Psalm 6 | Wednesday Bible Study

Welcome back to another Wednesday Bible Study. This year we have started studying the book of Psalms. We are working our way through this delightful book in the center of the Bible. It is found in the Old Testament and in it we find psalms written by Moses, David, and Solomon. Chapter six in Psalms is a Psalm of David. It is the first of seven penitential psalms. These penitential psalms were recognized by the ancient church as dealing primarily with sin and forgiveness of sin. If you have not taken the time to read these 10 verses, please take the time to do so. Feel free to take notes, cross-reference verses and study this further on your own. Let's begin.

Verse 1 David opens the prayer up with a plea for mercy. He is requesting God not to reprimand him when the LORD is angry. It has been said that correcting a child when one is angry will cause that child to become bitter and angry, too. If one has an opportunity to cool off, then they can reason with the child and the child will then learn the lesson and hopefully not do it again. David is asking God not to correct him in God's hot displeasure. This is David acknowledging that he had sinned. He is not pleading innocent. He is not making excuses. He just wants God to be gentle with him right now.

The Bible tells us God corrects those He loves. Proverbs 3:12 "For whom the LORD loveth He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." Hebrews 12:6 "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."

Verse 2 David asks God for mercy. He tells God, "I am weak." Now that David admits to sinning, he can see that he was operating in the flesh and our flesh is always weak. Do you remember when Jesus was talking to Peter? They were in the garden of Gethsemane and Jesus was going to be crucified. It was just a short time before Jesus was arrested. Peter wanted to die with Jesus but now Peter gives in to slumber in the garden when he should have been watching Jesus and praying with Him. In Matthew 26:41, Jesus said, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." We all know that Peter denied Christ three times right after Jesus was arrested. David recognizes his flesh is weak. 

David says his bones are "sore vexed" which literally means his "entire being" were vexed. Hebrews thought such suffering was connected directly with sin. This then would indicate David is begging for mercy because he is asking for forgiveness of sin.

Verse 3 Have you ever wondered how long you would suffer? Did you ever ask God, "How long?" David is sorrowful over the wrong he had done. He feels that separation from God because sin always separates us from our Holy Father. He longs to feel close to God again. It is not just a plea for God's pardon, but he longs to have that fellowship again. David wants God to mend their broken relationship. 

Verse 4 David asks God to return to him. David was a man of worship. He loved God and was devoted to God but that did not give him a pass on sin. He still had to confess it to God and allow God to cleanse him and set him back in right standing. David says "Save me for your loving kindnesses sake." He is calling out God's character now. David is saying in essence, "God I need you to save me. I know you are kind and loving and merciful. Please let me feel Your presence again."

Verse 5 This verse is interesting. David begins to talk about death and dying. Sin always leads to death. Remember in the garden of Eden when God told Adam not to eat the fruit of a specific tree? Genesis 2:15-17, "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." The reason they died the day they ate of it was it immediately separated them from God. Sin always creates a schism between us and God. They did not die immediately upon one bite of the fruit, but they did begin to die because of the separation of sin. Disobedience is a sin and they willfully disobeyed God. They heard what God said and knew what the instructions were, but when they heard another voice that sounded more appealing they went with the decision to do what they wanted to do. Proverbs 14:12 says, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."

James 1:15 tells us when sin is finished it brings forth death. David is making a case for his forgiveness. He tells God that when we die we no longer remember God. We are not able to praise God in the grave. We can no longer thank God for what He has done and is doing when we die.  In Psalm 115:17 it reads, "The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence." David is basically saying that he wants fellowship again with God, so he can praise and worship God like he had before.

Verse 6 David is not just sorry that he has sinned against God, he is sorrowful. He has been covering his bed with tears. He is exhausted from the groaning and grief he feels. He has been wrestling with this for a while. He is weary. He wants God to be merciful to him and deliver him. Can you feel the wrestling he is going through in the spirit? He wants to be reconnected with God.

