Thinking Biblically About Homosexuality - John MacArthur

Here is a sermon from John MacArthur that is sure to ruffle the feathers of many in the culture and even the church that have fallen into lockstep with the cultural mindset. Regardless of what culture is currently trying to drop on Bible believing Christians, the Bible is explicitly clear. Sexual immorality in any form is a no-no. Many Biblically illiterate "experts" say that Christ never mentions this in the New Testament. Nonsense. He came to fulfill the law not overturn it and the Law was explicitly clear on illicit sexual behavior.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." Matthew 5:17-18

As for what Jesus said we need only look at is comment farther along in Matthew Chapter 5:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. Matthew 5:27-30

By implication, if Jesus found that men just thinking about women illicitly in a heterosexual relationship as a sin (adultery) how much more would any other sexual sin be frowned upon outside of this? If just the thought of perpetrating the act constitutes sin, what of the actual act? How this passage could be interpreted any other way is beyond me. To assume Christ said nothing about sexual deviance is willful ignorance or Biblical ignorance.

Anyway...I'll Let Johnny Mac finish this discussion. The next post will be another sermon concerning the twisting of Scripture to suit peoples needs. This is relevant to this topic as many often take things out of the Bible out of context or twist it to promote their agendas or bias. Properly understood the Bible leaves no doubt that any sexual relation outside of a a heterosexual relationship between a man and woman in a marriage is sin. Period. To say that the Bible implies anything else is to misappropriate Scripture or to assume things that are not said in the text. That makes things like adultery, homosexuality, premarital sex, bestiality and numerous other convolutions... all sins and reprehensible to God Almighty.

Let me be clear. I personally wish people would obey God, it would make things easier for them. If they choose not to it is my position to tell them what is awry or errant. I personally hold no animosity towards those that have difficulty with sexual sin but I do have problems with the sin itself and people's justification of it in the face of overwhelming biblical evidences condemning it. I am especially convicted to say these things because it has now gotten to the point that if I mention these things in public I am deemed a malicious "hater" for trying to stay convicted to my religion and religious beliefs. By offering up my opinion based on my convictions which are drawn from the Bible I am now deemed a ignorant backwoods Biblethumper (as if that's a bad word). It will not be long before I will be arrested for posts like this in an overall concerted attempt to silence any dissent from the "hater" Christians.

Additional posts that state my position and hermeneutic/interpretive method can be found here in the following posts:
(1) The Effeminate and The Abusers of Themselves With Mankind
(2) Examining The Scripture LXXXVII: Righteous Sexuality vs. Unrighteous Sexuality
(3) God Haters: Darkened Hearts & Reprobate Minds

Evil & Suffering XXVI: Potential Mutations & Permutations

Having completed this I have made one additional observation in retrospect. As a commuter to Valley Forge Christian College I need to drive past Limerick Power Plant on a daily basis. On one of these trips after completing the bulk of this work my mind paused on an interesting analogy.

When researching and writing on this topic I needed to do it in a measured and incremental basis. Dealing with a topic like this is like handling radioactive materials that can radiate and kill or disfigure a person. It can only be endured in limited exposures without being poisonous to it handler. The problem with this topic (especially the evil) is it might actually be more damaging to a person’s health than radioactive waste as it can also permanently alter or affect one’s mind if they are exposed for too long a timeframe. The evil and suffering pondered upon during my writing had the potential to mutate (or transform) my soul for good or bad. When I needed to acquire information I used theological grappling tongs and tried to insulate myself in prayer to pull from sources that could be potentially toxic. From some of them I took what I needed and dropped them as quickly as possible to avoid exceeding the fatal limit or exposure that causes deformation until I understood fully what the outcome of these mutations would be.

I personally needed to restore myself in Christ every single time I dealt with this paper and did so for my spiritual, mental and physical well-being. I knew doing this topic would leave me exposed to spiritual attacks and prepared accordingly. In the end I believe my faith is stronger for it and that is a residual effect or permutation that I hadn't counted nor had I been assured of at the start.

