Have you ever broken a bone in your body? If you haven’t, I can tell you from personal experience it hurts, a lot! What is the first thing we do when something like this happens? Under normal circumstances we go to the hospital. When you arrive there is a process: first, we sit in the waiting room while the person next to you says “wow, that looks like it hurts”, then we see the doctor, go for an x-ray, and most often have the injury casted then get sent home with a bottle of pain medication.
As I read through the Psalms I found many references to bones. (6:2, 22:14, 31:10, 38:3, 51:8) David is not talking about physical broken bones in these passages, they are expressions of “personal distress”, they are the feelings of a burdened heart because of the sin in his life. Much like the process described above, when in our life we experience “broken bones” we must go before our God, the great physician. Like David we must go before Him with a repentant heart asking for healing (forgiveness). When I read through David’s experiences I can feel his sense of guilt because of the sin in his life and at the same time I get a picture of his confidence for God’s grace in his life. I know that he hates the pathway of sin (119:128) that life often falls into and through that I see him turn toward God, striving to live a life holy and pleasing to Him.
Our confession, our coming before the Lord is an act of worship. As David seeks forgiveness he gives God glory and honor because of His grace and mercy. Other than the time and place in history our lives are not that much different that David’s. We face many of the same temptations and trials as he did. As believers we know today that our sins are covered by the death of Christ on the cross. As we seek to live a life pleasing to God He is waiting patiently for us to come before Him through His son with a repentant heart.
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