Well, good morning, church. Turn with me if you have a Bible or follow along with me on the screen.
We're reading Psalm 51. We're continuing in our series through the Psalms. As we've said,
the Psalms are a collection of songs and prayers written over several hundred years, collected
by several different people that were gradually collected into the songbook or the prayer book
of the ancient Israelites. We've seen many different kinds of Psalms written out of different
life situations, Psalms of lament, people calling out to God in trouble and turmoil, Psalms of trust,
people holding on to God's promises in the midst of shaky times, Psalms of praise, people looking
around at the world and looking at the works of God and giving Him the thanks and praise that He is
due. Today, we're looking at a Psalm of repentance. In other words, turning to God in the midst of our
sin and failure. So let me read Psalm 51 for us today. Psalm 51, to the choir master, a Psalm of
David, when Nathan the prophet went to him after he had gone into Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God.
According to your steadfast love, according to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions and my
sin is ever before me against you. You only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought
forth in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth and the inward being and
you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Wash me and I
shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness with the bones that you have broken.
Rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart,
O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy
Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways and sinners will return to you.
Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your
righteousness. O Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise, for you will not delight in
sacrifice or I would give it. You will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of
God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Do good to Zion
in your good pleasure. Build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then will you delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings, in whole burnt offerings. Then bowls will be offered on your altar.
Father, let's pray. Father, thank you for this psalm, this prayer written by David so long ago
and preserved for us today. We pray that by your spirit that this too would become our prayer,
that this prayer would help us to draw near to you and to know and be assured of your grace. In Jesus'
name, amen. So how do you respond when you have messed up? When you fail to live up to your own
standards, when you've wronged or harmed other people, when you have sinned against your creator?
That's what this psalm is about. It was written in the aftermath of David's worst moral failure.
The story is recorded in 2 Samuel 11 and 12. David the king was at home in the palace while his army
was off at war. Late one afternoon, he saw a beautiful woman named Bathsheba, and despite being told that her
husband was a soldier fighting for the king on the front lines, David summoned her to come with him.
When he learned a little while later that he had made her pregnant, David tried various schemes to
cover up what had happened, and when those didn't work, he arranged for her husband to be conveniently
killed in battle. Adultery, deception, murder. It was a horrible mess. All of David's own making.
And for quite some time, perhaps a few months, David did not face up or fess up to what he had done.
He ignored his servants' polite hints of disapproval. He married Bathsheba and prepared to go on with his
life. Until one day, David's friend, the prophet Nathan, did a courageous thing. He came over and
tactfully but boldly rebuked and confronted David with the reality of what he had done.
Sometime after that conversation, David wrote this psalm.
Now, you may or may not have had a catastrophic moral failure that, like David's, David's failure
had consequences for himself, for his family, for his kingdom, for the rest of his life.
But this psalm helps us to turn to God when we've messed up, when we've failed, when we've fallen short,
when we've fallen short. And what I want us to see this morning is this psalm leads us on a three-part
journey of repentance, from pleading to longing to praising. So we're going to look at those three
themes as we go through the psalm, pleading, longing, and praising. First theme that we see in verses 1
through 5 is David pleading for grace and facing his guilt. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your
steadfast love, according to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgressions, wash me thoroughly from my
iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. David begins by appealing to God's character, to God's grace.
That word translated mercy in verse 1. It's a word that means showing favor to the undeserving.
And he appeals to God's steadfast love. That word in the Old Testament that refers to God's unchanging
commitment, his unfailing promise, his unwavering choice to love and to stay with his people.
