Monday, October 28, 2024

Loathsome To Reconciled

I quote from Matthew Henry's Commentary On the Whole Bible, page 624. I will expound on his expounding, to glean the glorious that shines diamond bright from within. Psalm 32 is the topic, with the focus being on the pardoning of sin, with all the necessary elements required to establish right relationship with God. Let's go in together, shall we? And I quote:

Sin makes us loathsome in the sight of God and utterly unfit for communion with him and, when conscience is awakened, it makes us loathsome to ourselves too, but, when sin is pardoned, it is covered with the robe of Christ's righteousness, like the coats of skins wherewith God clothed Adam and Eve (an emblem of the remission of sins), so that God is no longer displeased with us, but perfectly reconciled. They are not covered from us (no; My sin is forever before me) nor, covered from God's omniscience, but from the vindictive justice. When he pardons sin he remembers it no more, he casts it behind his back, it shall be sought for and not found, and the sinner being thus reconciled to God, begins to be reconciled to himself. 

1. Sin is loathsome in the sight of God, and he sees our sin. Have you seen someone curl a corner of their top lip in disgust? Imagine God looking at what you are saying and doing, and recoiling from it in repulsion, this makes us;

2. Unfit for communion with God, because he is holy and cannot, will not, keep us company when we are mischievously disobedient.

3. Alas, when conscience is awakened, when we have that first glimpse at our own revolting ways, and the flood gates open with soul sickening remembrances, we suddenly see what God sees, and we cannot stand ourselves: we discover our own loathsomeness. 

4. But, when sin is pardoned, when we repent, there is remission of sins! Christ drapes his robe of righteousness over our drooping with shame shaking shoulders, covering our wretchedness, so that God is no longer displeased with us, but perfectly reconciled. Think with me, about people, your own family, perhaps your own child, sinning with reckless abandon, followed by a dawning of understanding that they have done wrongly, at the expense of relationship, with you and others. Adam and Eve are our first examples of obvious disobedience, despite knowing God and walking with him too. If they needed to repent to reconcile with God, and if they required covering of their sins, it makes perfect sense that we must repent, and ask for God's gracious covering, through Christ, the perfect sinless Man/God. There is no greater comfort and warmth than to have God wrap us in his loving mercy.

5. Our sins are not covered from us, meaning ... the thoughts of them are frequent visitors, many times unwelcome solicitors knocking at our front door. They want in, to remind us of the dirty road we travelled, and the dust we kicked up that wants to cling and saturate our souls, and;

6. Our sins are not covered from God's omniscience either: does this make you reticent, dear one, and desiring to sin no more? God forgives but does not forget, and neither should we, because when we look back and see how much he has forgiven, how far we have travelled away from wickedness, we appreciate the road ahead, and look forward to the next Canaan as we gradually, leave this one behind. 

7. God could give us what we deserve, with divine vindictive justice. Does this startle you to read, that God is entitled to being vindictive? Is this not a just return? Do you recall the expression, Throw the book at him, referring to a criminal that deserved the full extent of punishment, according to the law? Whose laws, I ask you? Look closely at the Book of Deuteronomy: law was established for the Israelites by God, and the very same laws were originally implemented to stave off evil doers in our civilization ... they are now being dismantled rapidly, as proof that the god of this world is preferred over the Omnipotent God of the Universe, the I Am that I Am, Jehovah. God can do as he likes, and that includes forgiving heinous sin, when a contrite soul repents before him. He can also blast you and I right off the face of the earth, because, well, HE IS GOD ALMIGHTY! 

8. The pardoning of sin by God, who remembers it no more, is the gift of grace, which means unmerited favour. God doesn't hold a grudge, and throw our sins in our face; and neither should we hold a grudge, or remind others of their wrongdoings (accept of course to give them insight into their impact, which is helpful for clearing the air). When someone is sincerely sorry for what they have said or done, and even perhaps what they were considering saying and doing, we must be gracious too, and freely forgive. Repentance includes a change of mind, of heart, of soul, that is reflected in behaviour. Those that know how much they have been forgiven, feel deeply inclined to extend the same favour, to those that have injured them in some way. What a wonderful full circle it is we travel, from sinner to saved! 

NOTE: Consequences follow actions. We don't always escape from natural consequences after sinning, for example: having sex outside of marriage may very well result in the creation of a babe in the womb, clearly a natural and normal consequence. Perhaps a person has "gotten away" with sex without making a baby, many a time, until that one time ... the baby ought not pay for the sins of its parents. The baby deserves a chance at life and relationship too. Consequences are clearly, unavoidable: what we do within the circumstances we find ourselves, speaks loudly to our inner workings. I will leave it at that. 

9. ... the sinner being thus reconciled to God, begins to be reconciled to himself. 

Dear reader, this is the point of no return, the wondrous moment when we walk and talk, communing with God, and understanding he is for us every step of The Way. We see ourselves as he sees us, first as sinners unworthy of his presence, secondly as ashamed repentants, and finally, as children of God that clothes us in the righteousness of his Son, Jesus Christ, of whom the Father is well pleased! This is the coming clean experience each believer has, when we want to emulate our Lord and Saviour. There is a peace that assuredly surpasses all understanding, because we feel at peace with ourselves, or in the word provided by the Father, reconciled, with our own past, and looking forward to our future with holiness as our burning desire for self and other. 

I sure hope reading this post was a valuable use of your time. I throughly enjoyed sharing. I pray for you to see your sin, repent, sin no more, and have an outstanding incomparably wonderful relationship with the God that lovingly designed and crafted you with his mighty and magnificent hands. 

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