Penna Dexter

We’re in the thick of Lent, the period of 40 days, which comes before Easter in the Christian calendar.

Lent is a time of preparation for Easter, and, in many Christian traditions, a season of remorse. Lent can serve a good purpose even for people who are not in liturgical churches and don’t observe or think about it much.

Christians are often uncomfortable with a whole lot of lament and remorse. But something has gone wrong. It’s called sin. There are things in our lives that are not how they were meant to be. We acknowledge that when we confess our sin. The Lenten period is a good time to examine ourselves afresh and reflect on how we’ve fallen short. Certain scripture passages can help our thinking.

Psalm 51 is one of those scriptures.

Psalm 51 is the prayer of King David after the prophet Nathan confronted him with his sin with Bathsheba, her resulting pregnancy, and his cover-up, which involved having her husband Uriah killed in battle.

David Roseberry has written a book using Psalm 51 to take us through the 40 days of Lent. The title is Create in me a Clean Heart, and it’s not academic. It’s not a commentary. It’s a companion for each day of Lent. David Roseberry says it’s “for both the repentant and the weary, the confessing and the wounded.”

I’m approaching the halfway point of the book. This week I read, in verse 8, King David’s request: “Let the bones you have broken rejoice.” Did God really break King David? And did David, in time, come to the point of rejoicing?

Yes — and as David Roseberry explains, “This is not the joy of pretending everything is fine. This is the joy that comes when truth has done its work.”

This book goes deep — beautifully. It’s not too late to let it take you through the rest of Lent.