Be Still And Know

READ: Psalm 51.1-2 NLT 'Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.' The background to this psalm is well known. King David had committed adultery and he had been found out. The penalty for this crime in the Jewish law was death. However, David repented of his sin and God showed him generosity in forgiving his wrongdoing. To suggest that David was relieved would be a piece of ridiculous understatement. This psalm is both a celebration of God’s forgiveness and of the new life which opened up for him as a result. The evil one will always seek to persuade us that sin is not actually that serious. Everyone does it and we really shouldn’t beat ourselves up about it. And, in any event, the sins which other people commit are far worse than anything we would ever think of doing ourselves. Just look at some of the stories in today’s newspapers. In these, and a thousand other ways, we seek t