Comments on Forgiveness In an article titled “Evil and Forgiveness,” Rabbi Jonathan Sacks cites Hannah Arendt’s insight into the absolute necessity of forgiveness. I offer these citations today, in a world where forgiveness seems an antiquated idea, where past sins are hauled before the public in order to force submission through humiliation, where the politics…
Why do You make me see disaster, and make me look at destitution? Yes, devastation and violence are before me; strife exists and contention arises. Habakkuk 1:3 NASB Devastation and violence – Maybe you just need to turn off the news. It seems that all the news is bad news. Violence. Destruction. Animosity. Hatred. A constant stream of human contention. Is there no relief? Do we just have to pretend not…
For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offering. Psalm 51:16 NASB Do not delight – How often we’ve heard the claim that the sacrificial system no longer applies. After all, David himself tells us that God doesn’t take any pleasure is the religious ritual of slaughtering animals for…
Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness. Psalm 51:14 NASB Guilt of Bloodshed – Notice how Chabad translates this Hebrew verse: Save me from blood, O God, the God of my salvation; let my tongue sing praises of Your charity. Chabad There is a…
For I know my wrongdoings, And my sin is constantly before me. Psalm 51:3 NASB Constantly before me – What’s it like to live with constant reminders of your mistakes? What if your worst sins were never forgotten, never faded away? Douglas Murray’s comment about the omniscient, unforgiving internet is a terrifying specter of living in…
Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge. Psalm 51:4 NASB You only – When we read this verse, we are often offended. We think to ourselves, “Wait a minute! David’s saying that the only one he offended…
Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithfulness; according to the greatness of Your compassion, wipe out my wrongdoings. Psalm 51:1 NASB Wipe out – Do you know the pseudepigraphical “Prayer of Manasseh”? Perhaps you should. Here it is: O Lord Almighty, God of our ancestors, of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and of their righteous…
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12 NIV As Far As – How are is the East from the West? How far do you have to travel toward the East to reach the West? The answer is obvious. Infinitely. Forever. Never. If…
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are [a]crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18 NASB Crushed – What does it mean to be “crushed in spirit”? The word, and its similarly spelled parallel, is used in poetry and laments. It emphasizes the “emotional and spiritual suffering”[1] of a person or people. Here it is an adjective. …
One person dies full of innocence, completely tranquil and at peace . . . Another dies with a bitter heart, and he has never enjoyed good. Together in the dust they lie, and the worm will cover them. Job 21:23, 25-26 Robert Alter The worm – Alter’s sobering remark puts Job and Qohelet on the…
