Thursday 02 July 2015

Psalm: Psalm 39

Background

The New Living Translation starts verse 7 with thewords "yet." Verses 5 and 6 describe a really diresituation. Life is becoming rather bleak, things are just not asthey should be, yet why is no one calling on God? Look back in thepassage to Isaiah has just said in verse 4: 

"From ages past non one has heard,
   no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
   who works for those who wait for him."

Throughout the ancient near east at that time, the gods peopleserved were numerous. Yet the God Isaiah is talking about is theonly God who has actually ever done anything. What an amazing thingto consider. Here we have a God that actually does things, so why(in verse 7) are people not turning to him when life is a mess?

It is within this confusion of these passages that we once againcan see the ministry of Jesus taking place in our current lives. Wehave a God that has done so much for us, a God who has demonstratedaction throughout history, a God who crowned that action throughJesus dying on the cross, rising again and providing us with aforgiveness that we don't deserve. Isaiah was looking forward to atime when God would act again, where the issue of sin was dealtwith and the people were once again able to move forward withGod.

Jesus did that. He sorted out the issue of sin, and provided away for sin to not be remembered any more. Yet here we are, 21centuries later, still experiencing at times being swept up in thewinds of sin, forgetting sometimes that Jesus dealt with that andshame and guilt compete within us. Maybe what is needed here is forus to remember God, to remember that no other god in history hasacted for God's own people, and turn to God and pray. Then we needto let go of the shame and guilt that holds onto our sins for usand let God deal with them, which God did through Jesus.

To Ponder

• Jesus came so that we might have life (John 10:10). Knowingthat, how do you feel this passage describes life withoutforgiveness?

• We are told in Jeremiah 31:34: "I will forgive their iniquity[wickedness], and remember their sin no more". How would you sharetoday's passage with someone in light of this?

• What does it mean for you to be in a relationship with a Godwho acts in the interests of God's own his followers?