Psalm 51:6

Psalm 51:6

When did my sin begin?

This is a curious verse, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone preach on it or even mention in it before! The teaching of my childhood and youth was based on the King James Bible which translates the verse rather differently, “Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.” In fact, I have checked 27 versions of this text and only 2 mention the womb, the rest use variations of the idea of “inner parts” or the inner man. (By the way, if you have an NIV and are wondering what I am talking about, some versions do not mention “innermost part” but substitute this for womb. Mine reads, “Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.”) So, who is right? What is David saying here? 

Firstly, this is a continuation of the previous verse that tells us that we were sinful from the moment of conception. In Judaism, no one is born a sinner! The correct translation of verse 5 reads, “Behold, with (or in) sin I was formed, and with (or in) sin my mother conceived me.” The question is, to whom the sin is attributed, to the speaker or the act of conception, or maybe the people doing the conceiving? In Judaism, it must be one of the last two. According to commentaries, the reference is either the act of intercourse, which, while not a sin in and of itself, is a source of many sins, or the parents who conceived the writer and who have, no doubt, committed many sins. Either way, the idea is that it is no wonder that the writer is a sinner, given that he has been exposed to sin since his conception.

The New Testament of our Bibles, especially Ephesians talks of us being “chosen in Him before the creation of the world.”Ephesians 1:4. Psalm 139:16 tells us that, “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.” God already knows who we are and the course that our life will take. He knows that there are those of us who will respond to Him by faith, who are “chosen” from birth. Is it too much to ask that this process actually begins in the womb, that the seed of His truth is planted, even before we are born? Think on!

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 4:1 Smear campaigns

Psalm 4:1    Smear campaigns   The background to this Psalm is so familiar; David is being slandered and maligned by his detractors.  It seems that some calamity has befallen the nation and the king is getting the blame! Lies are being told, a smear campaign has begun, and the reputation of the Sovereign is under threat.  As usual, if something goes wrong, culpability is laid at the feet of the one in charge.  David, quite rightly, turns to the Lord his God and prays for relief and for mercy. The Satan is a master of such campaigns and his emissaries gleefully turn on Christians in leadership positions although the whispering campaign can affect all of us. The whispering starts in our own heads, but it can also come from the lips of our detractors. It goes something like this: - You’re the reason it went wrong You messed up again You should have seen it coming Surely you know better You are not worthy You don’t know what you’re doing Someone else ought to be in c
Read more

Psalm 74:16

Psalm 74:16 God established the sun and the moon “ In  the beginning   God created   the heavens   and the earth.   2  Now the earth was formless   and empty,   darkness was over the surface of the deep,   and the Spirit of God   was hovering over the waters. 3  And God said,   “Let there be light,” and there was light.   4  God saw that the light was good,   and he separated the light from the darkness.   5  God called   the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”   And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” These, so familiar, words from Genesis 1 remind us of who is in charge! There would be no light without God. There would be no day or night without God. There would be no earth without God. And there would have been no living things unless God had created order out of chaos. The sun, moon and stars would not be fixed in their orbits without God and you and I would not exist unless He ordered our conception. It is because we see God as glorious, righteous
Read more
Psalm4:8        I will lie down and sleep                Th ere are times, in the life of all believers, when we no longer have control of situations. We can do nothing more. We have given our all, we have tried every possible solution and now it is out of our hands. As someone has wisely said, “It is time to let go and let God.” If we truly trust Him, if our faith will allow us, we can turn our backs on our enemies. We can block our ears to the threats. We can ignore the lies and the deceit and say,  “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I should imagine that the devil, having sent a hurricane our way is not amused, when we settle in our beds in the midst of it all and drift off into a peaceful sleep! But that is our right and privilege once we let the Lord God Almighty take control. These spiritual attacks are like whirlwinds, they blow with terrifying intensity and threaten to turn us upside down; the disciples witnessed one of thes
Read more