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

Evil & Suffering XXV: Jesus: The Suffering Servant-Part II

The last biblical defense I would like to pose as the need for suffering in a human’s life is again found in Hebrews. It is in this passage that we see the solid connection between the life of Christ and His suffering and the parallel in our lives as Christians striving to be like Christ.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 5: 8-10)

What we see in this passage is that Jesus needed to learn obedience (in His human body) through suffering. This doesn’t mean he was disobedient but rather that He learned lessons just as others in a human body that can only be learned through suffering. Temptations, exhaustions, mental anguish because of the limitations of the human mind, etc. Having suffered these things (and the crucifixion) Jesus could better identify with what it is to be human. Having done this He was made perfect (through suffering). He became the only suitable source for eternal salvation for those that obey Him. If it was deemed appropriate that the God-man should suffer to be made perfect it is almost obscene to think that we should not. Why should mankind be excused from suffering if we are the source of the evil and sin that Christ had to suffer and die for? This is an abhorrent thought to me that is a vanity and conceit that approaches blasphemy and should be rebuked. Suffering is intrinsically part of what it means to be Christian (and human for that matter). It is through the lens of Christianity that we begin to see through the glass (albeit darkly) a suitable reasoning for the need of suffering, pain and even God working through the evil. We see God has purposely extracted that reason directly out of sin we’ve created (and which He has allowed) to shape a workable scenario for our eventual eternal benefit and salvation. The ultimate paradox and juxtapose of ontological opposites: Eternal joy and glory that needs to be preceded by a “trial of fire” or enduring evil, suffering and pain. The evil and suffering that needed to proceed the Crucifixion which inevitably brought glory.

“And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?" Mark 8:34-36

In the end we see that through a supreme act of sacrifice and endurance of suffering, evil is once and for all defeated at the cross. It is still appointed to man to die once and then be judged but thanks to the sufferings of Christ, we will be judged righteous because of our faith. As for answering why God allows evil and suffering I didn’t find a conclusive reason why because it is not for me to know the mind of God. What I have done is offer the best conclusions based on my research and understanding. What I have learned is that He is indeed all-powerful and benevolent for Scripture tells me so. At the same time He allows evil and suffering for a multitude of reasons. To even be able to comprehend why God allows evil and suffering, one must start with the right worldviews and presuppositions. I believe the only worldview that can provide a satisfactory reasoning is the Christian worldview. It is a view that allows for some form of free will to choose between good and evil. The Bible supports this hypothesis. Whether or not God can or will work providentially through choices of evil is evident in the Crucifixion of Jesus, the story Joseph, and the traitor Judas. How it is done isn’t necessarily the main point. Why it is done is. That underlying main point is how all the actions and movements within the Creation invariably bring glory to God.

To be truthful, I did not get any farther than Job or his “friends” did when they questioned or presupposed God and His motives for doing things. For me to question God even further than Job only serves to continue to darken the Lord’s counsel with more words from my mouth that are without knowledge. So I remain humble and contrite in His presence even if it means suffering to the point of death.

Evil & Suffering XXIV: Jesus: The Suffering Servant-Part I

In the end, even after all of the work on my thesis I believe I may have come full circle. Like Job I cannot offer explanations or justifications for what God does with His creation. He is sovereign and I am not. He is omnipotent and I am not. He has His reasons and unless He makes them evident to me or reveals them to me I will not know why He does what He does. Nor will I question what He does. Frankly, questioning God is not what this paper was about. If I have dispelled anything by writing this paper I have dispelled the myth that there is an easy answer to explaining evil and suffering. I know what the Bible tells me and I can only obey and adhere to God's statutes. Many of those in this postmodern, humanistic and secular world would call me foolish and backwards among other things but I challenge any of their worldviews to offer a more comprehensive and sound explanation than the one I am about to expound on for the existence of evil. Evil in and of its nature is an aspect of the spiritual realm so only a spiritual explanation will suffice to explain it. To try to explain away suffering which has its roots in evil can only be explained in like manner. Both have their roots and source in the Fall in Genesis but since then has been used providentially by God to move His purposes along and manifest His will...to His glory.

