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Verse 3 my bones wasted away through my groaning all day
long (NIV 2011) When
I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. (KJV) For when I kept silent, my
bones wasted away through my groaning all day
long. (ESV 2016) When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. (NLT 2015)
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I.
Covered – vv. 1-2 II. Conviction – vv. 3-4 III. Confession
– v. 5 IV.
Call – v. 6 V.
Confidence – v. 7 V.
Counsel – vv. 8-9 VI.
Contrast – v. 10 VII.
Celebrate! – v. 11
Blessed
– vv. 1-2 Lament/Languish – vv. 3-4 Exonerate
– v 5 Seek
– v. 6 Shelter/security
– v. 7 Educate
– v. 8-10 Delight
– v. 11 |
Worship in Word:
I. Internal: the guilt of unconfessed sin
A. Wasting – 3a
B.
Wailing – 3b
B. Wailing
Though David said he was silent, this
did not mean he shut himself in a room and spoke to no one. Or that he never
prayed for relief.
His “silence” does not imply that he did not pray at
all, but that he did not guilelessly
(v. 2) “confess” his special “transgression.
Fausset, A. R. (n.d.). A Commentary, Critical,
Experimental, and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments: Job–Isaiah: Vol.
III (p. 168). William Collins, Sons, & Company, Limited.
Though David was silent when it came to acknowledging his sin
before the Lord, verse 3 indicates that he was not silent when it came to
acknowledging his pain. It describes the withering utterance emitted from
within his soul, resulting in his “roaring” or “groaning.” The Hebrew word sheagah
is translated as “groaning” or “groaned” in most translations I
consulted. The KJV is very literal here in verse 3. It translates it as
“roaring.” The word literally refers to a lion’s roar. It is translated this
way in Psalm 104:21.
The lions
roar for their prey
and seek
their food from God.
Ps 104:21 NIV
It can be used figuratively in this way as well.
"The
Lord roars from Zion
and thunders
from Jerusalem;
the pastures of the shepherds dry up,
and the top of Carmel withers."
Amos 1:2 NIV
Note God’s roar in Amos had a withering effect!
“...the pastures of the shepherds dry up,
and the top of Carmel withers."
This use of sheagah in these verses and others
refers to the fearsome nature, power,
and effect described by “roaring.” However, this word is also used to
describe the sound or utterances of one in misery.
My God, my
God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you
so far from saving me,
so far from
the words of my groaning?
Ps 22:1 NIV
Psalm 22:1 may come closest to describing David's pain and
his sense of the loss of God’s presence in his unconfessed state. I realize
that Psalm 22:1 prophetically looks forward to our Lord’s suffering on the
cross and His feelings of abandonment by His Father. However, in its immediate
setting, it was David who was feeling this way. But in Psalm 22:1, he was not
suffering for sins he had committed (and neither was our Lord). I am only referring
to the pain and separation David felt.
Worship in Witness:
If David’s recounting of the intense agony he experienced
from unconfessed sin in his life seems foreign to the reader. Or if it sounds a
little over the top – “David, chill out, no one’s perfect.” Then, may I suggest
that they do not understand the essence of who God is, nor the extent of their
depravity? They fail to acknowledge that the Triune God is holy.
15 But just as he who called you is
holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy,
because I am holy."
1 Peter
1:15-16 NIV
And in light of this, they fail to feel the utter revulsion
of sin and the guilt and sorrow accompanying it.
And they
were calling to one another:
"Holy,
holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole
earth is full of his glory."
4 At the
sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was
filled with smoke.
5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am
ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean
lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty."
Isa 6:3-5 NIV
Perhaps one reason for this is the cheap grace dispensed from
many pulpits and lecterns in these last days, leading others to seek forgiveness
without repentance.
Those who make light of sin
never feel its weight.
But the One who bore the weight of our sins on the cross, and
lifted the damning guilt off us, has felt it.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my
bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has
melted away within me.
15 My strength is dried up like a
potsherd,
and my
tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me
in the dust of death.
16 Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of
evil men has encircled me,
they have
pierced my hands and my feet.
Ps 22:14-16 NIV
And He is the only One who is strong enough to lift it and bear it. Bear it on the cross at Calvary!
Worship
in Promise, Prayer, Poem, and Praise
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Prayer
With holy hands, Lord, may I raise
Selfless prayers and sincere praise
And when I sin in this mortal tent
May I always confess it and repent
Always asking joyfully in Your name
For things that increase Your fame
And when I pray Lord, let my lips say
"Not my will, but Your sovereign
way"
~Amen
How to Deal with Guilt
There are two ways we can deal
With the guilt that we feel.
One is to follow man’s ways.
The other is to do what God says.
When we break God’s Law
We can deny, decry, hem, and haw.
And our innocence we can feign
But in our guilt, we will remain.
Or we can confess, and our sins
recognize
And freedom from guilt will be our
prize.
Depth of Mercy as sung by
Justin Carlson
Depth of mercy! Can there beMercy still reserved for me?Can my God His wrath forbear?Me, the chief of sinners, spare?
Depth of mercy! Can there beMercy still reserved for me?Can my God His wrath forbear?Me, the chief of sinners, spare?
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?
A
hymn written by Charles Wesley and adapted and arranged by Gregory Wilbur and
sung by Justin Carlson
Lyrics sourced and adapted from: https://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Depth_of_Mercy/
Video of this version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmOL3C1ipO8
Some historical highlights:
In a letter to Joseph Bradford (1783) Wesley reveals
his personal grieving of God by his "thousand falls," and his only
source of hope for salvation.
- ...have been
reflecting on my past life; I have been wandering up and down between
fifty and sixty years, endeavouring in my poor way to do a little good to
my fellow-creatures; and now it is probable that there are but few steps
between me and death; and what have I to trust to for salvation? I can see
nothing which I have done or suffered that will bear looking at. I have no
other plea than this:
- I the chief of
sinners am,
- But Jesus died for
me.
An interesting ancedote is connected with this hymn,
and is related by Rev. J. Ward in Round and Through the Wesleyan Hymn
Book (1868):
- An actress in one of
the principal theaters, while passing through the streets, heard singing
in a cottage. Intrigued, she looked in and saw a few poor people, one
giving out the lines: "Depth of mercy, can there be Mercy still
reserved for me?" the others singing. Accepting an invitation to
enter, she was much impressed. Securing a copy of a book containing this
hymn, she was led to give her heart to God. Her theatrical manager called
her to take part in a new benefit play the following week. She did not wish
to do it, but upon his urging, consented. At her first appearance on the
stage she sang not the song she was supposed to sing, but "Depth of
Mercy." The sensation created was remarkable.
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