Athlete, Confess to an Audience of One

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.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

Psalm 51:1-4

In yesterday's devotional we saw David make a few big mistakes. All of us our prone to sin when we live for something or someone other than God. David's friend Nathan gets word of what David did and he calls him out. You can read about that interaction in 2 Samuel 12:1-13. But I want to focus on these four verses in Psalm 51 today.

If you look up Psalm 51 in your hard copy Bible, or even on your phone, you will see right under the chapter something along these lines: "To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba."

This Psalm was written by David after Nathan confronts him. It's essential David's journal entery to the Lord after this monumental sin in his life. The whole chapter is worth reflecting on but I want you to notice something peculiar in verse 4. David writes "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight." Now, obviously David sinned against Bathsheba by sleeping with her. Obviously David sinned against her husband by having him killed. But David makes the point that the primary one he sinned against was God. This is fascinating to think about. This is Audience of One type confession and repentance!

How about the rest of us? When we sin do we understand that the primary offender of our words/thoughts/action is our Father in heaven?

It can be so easy to see our sins as merely horizontal. That is, just affecting those around us on earth. But God wants us to see our sin as vertical as well. When we disobey Him, we essentially committ cosmic treason.

Take this thought with you as you go about the rest of your day: What would it look like for you to bring the "Ao1" confession before the Lord?

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