What I can say with certainty is this. We as Christians are to be as Christ-like as possible which includes the need to humble one’s self to the point of death. To be able to do this we need to have the mind of Christ. Our only source for the mind of Christ to reveal itself to us in a structured and regimented form is the Bible. If we are truly to know Christ we need to learn of it from the Bible. So I guess we need to understand how our individual situations and are tied to our faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

I know from a theological standpoint why evil and suffering exist in our realm of existence and that the underlying purpose is to bring glory to God just as Christ did. Paul said that not only should be rejoice in the hope of the glory of God but “we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” (Romans 5:2-5). We also saw in the Kenosis of Philippians 2:5-11 a supreme example of suffering for God’s glory.

Jesus Christ the very Son of God came to this world to suffer.

The prophets even told us in advance of the need for the Messiah to suffer. Who are we to question our suffering in light of this fact? It is in the verses of Isaiah 53 that we begin to see the paradox in its most lucid form. Does it totally make sense? Not really. Can suffering and evil ever really make sense? I have to believe good men suffer and endure evil because it all leads to God’s, and their greater glory. Since He is all-powerful and all-loving, the logical conclusion is that in this process of being brought low through tribulation and suffering/pain is to eventually exalt the One/one that suffers. It is in this humanly irresolvable paradox that we begin to sense and approach the divine and most holy aspects of the Lord because it is only through Him that something like this can make sense. When we try and sanctify ourselves in this life we do so by trying to mimic as closely as possible the behavior of our Savior, the Son. We attempt to become as Christ-like as we can in our lifetime as He is the closest in form/shape to our being (human). To try and make ourselves more like Christ/God we are trying with God’s assistance to be more holy, no easy task even with the Holy Spirit as our helper and Christ as our intercessor with the Father.

I mean…think about that for a minute.

Jesus knew all the suffering and temptations known to man and endured them all. He was then buried. To prove the all-powerfulness of God, the Father raised Him on the third day as the first fruits of the Resurrection to show those that came after Him and believed what was in store for them if they would just “run the race in a way in which to win”.

“He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” ~Isaiah 53:3-12

We see this elaborated on even more by the graceful author of Hebrews when he describes Christ’s sufferings, His purpose here on earth and what it accomplished.

“For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, "I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise." And again, "I will put my trust in him.” And again, "Behold, I and the children God has given me." Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” ~Hebrews 2:10-18

It was only through Jesus’ suffering that we can even have salvation. It is through the “crushing” of Christ and Christ allowing Himself to be “crushed” that we could have the possibility of eternal life. In our becoming like him we share in His death but we also share in His life (eternal). I believe the key to understanding theodicy is firmly rooted in the cross of Christ, Christ’s suffering and the Crucifixion. When we emulate God we become likened to God through sanctification and a process of continuing holiness. When we try to be like God we glorify Him. This is as close to a coherent and lucid answer that this finite and sinful human mind can come up with to rationalize and reconcile the existence, nay, the need for suffering and evil in this world. To pursue this any further would only having me repeating myself ad-nauseum and possibly contradicting myself.

Evil & Suffering XXIII: The Explanation That Works For Me

This is the lead-in to my conclusion or summary/synopsis which will be spread over three more posts this week.

At this point I stand on the "concurrence" side of the discussion. This is the primary reason I have focused along these lines while writing this paper. Since theodicy is such a large topic and I quickly learned that it was easy to get lost pursing rabbit trails I tried to immediately reign in divergent thoughts and wrestle them into the intended context of this paper. The context being a defense against errant worldview attacks on God’s sovereignty, providence, omnipotence or omni-benevolence. I lean towards Calvinism in my belief that there can be a predestination for man concurrent and coincidental to man's free will or ability to make his own choices. God may not intend it or even like man's sinful decisions (obviously) but He allows them. He chooses to because it He is Sovereign and omnipotent and can do anything He wishes...even working through man's bad decisions. That is part of the mystery of God. I read it in the Bible and see it in the narrative and know it exists but I can offer no human explanation of how He can do it. That is why He is God and I am not. He is holy and I can only aspire to holiness through the work of His Son and Holy Spirit.

I believe and agree with others that conjecture that evil and its derivatives such as suffering and pain are a direct result of the Fall in Eden. This then enforces my belief that evil in the world found its inception in the free will given to humanity. To me this is the only acceptable and logical conclusion that clears God’s holy name and distances Him from evil. It is the view that aligns best with the Biblical view of God. It is the philosophical/theological view that best parallels the attributes and actions of the God described throughout the Bible. It also offers the most comprehensive and consistent description of the world that I see around me…even the evil and suffering within it.

