and souls.
When individuals collectively live Psalm 51-type repentance the Church is blessed and the Bride is beautified.
"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish." Ephesians 5:25-27
So, we in our own homes and in our own local churches and in our own personal reading of the Bible let it read us. We read it so that we, on occasion and probably most occasions, have the same "YOU ARE THE MAN" experience that David got from the prophet Nathan when he was confronted with his sin. We read our Bibles and let it read us so we can face our sin and become penitent and in so doing be washed thoroughly from iniquity and be made whiter than snow. And when we individually do this the Church does this, too.
Jesus died and gave us His righteousness and completely justified us. Yet He saved us and is saving us in our daily sanctification. As Martin Luther famously wrote, "All of life is repentance." So, read, repentant and watch the Kingdom of Heaven come in as the Church is built up and Her worship becomes even more delightful to God today.
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