We must be approaching the Temple in our pilgrimage now. In the face of God's holiness, we see ourselves as we truly are. And the psalmist gets pitiful really quickly. And this is understandable- I've been there, and perhaps you have too. But being in the self-loathing place of recognition of disobedience and brokenness is not a great place to stay. Trust me. The psalmist sits in the moment long enough to appreciate the gravity of disobedience before the hinge verse- "But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared."
"But" is an important word in English, not as much in Hebrew. For us, "but" means a change in the direction of the mind. We are traveling along this track, but now we're on this track. But is the salvation word of this psalm. What if this psalm ended at verse three? No one could stand. The pilgrimage to the Temple would be foolish- people would be walking to their own annihilation. I wouldn't go. I would run as far as I could from the Temple.
But, my status (and yours) is not the end of the story. God is. With God, there is forgiveness. Now, forgiveness for Christians is a moment and a process. There is the moment of forgiveness on the cross, but still we wait. We wait for the day when the scars can be healed and the disobedience ended. As I mentioned in an earlier post, living while we wait is the story of Christianity. May your waiting be encouraged by God's grace and forgiveness today.
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