I have found that where many theodicies fail or fall short is when they fail to describe God with His proper attributes and do a good job of putting Him forth to the world. We as intelligent believers need to show Him as He is and the way He has clearly revealed Himself. The way he is revealed in the Scripture is the way he needs to be revealed to believers and non-believers alike. To do any less portrays Him as something less than He is. This in turn leads to questions and doubts raised during times of duress that portray God as inadequate when nothing could be further from the truth. It is in these situations where we see God portrayed as less than omnipotent. We see him as an apathetic our uncaring God like our Deistic friends see him. He appears as an aloof watchmaker who cares nothing for the beings within His creation. In the worst situation He appears non-existent as in the case of atheists (Carson 27, 30).

It has often been my experience that people who thought they could handle suffering or certain evils…were only tested to a certain point. They had a small semi-encapsulating worldview and explanation of suffering and evil that worked. It worked until a tragedy entered their life that blew them out of the water entirely like a torpedo. It was then that they either learned that their worldview or view of God was not adequate or it was at these times their faith was increased and became stronger. If it didn’t their entire worldview began to cave in and dissolved like a castle made of sand.

Evil & Suffering XXII: To Comfort Others & Witnessing

Potential Reasons For Existence of Evil & Suffering VII:

Anyone that has been through suffering knows what it is like. Anyone that has gone through a specific type of suffering knows what that specific pain and suffering is like. The type of suffering that includes things like the loss of a spouse, the loss of a child, the loss of an appendage or a heroin addict who lost everything but somehow managed to recover and clean up. If someone else ends up being subject to these types of suffering who do we suppose they would want to talk to? People that have never gone through the pain and suffering they have endured? No! They want someone that can relate to their pain. God knows this also (2 Corinthians 1:3-7) It is why many of us to some extent have a testimony of suffering. It is why we have compassion as believers. So that we can go out to comfort others as the Holy Spirit comforts us in our affliction, the same way Jesus comforted those around Him (John 14:16). When we do this not only do we bear witness to others but we show an example to the world what it is to be Christian.

It literally is a believer living out the Gospel in their actions. Sometimes actions speak louder than words and the world may take note of that. This is no greater witness to the truth than a man who talks the talk and walks the walk (Howard, 153). Having been through the same types of suffering and pain those who have already been through it will usually see the hand of God more readily and more easily. This person is then in a better position to explain to those suffering or being afflicted that what they are enduring is not easy but it is a suffering common to some people (or all in the case of death) and help show them possible purposes in it.

When we endure suffering or see others suffering there is an innate or natural inclination to turn to others for support or to give support. In suffering, especially when it is communal, there is a need to turn to God and to turn towards others in love and compassion. It shows us our need for God. We are forced to face our mortality and our humanity. In our dependence on other human beings in these situations we we see a glimpse of the Kingdom of God in its full glory and we also volitionally or inadvertently obey the two greatest commandments.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40

Evil & Suffering XXI: Punishment For Wickedness

Potential Reasons For Existence of Evil & Suffering VI:

God is a God of love but He is also a God of wrath. A wrath that probably defies any human effort to explain its true scope. If we truly contemplated it in its entire scope it would probably overwhelm even believers that are on God’s good side thanks to the atoning sacrifice of His Son. We are speaking of a God that called for entire ethnicity (Amalakites, Midianites) to be wiped out (farm animals included). It was to be a destruction of a race of people or genocide on a complete scale. Think Nazi Germany had they actually succeeded in completing the “Final Solution”. God spends his wrath until it is exhausted. Some prominent examples of people that suffered mentally or physically for disobedience and wickedness to/towards God and were punished for it are (in no particular order):

• Adam and Eve: Other than the entire human race falling, I am thinking in particular of the pain of childbirth for women.
• In the story of Noah, God uses a natural evil (flood) to wipe out all but one family in the world
• Pharaoh/Egyptians in the time of Moses.
• Assyrians-Israel, Babylonian-Judah
• Samson: Blinded and taken prisoner

Some not so subtle and exacting punishment are Sodom and Gomorrah, the eventual downfall of the Northern Kingdom or Israel and then later the Southern Kingdom of Judah. God cannot and will not leave wickedness unpunished as He is a God of justice. Injustice and God cannot exist together...God is obligated by His holy character and attributes to deal with wickedness wherever and whenever it is.

