Finding The Cross In The Psalms Day 1

I will be doing a forty day study in the Psalms looking for aspects of the atonement that will end around easter. My hope is to generate a new found awe of what Christ did on the cross.

Psalms 4:4-5

Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord.

When I read this Psalm it pains me because I don't know how to be silent in my anger. I want everyone to know how angry I am or how someone has sinned against me. I always have a tendency to get a type of entitlement that gets me to believe a lie that people who sin against me owe me something. I love how God is calling me to ponder my anger in my own heart and on my bed. This tells me God is calling me to work out my anger with Him.

So as I imagine myself being angry at the same time being silent and pondering in my own heart I can only resolve that the only way this could happen is what Christ did on the cross. As Jesus looked at his scoffers; his enemies he prayed for their salvation. Jesus wasn't angry on the cross; He mourned for them at the same time they were killing him. Jesus did not mourn for Himself but when someone sins against me I tend to mourn myself. God forgive me.

God has given us the same heart Jesus had on the cross. We have the ability to mourn for our enemies at the same time they're sinning against us. A sinful heart would say “you will pay for the sins you committed against me” a godly heart says, “Jesus paid for the sin; therefore I can hold nothing against you”. Do you see the beauty in this? This truth sets us free from the bondage of entitlement. Now we can ponder in our own heart and be silent when we are angry. When the psalmist says be silent, I don't think it means don't talk. I really think it means be at peace and because of the work that Jesus did on the cross; we can be at peace and at the same time be angry because we can mourn for our enemy rather than ourselves. This frees us up to pray for their salvation, joy, and peace in Him.