Psalm 51

We are going to be in Psalm 51 this morning, Psalm 51. Why is it that one of the more difficult words in the English language to pronounce is “sorry?” In the same vein, why is one of the more difficult things in this life the practice of asking forgiveness? Maybe because it forces humility. Maybe because it makes us vulnerable. Maybe because we live in a culture where arrogance and strength outshine humility and vulnerability.

This is another one of the Psalms of David in which we have specific events that have led to him writing it. “To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone into Bathsheba.” It’s important for us to start there, in 2 Samuel 11 and 12, to understand the gravity of David’s response in Psalm 51. I’ll summarize the narrative, so no need to turn there this morning.

David was the reigning king if Israel, who was at war with the Ammonites. During one particular battle, David stayed back in Jerusalem, and as he was up on the rooftop, he spotted a beautiful woman named Bathsheba bathing. He sent for her, brought her into his bed, and slept with her. She became pregnant, so David devised a plan to cover up his sin. He summoned her husband, Uriah, from battle, to get a report. He told him to spend the night with his wife, but Uriah refused because he didn’t think it fair that he would enjoy his night while his brothers were off fighting. The next night, David held a big feast, invited Uriah in and got him drunk, thinking he would not have clarity of thought to refuse his wife a second time, but he did.

The next morning he sent a letter to Joab, telling him to place Uriah on the front lines of battle, and when the fighting increased, have the soldiers pull back, but leave Uriah there to die. This happened, and David got report back that Uriah was dead. David sent for Bathsheba and made her his wife. 2 Samuel 11:27, “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.”

The Lord sent Nathan the prophet to confront David, and he did so by telling a story. He told David the story of a rich man and a poor man. The rich man had many herds and flocks, and the poor man had only 1 ewe lamb, which became to him like a child. A guest came to visit the rich man, but he was unwilling to take one of his own flock, so he took the one belonging to the poor man, killed it and prepared it for the meal.

David gets angry, and says that the man responsible for this deserves to die, but first he had to restore the lamb fourfold. Nathan then rebukes David by saying, “You are that man! Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight?” David is immediately broken and ashamed, and in that guilt and shame, he pens Psalm 51. But, not before Nathan tells David that “the Lord also has put away all your sins; you shall not die.” Remember last week how we talked about all Scripture pointing to Jesus? We’ll get back to that one…

Read Psalm 51

Big Idea: When we confess our sins to God, He is faithful and just to forgive.

Even though David wrote this Psalm in response to a very specific event in his life, we can see in it a blueprint for confession. There is a process here that gets us from conviction and guilt, to restoration and joy. This is an important message this morning, because I believe this is one of the spiritual disciplines that we don’t pursue daily.

A Process of Confession

1. Turn to God (1)

The first thing that David does is turn his attention towards God. He positions himself in such a way that the goodness of God is on full display through an admittance of God’s mercy and steadfast love. The first word David uses for mercy means “God holding back the deserved punishment for sins.” David says, “I know I deserve it, but God you are steadfast in your love for me.” The second word David uses for mercy is an emotional term synonymous with the New Testament idea of God being “moved with compassion.”

David starts by recognizing that God is a God who is moved with compassion, who is defined by His steadfast love, and has the power to withhold the deserved punishment of sin. Now, did God withhold ALL the punishment from David? No. In 2 Samuel 12 we see Nathan tell David that “because you killed Uriah with the sword, the sword will never depart from your house.” David’s wives will be taken from him and “given to his neighbors.” David also loses the son Bathsheba was carrying as a result of his sin. So, there is great consequence for his actions.

However, based on what David did, murder, adultery and the cover up, he deserved to die. Based on the Law, death was his consequence. David recognizes what he deserves, and he pleads with God for mercy.

This must be where we start. For us to even begin a process of confession and repentance, we have to position ourselves to recognize who God is, and who we are before Him. We are nothing in comparison, undeserving of His mercy, but yet His steadfast love and abundant mercy endure forever. Here’s a bit of foreshadowing: that love and mercy are personified in and through Jesus.

Clarity around who God is gives us proper alignment to begin the process of repentance. We turn from our sin and position ourselves in humility toward God. Step 1.

2. Admit Our Wrongdoing (3-5)

This is perhaps the hardest step in the process. The admission of sin is a difficult thing for us. It can carry great shame. It makes us vulnerable and shows our weakness. David went from an extensive plan to cover his tracks, to being exposed, to a deep understanding of his wrongdoing. We notice some interesting thoughts in these few verses.

First, David says “my sin is ever before me.” He just can’t shake it. It is weighing him down to the point that he can’t stop thinking about it. He’s got to get it out. That’s the guilt talking.

Second, he says that it’s only against God that He has sinned. Now, we know that this isn’t a literal statement. He sinned against Bathsheba. He sinned against Uriah. He sinned against Israel. So what does he mean here? It could perhaps be his recognition that the most severe aspect of our sin is the fact that it is rebellion against God. It’s a horrible thing when we wrong someone because of our sin, absolutely, but that’s an impossible comparison to the offence against God. He’s emphasizing the severity of his errors.

Third, he takes it to a deeper level of his sin nature. He says, “I was born in sin, no, I was conceived into sin.” In other words, at the point of conception I had a sin nature. David isn’t just admitting a mistake, a decision that could be categorized as sin. David is admitting that his human nature is wicked, and out of that wickedness sprang forth adultery, and murder.