And third, he appeals to God's abundant mercy. If God's steadfast love refers to God's committed
love, God's abundant mercy refers to God's emotional love, his yearning for us, his compassion, his deeply
felt affection for us. David begins by appealing to God's gracious character. And then he pleads for
God to act. He uses three verbs. He says, blot out my transgressions. That's a word that means
erase them from the chalkboard or strike them out from the list or wipe them away like you wipe dirt
out of a dish. Then he says, wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. That was a word that was used for
doing laundry. And it's actually a word that means tread on or step on because sometimes to do laundry
back then they'd put all the dirty clothes in a pail of water or a tub of water and they'd step on them,
right? To get the deeply ingrained dirt out, to cleanse them. That third word, cleanse me from my
sin, that word appears a lot in Leviticus where various objects or people were, where the stains
were removed, where whatever was separating them from God was cleansed away so they could come into
the presence of God again. So David begins by pleading for grace, pleading for forgiveness,
pleading for to be received once into the presence of God once again. And then in verses three to five,
he faces his guilt. He says, for I know my transgressions, my sin is ever before me. It's as if
he's looking at all that he has done and he's not turning his face away or trying to distract himself
or avoiding it. He's not blaming somebody else or minimizing what he did. He's not living in denial
about it. He's facing it head on. He's facing the height and the depth of his guilt. Verse four, he faces
the height of his guilt. He says, against you, only you have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.
Now that statement doesn't minimize the wrong and harm that David did to Bathsheba, to her husband Uriah,
and to the whole nation of Israel by betraying their trust. The point of verse four is not that
our sins don't affect other people. It's that sin is a problem, not just because another person says it
is, but ultimately because God says it is. Because you see, if the main problem was that David sinned
against Bathsheba, then what if Bathsheba had eagerly consented? What if Bathsheba in the end said,
well, I don't think it's all that serious? I'd rather be with you than with Uriah?
Would that have made David's, would that have made it less wrong? Would that have removed the offense?
Or if the main problem was that David offended against the social norms of ancient Israel? Well,
a lot of ancient cultures would have said the king's authority is absolute and needs to be maintained
at all costs. This situation is perhaps unfortunate, but ultimately justifiable.
You see, if sin is ultimately or primarily an offense against other individuals or against social norms,
we end up very quickly on a slippery slope. Because individuals' feelings and social norms can vary
and change very quickly. But the Bible says that sin is an offense ultimately against a holy
and unchanging God. We can't just manage the consequences of our sin on a human level. We
must reckon with our sin and guilt before the Almighty God Himself. And so verse 4, David faces the height
of his guilt. And then in verse 5, he faces the depth of his guilt. He says, behold, I was brought forth
in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. Now this is another verse that can be easily misunderstood.
David's not blaming his mom. And he's not saying anything bad about the circumstances of his birth
or the process of conceiving a child. Over and over, the Bible says children are a gift from the Lord.
But the Bible also says that in this fallen world, no human being, not even the littlest,
weakest, or most vulnerable, is entirely free of moral corruption. There never was a time
when we were completely pure and innocent. Even when we came into the world. You see, David's
recognizing that his sin, his moral corruption, is deeply ingrained in his character. It wasn't just a
phase. This wasn't just some midlife crisis that David went through and made a stupid decision in the
middle of an otherwise upright life. His failure wasn't just a freak accident. David's acknowledging,
my character has been twisted and warped ever since I came into the world. My words and actions have
proceeded out of the evil in my own heart. Deep down, I am a sinner.
He's facing his guilt. The height and the depth. Now, before we go on, let's apply this first point
in two practical ways. First, when we sin, let's begin where David does, by pleading with God for
grace on the basis of his character. You know, sometimes we might think that the first thing
David needs to do is face his sin and failure in all its ugliness, and then he'll be motivated to
turn to God. But here the order is actually reversed. The first thing he does is plead for grace.
And that actually gives him the courage that he wouldn't otherwise have to face his guilt. The height
and the depth. You see, apart from some sense of God's grace and mercy that is available to us,
we will not be able to face our sin and guilt in its height and in its depth without simply despairing.
You see, pleading for grace actually enables us to face our guilt without being completely crushed by it.
But second, have we faced our sin and our guilt before God?
You know, maybe you've done something that has affected another person or other people. Perhaps
you've done wrong to your parents or to your children or to a spouse or to a friend. And maybe
you're trying to figure out, how do I fix that or how do I repair a damaged relationship?
But have you dealt with your sin, not just in its horizontal dimensions as it affects other people,
but in its vertical dimension before God? Have you reckoned with how your sin is an offense
against the Lord of glory, against your very own maker?
