There is an enormous difference between what the psalmist could know and what the informed Christian can know. This lesson will make a serious effort to distinguish between what the psalmist could not know and what the informed Christian can know.
It is important that Christians not impose Christian views/understandings on a psalmists words, phrases, or thoughts.
The problem is in the foundation of personal spiritual crisis. It is the same in every age. What problem? It is the problem of feeling that I alienated God when I become aware of how bad I am and how terrible my acts have been. I am so upset because of my own mistakes that I am certain God wants nothing to do with me.
It is not uncommon for a person to feel (emotional reaction) he/she is beyond Gods consideration or forgiveness because of a past wrongdoing or a past lifestyle. Often a person ridden by personal guilt is certain that his/her past failures are too many in number or seriousness for God to forgive. Thus it is just for the person to suffer the consequences of his/her ethical or moral failings. There is little to no consciousness of divine mercy or grace.
Consider the problem from both an Israelite and Christian perspective. First, look from an Israelite perspective. Read 2 Samuel 11 through 12:15. The Jewish law given by God was quite specific in Exodus 20:14 and Deuteronomy 5:18. Both the man and the woman were subject to the death penalty (Leviticus 20:10). This was not an unknown to King Davidit was in the very foundation of Jewish law! I think it is in the foundation of Davids response to NathanI have sinned against the Lord. This act went beyond the violation of a marriage! David offended more than Uriahs marriage! Why else would Nathans response to David be, The Lord has taken away your sin; you shall not die. David knew how wickedly he acted in the entire ordeal!
Focus on the magnitude of King Davids offense and Gods reaction. Realize it is okay for you not to have all the answers or explanations. God is beyond all of us! Just focus attention on Nathans response to Davids sins. God worked even in Davids failure. David, even as he received mercy, paid consequences for wrong doingjust not the ultimate consequence. However, forgiveness was Gods act, not Davids worthiness.
Second, from the Christian perspective, consider the apostle Paul. Few Christians understand what an evil man Paul was prior to conversion. Read what he said about himself in that period in Acts 26:9-11. A Jew who would kill a fellow Jew, a man who was hostile, a man who helped imprison people who belonged to God, and a man who tried to intimidate people in a place of worshipregardless of his motivesis a mean man to be feared! Consider the reaction of Jerusalem Christians to the converted Paul in Acts 9:26, 27.
Focus on how bad Paul was prior to conversion, and how blown away he was by Gods mercy. Paul owned his pre-conversion behavior, and it was fine for God to use him as an example of divine mercy. God was glorified, and that was what was important!
The challenge: How does a person deal with what he formerly did when he learns better? How does a person forgive self for what he/she did? If the person struggles with forgiving self, can the person accept Gods forgiveness? Is Gods forgiveness greater than our ability to forgive self? Is that not a primary faith issue in any age?
The problem with forgiven sin lies in our willingness to forgive ourselves, not in Gods ability to forgive us. The problem originates in our view of ourselves as being so needy, not in Gods ability to forgive. It is truly a faith problem. We tend to balk at anything that is beyond human ability. We tend to think that if it is too big for us it is too big for God.
Can you imagine Davids shock when Nathan said, The Lord has taken away your sin.... Read how overwhelmed the apostle Paul was at Gods mercy in 1 Timothy 1:12-14. His wickedness served as an example of Gods goodness revealed through Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 1:15, 16)that was okay with Paul, in fact it was appropriate.
Stress neither David nor Paul would have expected/anticipated Gods merciful reaction.
The irony: The more mature in godliness a person becomes, the more indebted to God the person realizes he/she is. Thus, as godliness increases in the person, the problem increases. As a result, the need for faith increases. This struggle never endsawareness simply increases and intensifies the problem!
We are comfortable with God forgiving what WE consider little offenses. We struggle with what WE regard to be our big offenses. The more spiritually mature we become, the more aware we become of how huge our offenses were/are.
Psalm 6 revealed the struggle. The psalmist realized he had offended God. He is convinced his offense has alienated God, and he felt the alienation. He felt the alienation so deeply, he pled for the Lords healing. He felt the alienation so deeply that his bones were out of joint and life itself was a wreck.
