Ps. 17
In Ps 17:3a David says, “You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you WILL find nothing”. I’m not sure what his intention with the change of tense was, if indeed it was intentional on his part. But it made me think about how we, though we have been guilty of sin, will not be found guilty of said sin because God has removed our guilt. So, though it was there, He will not find it.
David goes on to talk about avoiding transgression and walking God’s path without slipping. Of course, we all know that didn’t happen all the time in David’s life. And likewise it does not with us, despite our efforts and desires. But first, the desire and the effort are indeed there. And second, there is One who did walk a perfect path and because He abides in us and we abide in Him, His perfect life is seen as ours in our Father’s eyes. What a beautiful Truth!!
Ps. 19
I like David’s prayer at the end of this Psalm, and I like how the CSB translation states it. “Who perceives his unintentional sins? Cleanse me from my hidden faults. Moreover, keep your servant from willful sins; do not let them rule me. Then I will be blameless and cleansed from blatant rebellion. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.” (Ps 19:12-14). The sins we do intentionally and the sins we aren’t aware of – God covers it all. And it is because of His forgiveness and His cleansing of our hearts that our words and thoughts and feelings can be acceptable to Him. My Redeemer, indeed.
John 9:24-41
This is a very interesting passage. Jesus makes a very spiritual point about a very spiritual problem through a very physical man with a very physical problem. And it wasn’t just that this man was blind and Jesus opened his eyes so he could see. The spiritual side of that incident was quite plain to the man who had been blind, while the learned Bible scholars, the so-called disciples of Moses, could not see it at all. The no longer blind man spoke the plain and simple, very obvious truth to them, and they shamed him as an uneducated sinner! They refused to see anything other than what they wanted to see. But this “sinner”, who regained his physical sight, also gained spiritual sight and was saved from sin, while the “spiritual leaders”, as Jesus pointed out in verse 41, refused to see that they were indeed blind, and so remained both blind and lost in their sin. Oh, the irony of God!