Repentance: Clean Hands, Clean Hearts ~Psalm 51

“The true sense of our sinfulness does not come from measuring the distance between our own conduct and the grandeur of the moral law. Oh no, it is only in the overwhelming presence of the Holy One Himself that we sinners know how utterly sinful we are” (see Isa. 6:1-7, Patrick H. Reardon, Christ in the Psalms, pg. 99).

Read Psalm 51 

            Why is the superscription so important in correctly understanding this Psalm?

Read 2 Samuel 11:26 – 12:1-14

            What were the causes of David’s sin?

·      Not fulfilling his calling (11:1), lust (11:2), greed (12:8), disobedience to God’s Word (12:9).

How can David say in vs. 4 “against you, you only, have I sinned”?

·      Who else did his sin impact? The Army, Bathsheba, Uriah, Joab, their baby.

·      “The confession must be understood within the context of this immediate encounter with the God of purity, truth, and holiness. As the rest of the verse makes plain, the point of this confession is to establish that the speaker has ‘done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge’” (C. Broyles, Psalms, NIBC, pg. 227).

We talked about some of the consequences stemming from how his sin impacted others, so how did he gain wisdom from his sin? (Vs. 6) à By divine revelation!

 “Life has given us two very effective teachers. Both are top-flight instructors, but neither comes cheap. While both are effective, both require something of us. We have to choose one or the other, and if we choose neither, the second will be chosen for us. The teachers are WISDOM and CONSEQUENCES. … Consequences is by far the tougher teacher of the two. Consequences enrollment cost and ongoing tuition are sky-high. Oh, she’ll teach us well, all right—but by the time we learn her lessons, her instruction may have cost us years. It may have cost us our marriage, family, our job, our ministry, perhaps even our life. Consequences have a huge backend cost.” (Wayne Cordeiro, The Divine Mentor, pg. 28-29, © 2007, Bethany House).

Hyssop – shrub w/ stiff, hairy leaves and branches whose surface held liquid well hence its use in sprinkling blood in purification rituals (Lev. 14:1-9) and on the doorposts before the Exodus (Ex. 12:7).

What various synonyms does David use for sin?

·      transgressions (vs. 1) – “rebellion against a norm that defines a relationship”

·      iniquity (vs. 2a) – “crookedness or rebellion”

·      sin (vs. 2b) – “missing a mark, illustrated in Judges 20:16”

o   (Definitions comes from Craig Broyles, Psalms, NIBC, pg. 227).

·      bloodguilt (vs. 14) – for his murder of Uriah, the death of the baby(?)

What inner work does David ask God to do in his life? (vs. 10-12)

·      Pure heart and steadfast spirit

·      The Holy Spirit’s presence

·      The joy of salvation

*How does this apply to our lives today?

What exterior work does David ask God to do in his life?

·      Open up doors for teaching other sinners God’s ways (vs. 13).

·      Interior rejuvenation and cleaning will lead to an exterior praise (vs. 14c-15)

How does David make the logical jump from personal to societal in vss. 18-19?

*What does this Psalm teach us about prayer?

End with “Give Us Clean Hands” song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onGbkeWkA64

Standing and Praying in the Full Armor of God

~Eph. 6:10-20~

“Prayer is when a Christian soldier takes himself to his general, Christ, to beg his assistance, not once only but at any time when necessity urges; not coldly and with his lips only but with a servant spirit; not faintly, as if he feared not the enemy, but watching and attending to this duty with greatest earnestness; not for himself only but also for the whole church, or for God’s whole army and for every one of the saints, so far as he shall be acquainted with their necessities” (David Dickson, Exposition of Ephesians, Glasgow: 1645. From The Reformation Commentary on Scripture: Galatians and Ephesians, IVP © 2011, pg. 405).

-When we read our passage in context we see how Paul gave instructions to the Body of Christ to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (5:21) in their: marriages (5:22-33), in their family life (6:1-4), and in the workplace (6:5-9).

            How does this corporate vision impact how we read 6:10-20?

           

-How does Paul’s prayers for the Ephesians in 1:19-23 and 3:16, 18 prepare them to receive his instructions to “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God” (6:11)?

-Because we have been “marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (1:13) then what does Paul assume we will wield when we pray?

            Where do we see Jesus do this very thing?

-What keeps us from praying “on all occasions”?

-“with all kinds of prayers” is Paul’s way of giving a general description of prayer; and “requests” emphasizes the act of making petitions (6:18; c.f. Phil. 4:6).

-How do you “be alert” or spiritually awake at all times? (Jesus says this too, see Lk 21:36).

-Where can our own prayer lives, or the prayer lives of our churches, grow so to follow Paul’s imperatival command in 6:18?

“You can make prayer your life and your life a prayer while living in a world that needs God’s powerful influence” (See study note on Eph. 6:18 in the NIV Life Application Study Bible, pg. 2141).

-What is Paul’s number one prayer request (6:19-20)?

-It seems that Paul never asked the Ephesians to pray for his release from prison, why?

            -What kind of example does this set for us during the trials we face?

-What would life look like if we prayed “with all kinds of prayers and requests” while wearing the full armor of God and in the Spirit?

-Where do we need to wear “the Good-News-Shoes” (6:15)? (Thanks to our 4 and 3 year old niece and nephew as they taught me this term the other day as they told me/showed me their past week's Sunday school lesson via FaceTime.)