Joy in Forgiveness of Israel’s Sins
“Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can declare all His praise?
Blessed are those who keep justice, and he who does righteousness at all times! Remember me, O Lord, with the favor You have toward Your people. Oh, visit me with Your salvation, that I may see the benefit of Your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, that I may glory with Your inheritance.
We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly. Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; they did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, but rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea. Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake, that He might make His mighty power known. He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up; so He led them through the depths, as through the wilderness. He saved them from the hand of him who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. The waters covered their enemies; there was not one of them left. Then they believed His words; they sang His praise.
They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness,
and tested God in the desert. And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul. When they envied Moses in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the Lord, the earth opened up and swallowed Dathan, and covered the faction of Abiram. A fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped the molded image. Thus they changed their glory into the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, awesome things by the Red Sea. Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach, to turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them.
Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His word, but complained in their tents, and did not heed the voice of the Lord. Therefore He raised His hand in an oath against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness, to overthrow their descendants among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.
They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices made to the dead. Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds, and the plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stopped. And that was accounted to him for righteousness to all generations forevermore.
They angered Him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses on account of them; because they rebelled against His Spirit, so that he spoke rashly with his lips. They did not destroy the peoples, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them, but they mingled with the Gentiles and learned their works; they served their idols, which became a snare to them.
They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons, and shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood. Thus they were defiled by their own works, and played the harlot by their own deeds. Therefore the wrath of the Lord was kindled against His people, so that He abhorred His own inheritance. And He gave them into the hand of the Gentiles, and those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.
Many times He delivered them; but they rebelled in their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity. Nevertheless He regarded their affliction, when He heard their cry; and for their sake He remembered His covenant, and relented according to the multitude of His mercies. He also made them to be pitied by all those who carried them away captive.
Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the Gentiles, to give thanks to Your holy name, to triumph in Your praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord!”
“Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can declare all His praise?” “Oh good!” we think. “Another nice praise psalm. How lovely!” But wait, for very shortly this psalm is going to take a turn into darkness. Evidently, this psalm was written after both the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah had been carried off into exile and before King Cyrus put out the call for the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. Why do I say this? Look at the last few verses:
“Many times He delivered them; but they rebelled in their counsel, and were brought low for their iniquity. Nevertheless He regarded their affliction, when He heard their cry; and for their sake He remembered His covenant, and relented according to the multitude of His mercies. He also made them to be pitied by all those who carried them away captive. Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the Gentiles, to give thanks to Your holy name, to triumph in Your praise.”
We don’t know whether this psalmist is sitting in Assyria or in Babylon, but he obviously is not in Israel. This writer begins by describing God’s wonderful mercies to the Israelites as they have repeatedly reverted to full-bore idolatry, suffering the consequences. Now the Israelites are languishing in exile, and the psalmist is begging God to deliver them again. The psalmist is trusting that God will forgive and deliver as He has in the past.
APPLICATION: Christmas is all about God’s forgiveness and God’s redeeming love. If God were not infinitely loving, infinitely kind, and infinitely merciful, none of us would still be here. God is holy, dwelling in unapproachable light while we are sinful, continually messing up. While we might not burn our children as offerings to Molech or engage in ritual prostitution, our thoughts and our acts still condemn us. Sin requires a blood sacrifice as payment; however, only the blood of a perfect sinless man can possibly make a one-time payment for human sin. At Christmas we celebrate God’s incredible gift of Jesus Christ, born both human and divine and destined to become the ultimate blood sacrifice. But there’s a catch: we must believe that Jesus has come, that He has died, and that He has risen from the dead, conquering death and the grave.
One Bible teacher wanted to demonstrate God’s gift to his students, so he brought in doughnuts and began distributing them to his students. Each time the teacher was about to give out a doughnut, one student who was an excellent athlete had to perform ten pushups to pay for the doughnut. The students themselves were not allowed to do their own pushups. Some students refused the doughnuts, thinking they were sparing their friend; however, the one student performed the pushups anyway. The message was clear: Jesus paid the price for our sins but we have a choice to accept or reject His work on our behalf.
God offers each of us His best Gift-the Gift of eternal life. Will you accept or reject it?
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, let everyone who reads these words choose to accept Your Gift. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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