Verse 7 David continues to speak of his grief and how it is affecting him. In another Psalm, David shares his heart about how he is feeling. Psalm 31:9 "Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul, and my belly (body)." This grief in verse seven is overtaking his whole being. He does not want to live without God's fellowship.

Verse 8 David begins to speak to the sinners around him. He is telling them to leave him alone. He no longer wants to be a part of what they are doing. Sometimes we have to cut ties with people. Sometimes we have to separate ourselves from workers of iniquity. If we continue to spend time with them and learn their ways, it will not be long before we find ourselves separated from God. 2 Corinthians 6:18-18, "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."

Verse 9 David says, "God heard my prayer of repentance and He has forgiven me." He knows God received his prayer. He knows God is listening. He wants us all to be saved and repent from our sinful ways. God wants to save all of us from the destruction of doing whatever we want. Matthew 7:13-14 says, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Just because something is popular or it looks like a lot of people are doing it, does not mean it is Biblical or pleasing to God. We must pray and ask God to help us know what to do and how to do it. Many will find the wide gate and the broad way to hell. The straight gate and narrow path that leads to life is less crowded. Not as many people want to sacrifice anything for God. Not many are willing to stand out or be different in an effort to be closer to God.

Verse 10 Victory at last! David has received God's pardon. He is forgiven. He is cleansed. David prays all his enemies will be ashamed and greatly troubled. He says they will turn around and suddenly feel ashamed. We know the devil is our enemy. When God forgives us in His grace and loving kindness, we know the enemy is angry and has no choice but to turn around and run. He is no match for God and he never will be. James 4:7, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

The Bible tells us, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," according to 1 John 1:9. We are all imperfect human beings. No one goes through this life without sinning. We read in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." If you have sin in your life, please tell God. He already knows. Just tell Him what you have done and ask Him to forgive you. The Bible promises you will be forgiven and He will put you back in right standing with Him again. He longs to be in relationship with His children. Be like David, and admit you have sinned and ask God to forgive you, and just like God forgave David; He will also forgive you.

I hope you have enjoyed today's Bible study. It is such a blessing to dig deep into the Scriptures and break the Bread with you all. Share today's blog post with someone you think could benefit from today's lesson. Feel free to leave a comment below, or you can email me if you would rather do that. I appreciate all the feedback and kind words you all share with me. Have a blessed day!

~Bridgett Owens

Ezra Chapter Nine | Bible Study Wednesday

Welcome back to another Wednesday Bible study session here on the blog. We are in the book of Ezra, chapter nine. We are nearly through this study and I have learned so much from this book! If you have not taken the time to read through the chapter, please do so. This is a very short chapter, only 15 verses. As you may recall, I am not doing a line by line study. If you have already read through this small chapter but it has been a while, you may want to glance over it again to refresh your memory. I am going to break the chapter into two parts. Let's begin.

Verses 1-4 Israel's Sin

The first four verses of chapter nine is gripping. The princes came to Ezra and told him what the people of Israel had done. They had sinned and it was not a small slip-up. God had told them to stay to themselves, and not intermarry with other cultures. God knew that when they began to mingle with the people of other cultures, they would easily become influenced by their ways of doing things and how they served idols and false gods. The only way to prevent this was to stick to marrying within their own selected people. The princes reported to Ezra how the Israelites, the priests, and the Levites were mingling with the pagan people: Canaanites, Hittites, Perizites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and the Amorites. This news was so shocking to Ezra he tore his clothes and holy mantle as he pulled out his hair and ripped his beard from his face. He sat down completely overwhelmed by the graveness of this great transgression.

It was not just that they disobeyed God; they dishonored Him by marrying pagans and accepting their immoral, unethical practices, and no longer prioritized a relationship with God. Friends, we see this today. The culture we live in is so loud and in our faces all of the time, that we have to find time to spend with God. We have to literally carve out part of our day to be with Him. The ways of the world have crept into churches all across this country and it is sometimes very hard to tell who is in the world and who belongs to God. We must wake up. This is a dangerous time to be in. Jesus said, in 2 Timothy 3:1, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come." We are living in those perilous times today. If we study the world, listen to the world, do as the world does, before long we will forget what God has told us and we will give in to fear, doubt, and disbelief. Our hearts belong to God but when we look around us and see the bad, the scary, the dangers we will pull away from the only source of Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace we have.