Have you asked forgiveness not just from other people, but have you asked forgiveness from God
himself? You see, when we deal with our sin before God, then we will see more clearly
what we ought to do to make things right with our neighbor.
It's the right place to start by dealing with our sin before God. So that's the first movement of
repentance we see in this psalm, David pleading for grace. The second movement that we see in verses
6 through 12 is longing for renewal. Behold, David says in verse 6, you delight in truth in the inward
being. That's a statement of God's purpose, right? God's desire that we become people of integrity,
people of truth and faithfulness, just like God himself is. And then in this section, we hear David
longing for God to carry out that good purpose in him personally and deeply, inwardly.
Look down at verses 7 and 8 for a moment. In most English translations, these verses are translated
as requests. Purge me, wash me, let me hear, let my bones rejoice. It sounds very much like pleading,
right? More pleading, just like verses 1 and 2. But the Hebrew verb tense is actually different.
In verses 1 and 2, it's the imperative, which is what you'd normally use to make a request.
But here, from the second half of verse 6 through the end of verse 8, it's what's called the imperfect
tense. Now, the imperfect tense can express a wish or request, but normally it expresses a future
action or a not yet completed action. And I think it's actually best to translate it that way here.
All the verbs from the second half of verse 6 to the end of verse 8 are all in the same imperfect tense.
So if you translate it that way, here's what you get.
You will teach me wisdom in the secret heart. You will purge me with hyssop and I will be clean.
You will wash me and I will be whiter than snow. You will make me hear joy and gladness. The bones
that you have broken will rejoice. You see, I think David isn't just pleading here. He's going one step
further. He's holding on to God's promise and God's good purpose and he's longing for God to work that
out within him. And he's actually expressing confidence that God can and God will. You will
cleanse me and I'll be clean. You can do it through and through. These are hopeful affirmations
of God's transforming and inwardly renewing power. And brothers and sisters, we too can take hold of
and God's good purpose and long for him to work that out within us. Romans 8 29 says God's eternal
purpose for everyone who trusts in Jesus is that we become conformed to the image of his son. And that's
a word that means sort of reflecting the beautiful image of Jesus. Reflecting his glory, shining with his
beauty. The point is this, no matter how far you have fallen, no matter how many times you have fallen,
if you are looking to Jesus, God is not finished with you yet. That's a promise we can hold onto,
that motivates us to long for God to carry out his renewing and transforming work within us. That's
what leads David to say in verse 10, create in me a clean heart. You know, David's not just sitting
back and saying, okay God, well I guess you'll do whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it.
Do it if you want to do it. No, that's not a biblical attitude. No, David's longing for God to renew him
in the here and now, deeply and personally. You see, he's not only praying in this psalm for forgiveness
and release from his guilt, he's praying for renewal, for freedom from the enslaving power
and from the corrupting influence of sin. That word create throughout the Old Testament is only
used to refer to God's action. It's never used to refer to anything that a human being does.
So when David says, create in me a clean heart, he's saying, God, do what only you can do.
And that word create isn't just a one-time action. It's an ongoing, renewing work. God continuing to
renew him from the inside out, create in me a clean heart, renew a right spirit within me.
That word create means to shape or fashion or build or form. And David's saying, God,
keep on shaping me, keep on fashioning me, keep on forming me.
Don't cast me away, verse 11, he prays, from your presence. Don't take your Holy Spirit from me.
You know, before David became king, he had served under a man named King Saul.
And for a time, the spirit of the Lord had come upon Saul and empowered him to defeat Israel's
enemies and to rule over Israel. But Saul's heart had never really been in the right place with God.
And so there was a time when Saul directly disobeyed God's command. In fact, there were multiple times
where Saul directly disobeyed God's command. And there were multiple times when Saul was confronted
by the prophet Samuel, like David was confronted by the prophet Nathan. But Saul only made superficial
apologies along with excuses. And he hardened his heart against the Lord more and more.
And in fact, at one point in 1 Samuel, it says the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and a harmful
spirit from the Lord tormented him. And David saw that because Saul actually started attacking David
when that happened. David saw the, the, the Saul's life sort of going down and down and down and down.
And so what David is praying here is, Lord, have mercy on me. Don't let me end up like Saul did.
