Lesson 7 for May 14, 2011

“Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings” (Psalm 17: 8) “I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings” (Psalm 61: 4) “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings” (Psalm 36: 7)

Which experiences led the psalmist to write those texts?

A little stone knocks a giant down A little gaze knocks a king down

When David gazed at Bathsheba, temptation came into his mind. He didn’t resist that temptation, so sin (adultery) consumed him and that sin led him to a bigger sin (murder) David thought that he could hide his sin under his cloak of king. But no human cloak can hide sin before God.

“When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer” For a whole year after his sin against Uriah and Bathsheba, David refuses to confess his sin, even to himself. But as Psalm 32 tells us, he suffers severe agony of mind and body as a result of his silence. Psalm 32: 3-4

Nathan made David face his problem subtly with a parable. 1.Hid didn’t accuse him; on the contrary, he tactfully solicited David’s help. 2.He used the sense of justice that wasn’t completely deadened in David. 3.By using that parable, Nathan breached David’s defenses. 4.He invited David to listen without feeling judged. The result was that David condemned himself. Nathan broke David’s hardened heart with the words: “Thou art the man.”

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities” (Psalm 51: 7-9)

“David was pardoned of his transgression because he humbled his heart before God in repentance and contrition of soul, and believed that God’s promise to forgive would be fulfilled. He confessed his sin, repented, and was reconverted. In the rapture of the assurance of forgiveness, he exclaimed, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” The blessing comes because of pardon; pardon comes through faith that the sin, confessed and repented of, is borne by the great Sin-bearer. Thus from Christ cometh all our blessings. His death is an atoning sacrifice for our sins. He is the great Medium through whom we receive the mercy and favor of God” E.G.W. (SDA Bible Commentary, notes on Psalms, 32: 1-2)

Divine forgiveness goes beyond simple forgiveness. It generates a new heart within the repentant person. That’s why we must ask God for a new heart with His forgiveness, so we can live a holy life before Him being guided by his Holy Spirit. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit” (Psalm 51: 10-12)

E.G.W. (SDA Bible Commentary, notes on Ezekiel, 36: 26)

“Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings” (Psalm 17: 8) “I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings” (Psalm 61: 4) “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings” (Psalm 36: 7) After studying that experience we can understand why David longed for being under the protection of God’s wings. There we can find mercy, forbearance and shelter.