Grace

O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath. 2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. Psalm 6:1-2

    The Psalmist begins this song with a plea: God, show me grace!  The Psalmist is going through a great time of trial, he is “languishing” and his very “bones are troubled.”  This is a dark time when the Psalmist feels the weight of his enemies all around him, so he begins his psalm pleading with God to be gracious to him.  He asks God not to deal with him as he deserves, out of God’s anger and wrath, and instead to offer His undeserved love.  This is a strong plea from the Psalmist for he knows what he deserves.  He is aware that all he deserves from God is rebuke and discipline, but because this is his God he asks for that which he has no business deserving.  This is often the posture of a child with his father.  The child has angered his father, but because he knows his father he feels comfortable pleading with his father not to deal with him according to what he deserves.  The son cries out don’t punish me and hopes his father will be gracious.  Why might the father be gracious in a situation that deserves his anger and wrath?  Love!  The only reason a good father will withhold his anger and wrath toward his son when it is deserved is because he loves the son.  This is exactly what we have in this Psalm, the hope a loving Father extending grace to His child.  

    The love of the Father gives the Psalmist confidence to come with his plea in his time of trial, and it should be the same with us.  Will trial come?  Yes.  Will darkness invade?  Yes.  Will it feel as though our enemies are encamped all around us?  Indeed.  What is our hope in during these seasons?  Our hope is the beautiful reality that we can run to our Father crying out for His love and grace to cover us.  God is not too big to hear from us in our times of trial.  He does not have “more important” matters to attend to.  God is never too busy to receive the cries of His children.  Our God overflows with grace and love for His children.  In verse 4 of this Psalm the writer tells us that it is out of God’s steadfast love that he makes this plea.  It is precisely because the Psalmist knows of God’s constant and gracious love that he can ask the Father not to deal with him as he deserves.  This is always the basis of our pleading as well.  This is the foundation of Gospel-driven grace…the undeserving love of the Father extending to His children through the cross of Christ.  Church, we must make “God, give me grace” a regular prayer.  We need it and should want more it.  In times of want and in times of plenty we should plead with God for His grace, but especially if life is heavy for you right now make this your primary plea!  Plead with God to know and feel His grace, knowing that because He is a loving Father He has already promised us His unending grace through the cross of Jesus.  May we marvel that even though all we deserve is God’s anger and wrath, God’s precious grace has been poured out to us and is ready to meet us in our moments of greatest need.  

PRAYER OF THE DAY: God, thank you for Your Fatherly love toward me.  Show me more of Your grace today.