Psalm 51:14-15
Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Saviour, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.
Yesterday we saw that one aspect of David's response to
being forgiven is a renewed commitment to telling others about his saviour. In today's verses we see a second response ... Singing God's praises.
v.14 isn't the kind of bargaining with God that unbelievers
do in a time of crisis ... 'Get me out of this, God, and I'll do anything you want!' Praising God isn't the penance that David will reluctantly force himself to do in exchange for forgiveness. I imagine that David wants to sing God's praises - after all, he is a psalm-writer and a musician. He loves to celebrate God's righteousness and goodness
in words and songs. But if you remember v.8 you'll remember that he feels crushed by his sin. He is guilty of bloodshed, having ordered the killing of Bathsheba's husband. He cannot sing with joy and gladness to God when his sin hangs heavily over him. But if God will rescue him, deliver him, forgive him and wash him clean, then he will sing with all his heart, at the top of his lungs in gratitude and praise.
Will we do anything less? We who know that Jesus has already died to take away our guilt. Our sin has been atoned for. When we confess it to God and ask for forgiveness it is wiped away forever. There is no reason for us not to sing. And our song will be entirely in praise of God. There's nothing like being confronted by our own sin to remind us that we are not the glorious, strong, successful people we would like to be. We have no reason at all to sing our own praises, or to demand that other people sing our praises. But we have every reason to sing praise to our gracious, loving, righteous, rescuing God.
Let’s praise him as he deserves today!
