Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
Friends in Christ,
Aesop, the ancient Greek storyteller, once told of a pig who ate his fill of acorns under an oak tree – he was happy and full as he ate and ate and ate – then, when the fallen acorns were gone, the pig started to root around the base of the tree. He dug, scratched, and nibbled at the roots. A crow who had been watching from the safety of a tree, cautioned the pig, "You should not do this. If you keep digging at the roots of the tree, it will wither and die." The pig looked wistfully at the crow but kept digging at the tree roots. He gruffly responded without looking up, "Let the roots die! Who cares as long as there are acorns for me to eat?"
Wait! If the tree dies, there will be no acorns. What a foolish decision!
(1) Actions have consequences. Yes, consequences. Painful consequences. King David, after his egregious sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the death of an innocent husband and child, found himself deep in much deserved grief and guilt. He covered himself with sack cloth and ashes as an outward sign of his sin and foolish choice. It was the lowest of low points for him. His lust cost the lives of others and his personal closeness to God.
But, and this is important for us as it was for him, God did not abandoned David in his sins, terrible as they were. Quite the opposite. God reached out his hand to catch David in his decline, and lift him again to a position of faith. It was God’s grace given to a poor, miserable sinner. It was the consequence of God’s unconditional love for David – just as it is for us.
(2) What can we learn from the experience? While God hates sin, He never gives up on the sinner. Never. David confessed, “A broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”
Let me show you how! J. Allan Peterson, a Christian pastor, has shared the story about a young boy who was consistently late coming home from school. His parents warned him one day that he must be home on time that afternoon, but, as boys will be boys, he arrived later than ever. His mother met him at the door but said nothing. At dinner that night, the boy looked at his plate. There was a slice of bread and a glass of water, not the delicious food that had been set in front his father and mother and sister. He looked at his father's full plate and then at his father, but his father continued to remain silent. The boy was crushed. The weight of his foolishness had a painful consequence. The father waited for the full impact to sink in, then, oddly, quietly took the boy's plate and placed it in front of himself. He took his own plate of meat and potatoes, put it in front of the boy, and smiled at his son. The father proceeded to eat the bread and water. When that boy grew to be a man, he said, "All my life I've known what God is like by what my father did that night. He took my sin and gave me goodness.”
Indeed! The message of the cross is that Jesus took the punishment for our sins – betrayal, abandonment, failure, foolishness and more - when He gave His life for ours on the cross. He paid for the sins we committed. He took our consequences upon Himself. St. Paul, himself a recipient of God’s grace, reminds us, “By grace you have been saved, through faith - it is the gift of God - not of works, so that no one can boast.”
(3) In response to God’s grace, we want to share God’s goodness with others – they, too, sin and need a word of hope. David continued, “Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.”
A story in Preaching Digest tells of a young salesman who was disappointed about losing a big sale, and as he talked with his sales manager he lamented, "I guess it just proves you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." The manager replied, "Son, take my advice: your job is not to make him drink. Your job is to make him thirsty."
It is job – our responsibility – our joy! – to share with others the peace of heart and mind we have when we realize that our sins have been forgiven. It is news simply too good to keep to ourselves.
And, we want, above all else, to praise God for His goodness. David exalted, “O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.”
To help give it perspective (and a smile) Ray Stedman, an exciting, dynamic preacher in the past generation, shared in his book, Folk Psalms of Faith, that a devout Christian business man was in a crowded restaurant and about to begin his meal when a man approached and asked if he could join him. Thinking the person might brighten his day, the man invited him to have a seat. Then, as was his custom, the Christian man bowed his head in prayer. When he opened his eyes, the other man asked, "Do you have a headache?" “No,” the man replied, "No, I don't." The other man asked, "Well, is there something wrong with your food?" "No, I was simply thanking God as I always do before I eat." The man said, "Oh, you're one of those, are you? Well, I want you to know I never give thanks. I earn my money by the sweat of my brow and I don't have to give thanks to anybody when I eat. I just start right in!" After a moment of quiet, the man said quietly, "That's what my dog does too … even though I am the one who feeds him.”
May God’s invitation to bring our sins to the foot of the cross, move us to confess our failures and find His grace, goodness and love. Then, let us, with joy, praise His holy name! Amen.