The way I saw his life go down. You know, if you read through 1 and 2 Samuel, the two main characters,
apart from Samuel, are Saul and David, the first two kings of Israel. And the difference between Saul and
David is not that Saul sinned and David didn't. No, they both had significant failures. They both sinned
greatly against the Lord. But the difference that you will see is how they responded when they were
confronted with their sin. David repented, not perfectly, but sincerely. And God restored David.
Not completely. There were still consequences. The end of 2 Samuel is a little messy.
But David repented and God restored him while Saul did not.
You know, I wonder if you are afraid that because of your sins and failures, that God will one day,
or perhaps that God has already cast you away and taken away his spirit from you.
Pray, verse 11.
And know that God hears and answers the prayer of a humble and contrite heart.
God did not take his spirit away from David despite the seriousness of David's sin and failure.
It was a mess.
A horrible mess.
And it was all David's fault.
But God didn't take away his spirit from David.
And he will not take his spirit away from anyone who truly turns to him.
Jesus said the same thing.
Jesus made the same promise.
He said, anyone who comes to me, I will never cast away.
So, brothers and sisters, we can hold on to that promise.
You know, in fact, if you are praying verses 10 through 12 or something like verses 10 through 12,
if you're asking God, renew me and cleanse my heart, that means his spirit is still at work within you.
Because if his spirit was not at work within you at all, then you would not be praying such a prayer.
So, be encouraged by these verses.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation.
And David prays, uphold me with a willing spirit.
He doesn't even notice he's not even just praying for cleansing.
He's praying for joy.
He's praying that his spirit would have eagerness and generosity and a desire to carry out God's will once again.
Amen.
So, we've seen David pleading for grace.
We've seen him longing for renewal.
And finally, in the third section, we see him praising.
Praising God's name.
The first two sections of the psalm have focused on David and the Lord.
If you notice, nobody else is in the picture in these first two sections of the psalm.
And when we've sinned against the Lord, that's the right place to start.
Because sometimes when we mess up, we can immediately distract ourselves with secondary concerns.
Like, oh Lord, I've messed up and there's all these bad consequences coming my way.
Lord, save me from these bad consequences.
These painful things that I don't want to experience.
That might come my way as a result of what I've done.
Or, Lord, other people are going to hear about what I've done.
And my reputation will be damaged.
Or, somebody's going to be mad at me and never want to speak to me again.
Now, those are all legitimate concerns to deal with at one point or another.
But those are secondary to, are we in a right place before God?
Praying this psalm helps us put first things first.
To focus on getting right with God at the heart level.
Because that's what matters more than anything else.
Now, of course, if we've wronged somebody else, we also need to consider what steps we need to take towards making things right with them.
That's part of genuinely turning to God.
Is genuinely loving our neighbor by wanting to repair the damage that has been done.
That's not the focus of this psalm.
But other biblical passages give us some good guidance about how to carry that out.
And how to go about that.
But starting in this third section, the focus is not only on David and the Lord.
The focus broadens.
And you see that even in verse 13.
David says,
And that word return in verse 13 is the same word translated restore in verse 12.
In verse 12, David says,
And in verse 13, David says,
You see, the one who God has restored will then restore others.
And God has done this throughout the history of his people, right?
In fact, David's prayer in verse 13 is being answered right now.
As we read this psalm,
And as God by his Holy Spirit works in our hearts to help even people like us draw near to him.
And know his grace and his forgiveness and his cleansing power.
And come to praise him.
I mean, isn't that amazing how God brought out of David's most miserable failure,
this beautiful song that has helped generations of people
to draw near to God in the midst of their own sin and failure.
Isn't that amazing how God can redeem the worst things?
Our own worst failures and sins.
And Jesus does this in the New Testament, right?
Jesus says to Peter,
On the night before he was crucified,
Jesus says,
Tonight, Peter, you're going to deny me three times.
But when you've turned back again,
strengthen your brothers.
The Apostle Paul says a similar thing.
1 Timothy 1.15,
He says,
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst.
But I receive mercy for this reason.
That in me, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience.
As an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
And if God built his church through apostles like Peter and Paul,
God can build his church today through people like you and me.
