Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1892-04-29
A PENITENT'SP YER
LESSON v, SECOND QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, MAY I.

II. 10 Comm cntnry by the rev u. NJ.
Stearns
|. Have mercy upon me, O God &C
cording to thy lovingkindness, according
unto the multitude of thy tender mercies
blot out my transgressions This is the
third of the seven penitential psalms, the
Others being the vi, xxi, eli, cxxx, cxliii,
xxxviii. The title gives the circumstances
which led David to write this psalm, and
the whole story is found in II Sam. ri and
xii. Let all consider the true significance
of the seventh commandment as taught by
our Lord Jesus, and let only those who are
not guilty throw stones.
g wash me thoroughly from mine in
EQUITY, and cleanse me from my sin" Like
the leper who said, Lord, if Thou wilt
Thou canst make me clean" (Math. viii, .,
he believes that the Lord can cleanse him.
and he wants it done thoroughly How
such a word as | John i, 8, would have
comforted him, "lf we confess our sins He
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteous
ness" But he had virtually the same
teaching in Lev. vi IL.
3. "For acknowledge my transgressor
and my sin is ever before me-" only nc
knowledge thine iniquity that thou hast
trangreSsed against the Lord thy God,'
was Gods plea with Israel 10y jeremiah
| DER. iii, 13) David does this, not making
light of it nor seeking to hide either his
inquity, the root of all the trouble or his
transgrcssion in which he overstepped the
line, or his sin in which he came short of
the mark EX. XXXiv, y
4. Against thee thee only, have sinned,
and done this evil in thy sight, that thou
mightest be justified when thou speakest.
! l,,,, Il
Nathan reproved him he said, II have
sinned against the Lord" Ql Sam xii. 49,
When Joseph was sore tempted instead of
yielding as David did, he said, "How can
do this great wickedness and sin against
God?" Gen. xxx, 81
D. Behold, | was shapen in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me-"
David recognizes sin in his nature, he did
not believe that we are by nature holy, but
as Paul testifes by the Spirit, 'By nature
the children Of wrath, even as others"
(Eph. ii. 81. "By one man sin entered the
world, and death by sin; and so death
passed upon all men" THE carnal mind is
enmity against Cod (Rom V, IL, viii y
g. Behold, thou desirest truth in the in
ward parts, and in the hidden part thou
shalt make me to know wisdom" There
is IA something in us known in Scripture
the heart" Il Chron. xviii, O. xxx, ls)
And it is written, 81, the Lord. search the
heart, try the reins,"
Z Purge me with hyssop and shall be
clean, wash me and shall be whittier than
snow" God made provision for the cleans
ing of the people whom He redeemed from
the bondage of Egypt, and to understand
this verse one should be familiar with the
story of the leper and the two little birds
of Lev. xiii and xiv. and also the red heifer
story of Mum xix. In the cleansing of
each case. the leper and the deflement con.
tiacted by the way the unclean one could
do nothing for himself until pronounced
clean by the priest. The hyssop was used
to sprinkle the blood, or the ashes and
water which symbolized and typifed the
blood of Jesus Christ (See Lev xiv. 4. Z
, Mum. xix Is, and compare Isa i, ls.)
S MAKE me to hear joy and gladness,
that the bones which thou hast broken
may rejoice" Ones very bones are fig
uratively said to suffer because of sin
My bones waXed old through my roaring
all the day long" "Ncither is there any
rest in my bones, because of my SIM (Ps
Xxi, 3; XXXviii, - And of Christ, our
e substitute, bearing our sins, it is written
II am poured out like water and all my
bones are out of joint. My heart is like
wax. it is melted in the midst of my bow
els" 0's xxi, lH How fearful is sin thus
to affect the Holy One of God
0 Hide thy face from my sins and blot out
all mine iniquties." God said concerning
Israel, Mine eyes are upon all their ways
they are not hid from my face, neither is
their iniquity hid from mine eyes CJer
xvi ~ But Hezekah could say after his
repentance, Thou hast cast all my sin.
behind thy back" lisa. xxXvii, 10, and con
corning Israel when she shall turn to God
it is written, 81 have blotted out us a thick
cloud thy transgressions, and as cloud
thy sins" Thou wilt cast all their sin:
into the depths of the sea" lisa. xiii, p
xiv, 81; Mic, vii, l9)
10 Create in me clean heart, o God
and renew right spirit within me-" This is
going to the root of the difficulty. We
sometimes hear of Il change of heart; if by
that is meant a new one instead of the ole
sinful one, all is well, for the old cannot be
improved (Rom viii, D. We must b,
born from above (John ill., B. margin) anC
receive nature we never had before, ever
the divine nature I'll Pet i. y. before we
can enter the kingdom of God. This Coo
is ready to do for us but He wants us t.
ask Him (Ezek. xxXvi, 20. y. 30 What
is worth having is surely worth asking
for.
II. Cast me not away from thy pres
ence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from
me" Moses prayed, IF thy presence Z,
= not with me carry us not up hence Anc
the Lord said, My presence shall go will
thee, and will give thee rest" (EX. XXXiii
II. 10 The strength and comfort o
Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Jeremiah and al
the servants of God was His presence Will
them (EX. iii. II; Josh. l. 3, Judg vi l6
Jer i, S, 100 And to us our Lord has said
40 am with you Away" (Math xviii
2D, He has promised never to leave us
and has told US that the Spirit will abid
in us (John xiv, 10, so that if we will w
!, may rejoice in the abiding of the Father
! Son and Spirit in us (John xiv, II, 23).
~ "Restore unto me the joy of thy sal
walton, and uphold me with thy free spr
r it," Salvation and the joy of salvation ar
I two different things; the last we may lose
but not the first. Many have the first VIII
have not the last. Receiving Jesus, we hav
life and are children of God (John i, IL; iii
lG) but assn rance and Oy comes by rest