A Musician Looks at the Psalms
Devotion for Tuesday , November 10, 2009 |
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A Musician Looks at the Psalms: 365 Daily Meditations by Don Wyrtzen This devotion is like a "modern-day psalter,
written by one who has grappled with the hard
realities of life in the workplace, at home, and
in the secret sanctuary of his own heart. Like
the psalmists, he does not offer pat answers to
complex problems. Rather, he strips away the
superficialities he encounters in daily living
and probes all one hundred and fifty psalms for
the light they shed on his spiritual
pilgrimage." Copyright 2004 by Don Wyrtzen,
published by Broadman & Holman Publishers |
FORGIVENESS
Out of the depths I call to
You, LORD! Lord, listen to my voice; let Your
ears be attentive to my cry for help. LORD,
if You considered sins, Lord, who could stand?
But with You there is forgiveness, so that You
may be revered (vv. 1-4).
- Psalm 130
When I think of God's accounting ability, I cringe, much like the author of this psalm. Suppose every unkind word I have ever spoken, every lie I have ever told, every shortcut I have ever taken, every word of gossip that ever passed my lips, every lustful thought I have ever entertained, every sin I've ever committed were recorded on audio and videotape to be played back at will?
My fellow musician sums it up succinctly: "Who could stand?" (v. 3).
Though I am saved by grace, I am constantly engaged in a wrestling match between the old sin nature and the new man. As the apostle Paul complained: "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me but there is no ability to do it. For I do not do good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do" (Rom. 7:18-19).
There is a way out, however. It's a one-word answer: forgiveness. In his infinite mercy, God chooses to pardon the penitent sinner (Isa. 55:6-7). If he did not, we would all be destroyed by his judgment. Because we have been forgiven much, we are able to respond in grateful praise. We will be moved to revere and respect him, to worship and adore him, to follow and obey him!
Personal Prayer
I cry out of the depths to you for mercy, 0 Lord!
I need your forgiveness again and again.
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