Wow! This Psalm gives us so much truth, I hardly know where to start! But here goes...I am going to think of it in three ways:
1. What David knows about God.
2. What David asks for.
3. What David promises God.
1. What David knows about God:
- He is good
- He is ready to forgive
- He is full of unfailing love for all who ask for His help. v. 5
- He will answer our prayers. v. 7
- No god is like Him. v. 8
- All the nations will bow before Him. v. 9
- He is great and will perform wonderful deeds. v. 10
- He alone is God! v. 10
- His love for us is very great. v. 13
- He has rescued David from death. v. 13
- He is a God of compassion and mercy. v. 15
- He is slow to get angry. v. 15
- He is filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. v. 15
- He helps and comforts us. v. 17
- He asks God to hear and answer his prayer. v. 1
- He acknowledges that he needs help. v. 1
- He asks for protection. v. 2
- He asks for mercy. v. 3, 16
- Happiness, v. 4
- He asks God to teach him His ways. v. 11
- Purity of heart. v. 11
- Strength. v. 16
- He asks for a sign of God's favor. v. 17
- He is dovoted to God. v. 2
- He serves and trusts Him. v. 2
- He calls on Him constantly. v. 3
- He gives himself to God. v. 4
- He will call to God whenever he's in trouble. 7
- He wants to live according to God's truth. v. 11
- He promises to honor God. v. 11
- He will praise God. v. 12
- He will give glory to God's name. v. 12
This is a warning against hypocrisy. In the simplest terms I would say this is not being transparent, saying one thing and doing another. Or maybe saying the right things but having a wrong attitude.
We tend to be hypocritical when we are concerned with what others think of us. v. 4 reminds us not to fear men, but rather to fear God. "Yes, he's the one to fear." v. 4
And He is worthy of our reverence. He knows everything about us, and we are infinitely important to Him. vv. 6-7 In addition, we will be the kind of witnesses we should be if we are concerned with what God thinks of us rather than what others think.
The reference in v. 10 to the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit has caused some people to fear they have committed the "unpardonable sin." This is not a scriptural term. According to Charles Ryrie in his study Bible (see his notes on the parallel passage in Matthew 12), this had to do with the Pharisees' "...direct abuse of the divine name...and...attributing the Spirit's work to Satan. The special circumstances involved in this blasphemy cannot be duplicated today; therefore, this sin cannot now be committed." Jesus clearly teaches that anyone, including the Pharisees, can turn to him and be forgiven and saved. Remember what we saw in John's Gospel. "There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son." John 3:18 And so, I think it's safe to say that the only sin God cannot and will not forgive is the sin of rejecting Jesus Christ. But this sin is not necessarily a permanent one because anyone can at any time put his faith in Jesus. See John 3:16-17 and many other New Testament passages.
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