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No.5.
Some characteristic marks of sin.
pp. 139, 140
David was king of Israel, the Lord's anointed, the shepherd of the flock of God, the
sweet singer of Israel. He had established a secure place in the hearts of his people since
the day when he had overthrown Goliath. He is called "the Patriarch"; the Holy Ghost is
said to have spoken through his mouth. Yet he sinned, and sinned grievously, and there
is no minimizing of his iniquity by reason of his greatness or of his high office, but
rather, is there the thought that such high office but intensified his failure. We have seen
that David, by his allusion to the Levitical law in the choice of the words `wash',
`cleanse' and `hyssop', practically acknowledged that he was a moral leper in need of a
greater cleansing than that of any poor leper provided for under the law. He needed a
cleansing that would render him `whither than snow'.
In his acknowledgment of his sin David does not spare himself. He calls his sin `my
transgressions', `mine iniquities', `my sin', `evil' and `bloodguiltiness', and confesses not
only that he himself had committed sin, but that he had been shapen in iniquity and
conceived in sin. We cannot pass such a presentation of guilt, such a confession of
human failure with a cursory glance; our whole meditation revolves around the fact and
the nature of sin and we understand the references to mercy aright when we know that
such mercy as is here revealed is shown to a sinner. We understand the cleansing and the
restoring only in the light of the moral defilement and the moral lapse that we call sin.
We understand the broken spirit and contrite heart only as we seen them associated with
acknowledged transgression.
Let us then acquaint ourselves with the language of David in this solemn matter.
"Blot out my transgression", "I acknowledge my transgressions" (Psa. 51: 1, 3).
The word translated `transgressions is pesha.
"Wash me throughly from mine iniquity." "I was shapen in iniquity." "Blot out all
mine iniquities" (Psa. 51: 2, 5).
The word here is avon.
"Cleanse me from my sin"; "my sin is ever before me"; "In sin did my mother
conceive me"; "Hide Thy face from my sins" (Psa. 51: 2, 3, 4, 5, 9).
The word `sin' is chattah.
"This evil in Thy sight" (Psa. 51: 4).
The Hebrew word is ra.
"Bloodguiltiness" (Psa. 51: 14).
The Hebrew word is dam.