Verses 5-15 Ezra Confesses Israel's Sin

Please note that these last verses of the chapter is how Ezra reacted to the news about the sins of God's people. Next week we will take a look at what Israel does, but I want to emphasize something here. We all have to give a personal account for any sin we encounter. What does sin do to us? What does it make us feel like? What actions do we take? We can see very clearly that Ezra took it seriously. He is not playing when he tears his clothes and pulls his hair from his head and his beard. He is mourning. He is grieving. He knows how serious this is and what it means to God to have His chosen people lusting after pagan nations that refuse to know or serve the one true God.

Ezra starts out in humility. He is so embarrassed to even face God with this issue. He starts recounting the history of God's people. He admits they have been a sinful nation from the beginning. Everyone, other nations, heathen people, royalty, you name them, they have witnessed the shameful way the children of Israel behaved year after year through the ages. Now, Ezra says, God gives grace so that they are not all destroyed, a remnant escaped, and a place was given to them in His holy place so that their eyes would be enlightened. Ezra says that God granted them a little reviving in the midst of slavery. With gratitude he rehearses to God how they were in bondage but even as slaves, God never left them. Instead God extended mercy to them and opened doors of opportunity through the king of Persia to rebuild the holy house of God, the resources and provisions necessary to fix the broken places, and to give them a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. 

Ezra just gets real honest here. He says, "What can we say to You, our God? We have forsaken Your commandments. You told us how unclean and impure these people were. You told us to keep our children from marrying their children. You told us to never desire their peace or wealth so that we would be strong, eat the good of the land, and leave an inheritance to our children forever. You didn't even give us the punishment that we deserved, and now after delivering us from slavery, we did this to You again? You should be so angry with us that You consume us until we are utterly destroyed and none survive!"

And then he brags on God who is worthy of all praise. He addresses the LORD God of Israel. He calls Him righteous because He is. Ezra's last sentence to God in this chapter is, "We are before You in our sin: for we cannot stand in front of You because of this."

Such humility. Do you hear the sorrow in his voice as you read through this chapter? Ezra runs back through all the grace and the provision and protection they have had all along this journey. He thinks of every single time God had His hand on them and they won the favor or kings and others in authority. They were freed from slavery and they were a small community of men, women, and children: no longer the great nation they once were. Yet they were still being blessed and encouraged by God and now all of this was thrown back in God's face with the abominations of the children of Israel.

What areas are you facing in your life right now that you need to repent of? Has God shown a light into your heart to help you see hidden sins you forgot? I am allowing Him to show me where I need to repent. God has been so good to me. He has opened up doors of opportunity I never dreamed of and I know it's only the beginning of what He is going to do. I don't want to end up like the children of Israel, lost in my own sick selfish desires, forsaking the laws of God in an effort to indulge my flesh. I want to be humbled, upset, distraught, and disgusted by my sins. I want to repent and say I am sorry and turn from the wicked ways. I want to draw close to Jesus.

Friends, this is such a sad passage to read, but it is so much like what we experience today in this cancel culture we live in. We do not have to follow the crowd. Remember strait is the gate and narrow the way that leads to heaven. Wide is the gate and there is a broad way to hell and many find that path. We must choose what is going to help us get closer to Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Follow the path to Jesus.

MATTHEW 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 

I hope you walk away from today's study with a deeper understanding of the heart and character of God. He is a loving Father, only wanting His children to recognize Him, honor and love Him. Let's be careful to not slip into the ways of the world. It's okay to be different. It is okay to not do what everyone else is doing. Only try to please God and leave the rest. It doesn't matter in the end. I hope something I have shared encourages you. I hope that I have given you strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you.

~Bridgett Owens