Pastor's Ponderings: Old Testament bible study of Psalm 51 (March 26, 2026)

March 26, 2026:  Thursday Bible Study on Psalm 51

Dear friends in Christ,

I am writing tomorrow's Psalm Study a day early. As I approach this weekend there are many obligations for Church, prep for music and rehearsals for Gospel Music on Palm Sunday, a conference meeting for the Kino conference (all our parishes in this part of the state), and a meeting with David Pavesic and Bishop Hutterer on Saturday afternoon to speak with them about American and the difficult time we are having to make ends meet, as well as what is apparently a different kind of proposal from two mission congregations to purchase our property and allowing us to stay on site with them, as three independent congregations.  Be sure to come on Palm Sunday, participate in the healing service, and prepare for the entrance into Holy Week, as well as staying after service for conversations about that and other possibilities as we move forward together. Refreshments will be provided after church, and there is also a coffee and donut hour before service while our Gospel Choir rehearses for worship. Next week there will be no Psalm Study on Maundy Thursday.

I am hoping that you have some familiarity with Psalm 51. We have been using a version of it for our time of confession by singing it using a Jay Beech musical arrangement during Lent. The Psalm offers words of confession, hope in the faithfulness of the LORD, and reaching out to receive His abundant Grace as we move forward in our lives of faith. We all need to understand that this Psalm may well be related to David's illicit affair with Bathsheba and causing the death of her faithful husband as he fought on behalf of David and Jerusalem. We need to know that without our Savior, confession and repentance would never be enough to bring God's saving grace to us, even though our contrite hearts are attempting to help us find the place where God would be pleased. That place is now only through faith in God's Son! It is apparent that God can set aside a person's sin and brokenness in order that His plan for all of creation can continue to move forward, and that it will allow for those who were sinful, like King David, to continue on in life, but there will be consequences that are extremely difficult to overcome, like the death of David's and Bathsheba's infant son.  Such burdens continued in the lives of the faithful who had sinned in the Old Testament, but through Christ we are promised that He will carry our burdens of brokenness and give to us instead the burden of His Love! The time of writing for this Psalm falls somewhere between the time of Jeremiah and the time of the return of the Jews after their exile, under the guidance of Nehemiah and Ezra, under the oversight of Cyrus, the Persian King. In David's time, the wall of Jerusalem was intact until much later during the exile of Judah under the crushing power of the Babylonian nation. We all know that it is never enough to repent and make penance when we are in a marriage and have been unfaithful. We may repent and try really hard to bring healing to our broken relationship, but flowers or a new car is never enough to undo the damage that has been done. It is only through the Grace of God that the FATHER in Heaven is willing to forgive, AND FORGET, our sin through the action of our Savior on the Cross. Through Christ our sin is erased, our brokenness disappears as if it was never there. When we are forgiven like this, then it becomes our driving force to proclaim Gods' Love for all His children. I frequently see a man walking downtown who carries a sign calling for repentance and submitting to Christ. I wave and honk my horn every time I see him, because I know the power of Christ's forgiveness in my own life. Yet I still need to confess and allow myself to come before my Savior with a contrite heart. As we approach the end of Lent, please be certain to offer your own confession, and come to know the joy of God's Love for us all on Easter Morning.

If you are coming to lunch this Friday, and need a ride, I will call on Thursday. You are all set if you have signed up to come. See you there, and on Palm Sunday too!!

With the Love of Christ, Pastor Kim.