Peter Misselbrook's Blog

May 5 2019 - Psalm 51 – A psalm of repentance

The introduction to Psalm 51 sets it in context. David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged for her husband to be killed in battle in an attempt to cover up his sin. The prophet Nathan was sent by God to confront David with his sin and deliver God's word of judgment. This psalm is David's response.

David does not seek to excuse his sin; he recognises that God's judgment is just (v.4). He acknowledges the evil of what he has done and his offense against the God who had chosen him, called him to be faithful and granted him wisdom (v.6). He had sinned wilfully. He is filled with regret and is deeply sorry and ashamed – his sin is continually before him. But he knows that God is full of mercy and compassion and this gives him hope:

Have mercy on me, O God,
   according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
   blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
   and cleanse me from my sin. (vv.1-2)

David seeks forgiveness and cleansing; that God would "blot out his iniquity" so that in God's sight it might be as if he had never committed these terrible sins. But he wants more than that. David recognises that his sinful actions spring from a corrupt heart – one dominated by a desire for self-satisfaction rather than a desire to please God. He longs to be different, transformed, so that he will not fall into sin again and again:

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
   and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
   or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
   and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (vv. 10-12)

He brings his "broken and contrite heart" and "broken spirit" before the Lord and seeks God's healing and transformation; he longs to be holy. He pleads all this not for his own sake alone, but also that he might be able to direct others in the ways that please God.

We may not have committed sins as terrible as those of David, but we are surely aware of countless ways in which we also fall short of all that God calls us to be. All too often we need to make this psalm our prayer. God has shown us the fulness of his love and compassion in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are confident that he is able to forgive us our sin and blot out our transgressions since Jesus bore the judgment that our sins deserve. But we want more than forgiveness, we want to be made new. We know that the day will come when Christ shall return and we will be made perfectly like him; we want more of that likeness now; we want to be holy. We want God, by his Spirit to complete the work he has begun in us, making us like Christ from the inside out and filling our hearts with joy in place of sorrow. This needs to be our constant prayer and our continual passion.

Holy Father, by the work of your Spirit within us, continue the work you began when first you made us aware of our sin and of the forgiveness that can be ours through the atoning work of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Purify our hearts, make us steadfast in obedience and full of infectious joy in the knowledge of our salvation.

May 5 2020 - Ephesians 2:1-22 – One new humanity in Christ

By God's grace and mercy, and through faith in Jesus Christ, the believer has been so united with Christ – joined with him at the hip – that what was true of Jesus becomes true also of us. He was crucified, was dead and buried, but God raised him back to life, a life that can never again be subject to death. God not only raised him up from the grave, he also raised him up to heaven and seated him at his own right hand, in the place of honour, glory and power. This is true also of us, says Paul. We were once dead through sin and dead to God, but God has given us life and has raised us up to a place of honour. We have died with him; we have been raised with him; we shall reign with him. All of this has been accomplished through, by and in Jesus Christ.

In Christ, God has broken down the barriers that once separated peoples. In particular, in Paul’s day, this was the barrier between Jew and Gentile. The covenant promises of God which seemed once to have been confined to the Israelites, have now been extended to all people, regardless of race or class. They have been extended to all in Christ. Paul writes to Gentile Christians, “Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (2:12-13). God’s purpose is to create one new humanity out of diverse peoples by reconciling them to God through Christ and so reconciling them to one another. He is our peace who has broken down every wall.

As I write, I am very conscious of a world divided by hatred, suspicion and warfare. The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians rumbles on despite numerous peace plans over the years; they seem unable to live together. Conflict continues in Iraq and Afghanistan. Syria is being destroyed by civil war with many homeless and forced into refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon. Most of the once significant Christian population have fled or remain in fear for their lives. After a short period of peace and hope for democratic change in Egypt, conflict has flared up as never before with Islamists shot dead in the streets, churches and Christian bookshops attacked and no clear hope for the future.

Yet we cannot afford to give up hope or lose the vision of a world in which warring parties are reconciled and live together as one new humanity in Christ. It may seem an impossible dream, but it is the promise and purpose of God who calls us to preach peace to those who are far off and those who are near.

Listen to this remarkable prophecy of Isaiah, a prophecy proclaimed in days when Egypt and Assyria were the warring superpowers that terrorised Israel: “In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, ‘Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.’” (Isaiah 19:23-25). God is able to break down walls of conflict and reconcile warring factions through Christ.

If we have been united with Christ, let us live in union with him day-by-day and moment-by-moment. And let us proclaim the peace that Christ brings by living in unity and at peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Living God, look with compassion upon our divided world, torn apart by hatred and conflict. Break down the barriers that divide peoples and create one new humanity in Christ according to your promise. Start with us.

Peter Misselbrook