The psalmist came to awarenessperhaps consequences caught up with him; perhaps he was trying to figure out why so many things were so bad for him. Determining the spiritual component of situations is not simple!
However, as bad as things were, the psalmist knew God was his answer, not his problem. Hehis behaviorwas the problem, not God. God was the source of rescue and saving. The Christian is so accustomed to thinking of salvation (saving) as a spiritual act that delivers from sin, that he/she too rarely thinks of the act of saving as being a rescue from any form of dangerous threat. The only One who could rescue the psalmist from his dilemma was Godnot other people nor burying himself in some physical pursuit of personal interest. If the understanding is correct, the psalmist basically said, How can I do anything for You if I am dead? Does that not indicate how serious the psalmist considered the struggle?
The answer to the basic situation the psalmist faced did not lie in God. God was the source of help, not the reason for his problems. It is easy to turn to other sources than God in an attempt to find a quick fix.
(Notice death is a reality, but also an unknown.)
The concepts of life after death, the eternal judgment, the eternal heaven, or the eternal hell were not yet revealed/developed.
The psalmist found the struggle exhausting. He cried so much his bed swam, and the chair he sat on was waterlogged. His eyes were swollen from crying. His enemies made fun of his reaction to his distress.
Confronting ones own weaknesses and ethical/moral failings is an exhausting situation. It was not and is not a simple experience.
Thus, he did not turn to people (an indication of how alone he felt?), but to God. He wanted nothing to do with wicked people. As much as he hurt, he knew God listened to him. He knew ultimately God would vindicate him.
Personal pain must not prevent us from turning to God. Neither must we turn away from God if the pain exits.
Note: This was not a God crises, but a me crisis. The psalmist was powerfully blaming himself, not God. It takes a remarkable person whose faith in God has some depth to separate a me crisis from a God crisis. Unfortunately, most of us allow a me crisis to become a God crisis. If ones faith is in me and my acts and goodness, our me crises are destined to become a God crisis.
Stress the difference between a me crisis (the source of the crisis is the result of me being physical and making wrong choices) and a God crisis (the source of the crisis is God).
Stress how easy it is to transform a me crisis into a God crisis. If we decide our problems result from divine punishment instead of bad human choices, a me crisis quickly becomes a God crisis. God quickly is blamed for poor human choicesGod easily becomes the whipping boy for our problems.
As a matter of perspective, think about how blessed you are as a Christian to have a basic understanding of the afterlife that the psalmist did not have available to him. What a blessing to understand that death does not separate a person from God and His ability to reward!
To understand how much God cares about us (a) in what He did in Jesus Christ and (b) in the eternal life after death is a huge blessing. Read 1 Peter 1:10-12.
For Thought and Discussion
1. In what is there an enormous difference?
There is an enormous difference in what the psalmist could know and what the informed Christian knows.
2. State the problem.
The problem exists when awareness of how evil my behavior and attitudes were causes me to conclude I have alienated Godam beyond divine forgiveness.
3. Illustrate the problem with King David and Bathsheba. With the apostle Paul.
Both realized the enormity of their sins after they committed the sins. Both benefitted because God is merciful.
4. State the challenge.
How do we deal with the fact of our sins when we are spiritually mature enough to realize how enormous those sins are? How do we deal with the problem of forgiving ourselves?
5. When does this challenge become an overwhelming shock?
It becomes a shock when we begin to realize how huge Gods mercy is.
6. State the irony.
The irony: The more spiritually mature we become, the more we realize (a) how huge our sins were/are and (b) the enormous nature of Gods mercy/grace.
7. What did Psalm 6 reveal? What was and was not the problem?
Psalm 6 revealed the struggle. We are the problem; God is not the problem.
8. State how the psalmist emphasized the struggle was exhausting.
He cried until his bed swam. His couch was soaked with his tears. (Maybe his way of saying that he cried night and day.) He cried until his eyes were swollen.
9. What kind of crisis was Psalm 6? When do me crises become a God crisis?
The psalmist knew it was a me crisis, not a God crisis. A me crisis is caused by human, physical behavior. A God crisis is a faith crisis caused by what is perceived to be divine behavior.
10. What are you asked to consider as a matter of perspective?
You are asked to consider the blessings involved in having a basic understanding of life after death.
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 3