Guilty as Charged

A Series on the Psalms – a collection of prayers
Feeling broken from guilt
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Psalm 51 

[Life is filled with emotions. The book of Psalms is a collection of prayers that express our emotions which are the cry of our soul for help and hope. In this series, we will be looking into the Psalms to learn more about ourselves and our Lord.]

  

When I was growing up, my Dad didn’t have to spank me to make me cry. All he had to do was raise his voice. Even though there was no physical pain, I felt the pain of rejection and of a broken relationship with the person who mattered the most to me. David felt the same way with God.

 

He had sinned greatly against God. In the spring when his army went to battle, the great warrior David stayed home. As a result, he had an affair with Bathsheba who became pregnant. When her husband wouldn’t cooperate in David’s cover up scheme, he had him killed. David knew he had sinned. He was guilty as charged!

 

⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.  NIV

 

In his guilt and shame, David begged God to forgive and cleanse him. There was a stain on his life that he couldn’t get rid of by himself. His only recourse was to appeal to God’s mercy and love.

 

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
    because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
    blot out the stain of my sins.     NLT

 

David had been a man after God’s own heart. He had stood up to the Philistines and defeated Goliath. He had led Israel into battle time and again. When he was unjustly persecuted by King Saul who intended to kill him, David didn’t retaliate. But now his sins overwhelmed him.

 

³ For I recognize my rebellion;
    it haunts me day and night.     NLT

 

However, what haunted him the most was the prospect of losing his relationship with God. The thought of being separated from God drove him to make amends.

 

¹¹ Do not banish me from your presence,
    and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.      NLT

 

David realized that he needed God’s forgiveness. In Israel, the normal way for seeking forgiveness was to offer an animal sacrifice. But David knew that wasn’t enough. He needed to change his life.

 

¹⁷ The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
    You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. NLT

 

Sin separates us from God. Only the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross can bridge that chasm; can restore us. Because of Christ, nothing can separate us from God. Paul put it like this to the Roman church.

 

³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.        NIV

 

David was guilty as charged. But even though he knew nothing about Jesus, he understood that nothing could separate him from God’s love. Not even his sin.

 

Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

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