Communion With God Brings Joy
God’s message of forgiveness came to David in clear words: God has taken away your sin. You will not die. David was grateful and gave thanks to God for His mercy and compassion. He said, “I will present my thank offerings to you, for you have delivered my soul from death.”
But this was not the end of David’s experience. The fact that God is compassionate and forgiving does not mean that sin will go unpunished. Sin always brings judgment. The baby born to David as a result of his sinful union with Bathsheba was taken in death. David grieved and was very sorry. Still, he understood God’s ways and accepted the judgment with humility. After that God sent him another son, Solomon, who became one of the wisest persons in all history. So through David’s life God speaks to us, showing us again how terrible is sin, how sure is judgment, and how great is the mercy of God.
David was restored to full communion with God. He continued to write the matchless psalms which give us some of the most important messages God has ever sent to mankind. We will examine briefly here one more of those important messages. It is that message which tells us of the nature and value of prayer. It tells us that communion with God brings joy to our hearts. It tells us that God wants us, we need Him, and there is great hope for those who call upon Him. There is great hope now and in the future for all those who wish to serve God according to His will.
The writings of David show us that the heart of man can truly commune with the heart of God through prayer. God desires to speak to His people, and He desires that people speak to Him. The communion between God and man is similar to the fellowship between a loving father and son. They enjoy being together. Like a concerned father, God is always ready to listen to us. He wants us to come to Him with our problems and thoughts. He has created us for the purpose of having fellowship with Him and giving Him our praise and love.
Prayer is something like a pilgrimage. Man desires to know God more intimately. He walks deeper and deeper into a spiritual relationship with His creator. David expressed these ideas often in his psalms. He said, for example, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, 0 God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” David had assurance that God would respond to him and to all the faithful: “They shall be abundantly satisfied. You will make them drink of the river of your pleasure; for with you is the fountain of life.”
The Psalms encourage us to pray for our personal needs, as David did, for forgiveness, and for a deeper relationship. “Trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart before Him.”
Prayer is an expression of true reliance upon God. It is not simply a form or ceremony. It is a real act which shows that we need God and trust Him to guide us into truth and joy. It is the pilgrimage which leads to the fountain of life.
“You have made known to me the path of life,” sang David, “You will fill me with joy in your presence.”
Perhaps you, too, are ready to confess that you have sinned against God. Because you know that nothing can escape the eye of God, you are struggling with inner guilt and agony. You are searching in the night for peace but have not found it. You have observed all the religious law, but still there is no rest. You struggle to sleep in the tears of your remorse. You are broken in your heart, and the heart of God has been broken for you.
You need not suffer. You can come to know that God is your Heavenly Father. In love He desires to forgive you and fill your heart with joy. Confess to Him that sin you have committed. Ask forgiveness. Believe that He will forgive you and He will make provision for the justice of sin in His own way. Thank God, and continue to trust Him to guide you into further truth. He will reveal to you the beautiful mystery of His revelation of divine love to all mankind.
Now, in your own way, recite to God these words from the Psalms (Jabbur) and allow them to become your own personal prayer to God, the Beneficent, the Compassionate, the Lord of the Universe:
“Save me, O God . . . I sink in deep mire . . . I am weary of my crying.” “The troubles of my heart are enlarged . . . look upon my pain . . . forgive all my sins. “In my distress, I called upon the Lord . . . . He heard my voice.” “Thou wilt show me the path of life.” “Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, who forgives . . . who heals . . . who redeems . . . who crowns”