Song 5:1-8:14, 2 Corinthians 9:1-15, Psalms 51:1-19, Proverbs 22:24-25
Today is the 7th day of September welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you today as we do what we do, which is to take the next step forward together and that’s gonna lead us back into the song of songs or the song of Solomon, which we will conclude today. So, Jill joined me yesterday as we did day one of the song of Solomon and she’ll be here today to help us conclude this reading. And, so, let’s dive in. We’re reading from the Voice Translation this week. Song of Solomon chapter 5 through 8.
Commentary:
Okay. Psalm 51 is what we read today, and it is a Psalm of deep repentance and it’s from David and it’s about Bathsheba as we read at the beginning. So, we’ve read this story already, the story of David’s life and his reign. We know that he was a shepherd who came from nothing, killed a giant, became a national hero, had to grow up really, really fast, had to learn to be very resourceful to stay alive once King Saul had decided that he needed to die. So, when the king decided you needed to die…well…typically you die. And David had to run and stay secluded and hidden. And we went through all of that as he ascended to the throne. We watched his reign, and then we watched later in his life, him staying back from battle and being up on the roof and seeing Bathsheba taking a bath and desiring her and wanting her and going and fetching her and…and eventually, you know, having sex with her and she became pregnant, and she was married, and she was married to one of David’s 30 most loyal warriors. Some of the most brave men in the entire kingdom. And we watched David try to cover it up by bringing him back from the battle lines. But, you know, he was faithful and loyal. He wouldn’t even go home because he didn’t want the comforts of home, and he didn’t want the pleasure of his wife while his brothers were laying in a field encamped for battle. And, so, David sent Uriah. That was his name, Uriah the Hittite. He sent him back to battle with a note to that put him on the front lines and he was killed in battle. Nathan the prophet did confront David with a story about a rich man and a poor man and the poor man only had this one little sheep that he loved. It was part of his family like a pet, slept in the bed with him. And the rich man had a guest and didn’t want to go to his own flock, so he took this little beloved sheep and killed it and served it to his guests. And David was so mad, like just flaming with anger until it was clear that he was that man who took that little sheep. And, so, when we read Psalm 51 with that context, we can see that it’s a heart cry repentance, “have mercy on me. Because of your unfailing love wash me clean. I’m fully aware of all that I’ve done. My guilt is staring at me in the face. It’s against you that I have sinned. These are words of deep repentance, words that we should be familiar with. Maybe we don’t have the same kind of story as David, but we all have shame and regret and we all need change, which is fundamentally what repentance is - to change, to go in a different direction, change your mind. This is a necessary part of life, isn’t it? It’s a necessary part of every day, basically.
Prayer:
Father we come into your presence in that place, in the heart, in that space of repentance. We’re all guilty in some sort of way. We need your mercy we need it every single day. And, so, we pray along with David in the Psalm, “create in us a clean heart, O God. Restore within us a sense of being brand-new. Do not throw us far away from your presence. Do not remove your Holy Spirit from us. Give back the deep delight of being saved by you. Let you’re willing Spirit sustain us. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Song:
Create In Me A Clean Heart - Keith Green
Create in me a clean heart, oh God
And renew a right spirit within me
Create in me a clean heart, oh God
And renew a right spirit within me
Cast me not away from Thy presence, oh Lord
And take not Thy holy spirit from me
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation
And renew a right spirit within me
Create in me a clean heart, oh God
And renew a right spirit within me
Create in me a clean heart, oh God
And renew a right spirit within me
Cast me not away from Thy presence, oh Lord
Take not Thy holy spirit from me
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation
And renew a right spirit within me
Create in me a clean heart, oh God
And renew a right spirit within me
Create in me a clean heart, oh God
And renew a right spirit within me
Cast me not away from Thy presence, oh Lord
Take not Thy holy spirit from me
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation
And renew a right spirit within me