We can really feel his shame here. “God, I messed up! I messed up big time and I can’t stop thinking about what I’ve done. I’ve hurt a lot of people along the way, but God, most egregious is my sin against you. I’m a wicked person. My thoughts fail me. My heart is pulled in the direction of rebellion. I see that! I admit that before you.”

So now, David has positioned himself with his eyes set on the Lord, he has placed everything out on the table by confessing his sin. Here’s the next step:

3. Pray for Cleansing (1d-2, 7, 9)

Blot out means to wipe away. Wash me thoroughly is a verb used most commonly with washing clothes. Purge me with hyssop is an allusion to the cleansing of a leper in Leviticus 14, when the priest would dip the hyssop into the sacrificial blood and sprinkle it seven times on the diseased. In a deeper connection, a branch of hyssop was used by the Israelites to smear the blood on the doorframe in Egypt, to mark their homes so the angel of death would pass them by, sparing them and their families.

All of these phrases are with the purpose of 7b, “I shall be whiter than snow.” This implies an absolute purity. No spot. No dirt. Nothing. This is what David is asking for, why?

Sin stains. Sin pollutes our hearts. Sin causes disease and corruption in our souls. And we need something, or better yet, somebody, to purify us. David recognizes that he is incapable to fix himself. He is unable to rid himself of his sin by his own power. He knows that the only One capable is the Lord. He is crying out to God,    “purify me. Take these sins and destroy them. Throw them as far as the east is from the west. Wash me clean.

Now this begs the question for us: If Jesus took our sins to the cross, and provided finality in the forgiveness of sins, do we need to continually pray for cleansing? Let’s save that one for the end as well  

Now that David has directed his attention to the character of God, has confessed his sin, has asked for forgiveness, he takes it to the final step…

4. Pray for Restoration and Renewal (8, 10-12)

It’s enough to ask God to cleanse us of our sins, but now David goes a step further by asking God to go above and beyond in restoration. He says:

A. Let me hear joy and gladness – Because of the forgiveness that David has received, he seeks joy. He wants to rejoice in who God is, in what He has done for him.

B. Let the bones that you have broken rejoice – This speaks to the painful consequences that he has endured because of his sin. He is physically in pain, broken because of the fallout of his sin. And he wants to turn that brokenness into joy in the Lord.

C. Renew a right spirit within me – Bring me back to a place where You can once again say that I am a man after your own heart. Set my soul on the path of righteousness. Align my inmost being with You.

D. Restore to me the joy of your salvation – I’ve known the joy of your salvation. I want to rejoice again. Give that back to me. I’ve experienced your saving works, remind me of those times. Remind me of the joy I felt when you rescued me. Restore to me that joy!

E. Uphold me with a willing spirit – Give me the spirit to keep pursuing you, to keep running hard after you. Instill in me the desire to walk with you, to follow your ways.

All of this, for David, is something that he has experienced before. He has experienced joy and gladness. He has danced and rejoiced before the Lord. He walked in righteousness with God. He experienced joy in God rescuing him. He was willing to do the hard things to glorify and honor God. And in a moment, it’s all taken away. Sin separates us from God, leaving an impossible chasm between us. Somebody must step in to forgive, restore, and renew.

Jesus

For us, that somebody is Jesus. We can look at this process as ones who walk on  the other side of the cross, with the blood of Jesus at the center of all of it. Yes our sin separates us from God, but Jesus stepped in to die the death that we deserve, providing a way for that chasm to be crossed.

Colossians 2:13-14 – “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”

There’s finality in it. Cancelling the record of debt that stood against us.

But this begs the question for us, if Jesus took care of our sins once and for all, Why do we have to continue to ask for forgiveness. With Jesus’ last breath, He said it is finished. But prior to that He taught us to pray by asking God to forgive us our debts, or sins. How can these go hand in hand?

Let’s be clear, when we submit our lives to Jesus, we are united to Him in His death and resurrection, and enter a permanent state of peace with God. Paul tells us in Romans 4:8 that the Lord will not count our sins against us. Let’s not confuse our theology here.

But there is purpose in coming to the cross with our heads down and our hands raised in humility and brokenness, every day. When we tearfully admit our sins before our loving Father, we re-align ourselves positionally before Him. See when we sin, we are saying that we know better than God. But when we seek forgiveness, it reminds us that God knows best, and laid out a way to live for our good and for his glory.

Daily confession and pleading for forgiveness also reminds us who God is. Our God is a loving God who delights in forgiving His children. When one of our children do something wrong, does it change the fact that they are our children? No! But it brings our heart joy when they admit their wrongdoing, and ask for forgiveness. It’s like a proud parenting moment when that happens. And we get to lovingly forgive them.

One more thing to keep in mind here is that we are encouraged to make this a daily discipline in our lives. Jesus taught us to pray that God would forgive us our debts. John, in his 1st letter said that “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

With all of this in mind, we can look back at the process and readily apply it to our lives:

1. Turn to God

2. Admit our wrongdoing

3. Pray to be washed clean (forgiveness)

4. Pray for restoration and renewal

Why? Big Idea: When we confess our sins to God, He is faithful and just to forgive.