Psalms songs for every season part 5

Context is really important and we get that at the beginning of this Psalm and we can learn more about the story of King David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11 and 12. This Psalm is his response and prayer after he realises exactly what he’s done.

Psalm 51:1-6

Holy living begins with a revelation of the seriousness of sin and also us realising that we have sinned, that we have made mistakes.

In v3 David is aware of his sins and doesn’t make excuses and David has sinned against the people and Bathsheba but in v4 he understands that he’s ultimately sinned against God and he sees God’s justice and that His verdict is right. He understands God’s justice but also God’s love, as seen in v1. If God didn’t love, he would be doomed and this prayer would be useless

Holy living begins not only with the revelation of our own personal sin, but also of God’s justice and love.

Psalm 51:7-12

Holy living isn’t just about a momentary prayer we pray, but a sense of being transformed and changed.

David recognised that he desired to do what he wanted to do, not what God wanted him to do. We often talk about freedom to do what we want in our culture but we don’t talk a lot about freedom from desires of things we don’t want to do. In this Psalm David wanted to be changed and transformed and knows God is the only person that can do it. David is willing to be transformed and changed and wants to be in a right relationship with God and not removed from His sight.

Holy living continues with being transformed and changed

Psalm 51:13-19

Holy living begins with repentance, then being transformed and then as we live out holy lives, it begins to affect the world around us.

When people first become a Christian they are passionate about sharing their faith because they realise what it means to be set free. But sometimes as we progress in our Christian walk the danger is we become more ordinary and forget what it means to be forgiven.

Holy living not only impacts the world around us and the words we say but also the life we live. In the Old Testament the only sacrifice for adultery was death. David realised that more than any religious activity God wanted him and his heart.

Holy living can also impact our spheres of influence, David was King of all of Israel and as David gets his life back on track the implications are huge for the people of Israel. And our lives can have impacts on the spheres of influence around us as we live out holy lives.

Psalm 51 is a call to each of us to holy living.