Evil & Suffering XX: Chastisement & Correction

Potential Reasons For Existence of Evil & Suffering V:

Discipline is necessary and vital to anyone who is trying to correct errant behavior. Because God loves us he sometimes punishes us for our disobedience. These punishments sometimes manifest in the form of difficulties and hardships that result in pain and suffering. It is a chastening by God to mend our spirituality and help us to mature in our faith (Proverbs 3:11-12). In a way we should probably be conscious of the fact that we suffer and endure pain because (1) it shows us that we are still alive and (2) because we have a God that loves us, it shows he is still active in our lives and has our spiritual well-being as the primary concern for us. To take Mark 8:36 and put a little twist on it to be relevant to this entry…”What good is it for us to go through life without pain and having endured nothing only to end up happy (or so we think) but spiritually dead and damned?” If God loves us we should expect trials and tribulation in our life and it may or may not be inflicted on us in the form of moral or natural evil and could also entail suffering (Howard, 147).

It is important here to quote and expound on a particular passage in Hebrews that speaks directly to discipline from God and its implications for the disobedient of God. Please note that this passage is directed to the people of God, so yes, God will allow suffering to enter the lives of His own people.

And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. (Hebrews 12:5-12)

So what do we learn from this passage? We are not to make light of the Lord’s discipline because it is done out of love. The discipline of a believer is done to combat sin and the effects of sin. As Christians we should endure hardships as discipline because if we receive none then we essentially have no Father for we would be illegitimate sons (or daughters). We should probably be checking ourselves to see if we are even in the faith at this point. As we respect our earthy fathers, we should also respect our heavenly Father for He does this for our own good. In verse 10 we see the critical statement: “that we may share in His holiness”. As believers, we know that God is punishing us and allowing suffering to make us more like Him and to help sanctify us-to make us more holy. Here we see that we need to be driven down before we can be lifted up. We again begin to see the concept of being humbled to be exalted. We see the Kenosis of Philippians 2 and we see the mind of Christ (Carson 64-65).

We also begin to see the need for the transaction that Jesus completed on the cross also. The Crucifixion was pain and suffering inflicted on Jesus in place of us to save us from our sin. Not only this, it was also Christ taking the punishment, pain, and suffering for our sin. The transaction/redemption that took place that day at Calvary served a multitude of purposes including salvation and atonement for sin, fulfillment of Scripture (prophets), and all the other reasons stated in the Bible. Underlying most of them are the idea that this was punishment or pain and suffering that was duly deserved by mankind but taken on by Christ. The end result is bringing glory to God and salvation to mankind. How? The sinless and innocent God-man who was totally deserving of triumphant exaltation and praise had allowed Himself to be lowered to obscurity and criminals death. He took the blame, punishment and pain/suffering for the sin so that they would be deemed justified in the eyes of the Father. It pleased the Father to crush the Son. Having done this selfless act He is lifted by the Father to the highest of positions.

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. ~Isaiah 53:10

Although this passage in Hebrews does not state what type of hardships and disipline we should expect, any brief perusal of Scripture will produce a substantial list of hardships. They include things such as war, plague, illness, disease, affliction, broadly defined or nebulous hardships that can enter a person’s life such as Paul’s thorn in the flesh, bereavement, loss of status, direct personal opposition, etc. Regardless of where it is at in Scripture, suffering is not downplayed or whitewashed. If anything it is brought to the forefront where it can most clearly be seen. We see this vividly in the suffering of God’s people as portrayed in Jeremiah and Lamentations. We also see in the Psalms not only psalms of praise and joy but psalms of lament, complaint and excessive supplication from a contrite and broken sinner(s).This vividly evident in Psalms 6:6 “I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.” Out of this morose tome comes a reward to David from God in Psalms 6:9-10, “The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer. All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled; they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment (Carson 69).