Meditations on the Psalms #30

Day 30

A P.S. to Psalm14. Considering how Paul uses this psalm in Roman’s3:10-12 the following may be helpful, because our concept of sin is a matter of great importance; it relates closely to our understanding of salvation.

The Hebrew word for “sin” (hatah,) literally means to “miss the mark.” While there are 33 words in the NT for sin, the most common is ‘hamartia’ in which sin is also viewed as missing the mark, “coming short of the glory of God.”

There are two types of sin, accidental and deliberate. Consider it this way. The Hebrew people were a nomadic people and their language and lifestyle is wrapped around this culture. One of the aspects of a nomad is his constant journey from one watering hole to another and one pasture to another. If you are walking on a journey (literal or figurative) and find yourself “lost from the path,” you correct yourself and get back on the path. This was a “mistake” (accidentally missing the mark), but not deliberate. Once you are back on the right path, all is good. However, if you decide to leave the path and make your own way, you are again “lost from the path”, but this time, being a deliberate act, it is a purposeful mistake (missing the mark on purpose). In the Bible, God gives his “directions” (usually translated as “commands”) for the journey that his people are to be on. As long as they remain on that journey, they are ‘tsadiq’, usually translated as “righteous,” but literally means “on the correct path”, even if they accidentally leave the path, but return (this is the Hebrew verb ‘shuv,’ usually translated as “repentance,” but literally means “to return” back to the correct path. Christianity was originally called “the way” (see e.g. Acts9:2, 24:14 NKJV) I love Paul’s discussion on this in Phil 3: 9–14. In v14 he says  “I press toward the mark.”  Most modern English translations have “goal”. The KJV correctly translates it as ‘Mark.’ Phil3:14; evidence of grace at work is pressing on to the goal.

The Hebrews had a word for sin that was also used for a dead carcass; ‘nebelah’

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