Like I said before, Paul presents
two major pieces of evidence for his case that we’re saved by grace through
faith in Christ alone. The first was Abraham, the physical father of the Jewish
people and (as he states later) the spiritual father of all who believe. Now we
turn to his second piece of evidence: David.
Why did Paul choose a Psalm of
David?
Well, obviously he’s considered by
conventional wisdom to be the greatest king Israel ever had. If you read the
history books of the Bible, every king is compared to him, and none of them
measure up until we get to Hezekiah and Josiah. Nearly all of the Psalms which
name their author cite him as their source, and many of the promises of
Israel’s great future were made to him or about him. It was also commonly understood
(rightly) that the Messiah would be descended from him. There’s a reason why
when someone wanted to address Jesus as the Messiah, they used
the term “Son of David.” Of all the O. T. saints who were considered pivotal to
God’s dealings with his people, he was one of the top three, the others being
Abraham and Moses.
But there’s another reason here
which we can miss. Imagine someone who objects to Paul’s teaching. They might
respond “Sure, Abraham was counted as righteous because he believed in God. But
he was dealing with God before the Law of Moses was given. Once
Moses came along, everything changed. Now we’re under the Law. In order to be
right with God, you have to be circumcised and obey it.”
Now, to be sure, there are
differences between the Old Covenant and the New One. If there weren’t, there
would’ve been no need for the New One at all. All you need to do is read the
book of Hebrews, particularly 12:18-24
to get a great summary of how different they really are, epitomized by what we
can call “The Mountain of Fear” versus “The Mountain of Joy.”
But to bolster his case, Paul cites David,
who was under the Old Covenant, the Law of Moses. David offered animal
sacrifices. He kept the dietary laws. He wrote Psalm
19, which has a wonderful tribute to the benefits of God’s word, which in
those days mainly was the Torah. He loved God’s instructions as given to Moses.
But he needed God’s forgiveness as
much as anyone else. If you see the footnote, you know that Paul is quoting
Psalm 32. The traditional understanding of the 32nd Psalm is that
David wrote it after the episode with Bathsheba and Uriah. Whether that’s true
or not, it certainly is consistent with that understanding. That was David’s absolutely
lowest point in his life as far the Lord was concerned. The “man after God’s
own heart” fell into dereliction of duty, lust, adultery, and finally murder. It wasn’t a
killing on the battlefield, or even a duel gone horribly wrong. David used
Uriah to deliver the message to Joab that contained the orders to kill
this honorable man. This was cold-blooded murder of an innocent man who had not only had
never done him harm, but who was one of his finest and bravest warriors, one of
the “Thirty” (see here,
and notice the last verse).
There was no animal sacrifice for
adultery or murder, and David had committed both. That’s why he said in the 51st
Psalm “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take
pleasure in burnt offerings.” He could've killed a thousand bulls, goats,
rams, and lambs, and it never would've blotted out what he did.
But the Lord did forgive him. He told
David (through his prophet Nathan) that he had "taken away" his sin and would
not carry out the death penalty that the Law called for. Apparently there was a
sacrifice, a way to cover his sin. In David’s day, in his pre-N.T.
understanding, all he offered
to God was “a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart.” And Paul used the 32nd
Psalm to make us grasp that even under the Old Covenant, that was what God was
really looking for. When someone really confessed and repented, the Lord forgave.
What was the result of David’s
confession and repentance? What was his testimony which he offers to us today?
Let’s review:
- Our transgressions are forgiven.
- Our sins are covered.
- The Lord will never count our sin against us.
Remember, the book of Romans is the most complete presentation of the Good News about Jesus.
Once
we place our faith in Christ, once we receive him as our Boss and Savior, we too can testify to this blessedness. David’s sweet song is ours.
Truly Lord Jesus, how blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered, and the one against
whom you’ll never count his sins. How blessed am I.
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