A complete history of sin

In spite of all this, they still sinned;

despite his wonders, they did not believe.

Psalm 78:32

This verse has me thinking about how I really sin. But first, some background... Psalm 78 is the second longest psalm of the Bible. It is, like the 105th and 106th psalms, a historical psalm. It recounts the history of Israel. This is a history of sin, rebellion against God, and disobedience to the Law of God. You’d think God’s people could do better than that. They didn’t. The only person Who is true and upright through all 72 verses of psalm 78 is God.

This “worship song” which was an ode to the epic failures of Israel’s blunders away from God, calls people to trust in a God Who is faithful even when they are not. Even as Israel sinned, God kept His covenant. He fed them in the wilderness. He gave them a land, then a king, then a temple in which to worship. God’s mercy was greater than their mess.

Back to what I see about how sin works in me: I always sin against the wonderful power of God. God saved Israel from Egypt by awesome power in the Exodus, drowning the Egyptian army in the same Red Sea Israel crossed through dry land. They immediately complained to Moses and wanted to go back to slavery. God fed them manna and quail. They complained about the food. They worshiped a golden calf while Moses was receiving God’s Law. They “tested God again and again” (Psalm 78:41).

My sin does exactly this as well. I sin against the miraculous saving work of Jesus. I turn my back on the resurrection and the power of the gospel for some selfish desire I temporarily exalt as greater than God. I also momentarily “unbelieve” God in order to put trust in my own heart, the world’s “stuff”, or Satan’s lies. In spite of God’s good grace, I still sin. 

God, be merciful to me, forgive me, keep me in awe of Your saving power in worship! I believe in the gospel. That is the only way I can fight my complete history of sin! Amen