Who have been restored by his grace.
And who proclaim his ways to the world.
Verse 13, David's proclaiming God's ways publicly.
And then verse 14 through 17, David's publicly praising God.
He says,
Open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise.
Now there was a time where David was not declaring God's praise.
It was probably a few months or so after David had sinned with Bathsheba.
But before he acknowledged his sin to the Lord.
And David describes this time in another psalm, Psalm 32.
He says,
When I kept silent,
that is when I wasn't fessing up to my sin.
When I wasn't acknowledging what I had done before you.
My bones wasted away.
I was groaning all day long.
Your hand was heavy upon me.
My strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
In other words, the overwhelming guilt and shame of his sin was pressing down upon him.
And he was living in silent and unrepentant shame.
But now, instead of living in the prison of silent shame,
David has been released and he's joyfully declaring God's praise.
Because he's experienced God's grace and mercy and forgiveness.
And God renew, beginning to renew him from the inside out.
And now he can stand and praise God's name.
And his praise comes from the heart.
He says,
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.
A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Genuine praise begins with a heart that has been broken over sin.
And restored by God's grace.
That's where true worship begins.
Not with a certain kind of music.
Or not with outward forms.
But with a changed heart.
Jesus said,
Those who have been forgiven much,
Love God much.
Now the last two verses of this psalm
Broaden our focus even more.
Right?
We've seen David proclaiming God's ways.
And sinners being restored to God.
Praising God in the midst of the congregation.
But then in verses 18 and 19,
We see a picture of God restoring the whole city.
You see, David ruled in Jerusalem.
And so when God was dealing with David and restoring David,
It was going to have effects.
And it was even a picture of how God could restore the whole people.
See, these last two verses point us to a communal dimension
Of God's restoration.
Do good to Zion in your good pleasure.
Build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Then will you delight in right sacrifices.
Now, when you read verse 19,
If you look closely,
Verse 19 seems to contradict verse 16.
Because what does verse 16 say?
Verse 16 says,
You won't delight in sacrifice,
And you won't be pleased with a burnt offering.
But then verse 19 says,
Then you will delight in right sacrifices,
In burnt offerings,
In whole burnt offerings.
So you might read those verses and say,
Wait a minute.
Which one is it?
Does God want sacrifices?
Or does he not want sacrifices?
It seems to be saying opposite things.
Well, the point of verses 16 and 17
Is that more than anything else in the world,
God wants our hearts.
God honors those who come before him
With broken and humble hearts.
And that matters more to God
Than any outward expressions or forms of worship.
That's what sacrifices were in the Old Testament.
Right?
They were sort of the public thing.
It was a feast.
These kinds of sacrifices.
You know, right now,
I think verse 16 and 17
Is a very important truth
For the church of God
Throughout the world to remember.
Right?
Because in most places,
Our outward expressions
And forms of worship
Have been significantly disrupted.
Right?
We used to have a full sanctuary.
Right?
We could hear everybody singing
Loudly.
And that was great.
Right?
And we're missing that now.
Right?
We're not sitting down
To big meals in the fellowship
Like we used to.
Right?
Some of you are watching
This worship service at home
On a screen.
Some of you are sitting here
You know,
We're trying to talk in face masks
And communicate with limitations.
All of these things
Are less than ideal.
Right?
Necessary for a time
But less than ideal.
And this winter
Some things may become
More challenging.
But here's the point.
This uncomfortable
And disruptive season
Will not be wasted
If it leads us
To come before the Lord
With broken and contrite
And humble hearts.
Because that's more important
Than any of those
Outward forms of worship
That we're missing
Or wanting
Or longing for.
If God uses this season
To break our hearts
Before him
To bring us
To turn to him
With all of our hearts
It will not be wasted.
That's the heart
Of true worship.
It's not a big meal
It's not a big choir
It's not a big band
On stage
It's not a big building
With a certain number
Of people
It's broken
And repentant hearts
Turning to the God
Who has rescued
And forgiven us
And who keeps on
Renewing us
Day by day.
And there's nothing
That's stopping God
From doing that right now.
But having said that
Verse 18 and 19
Remind us
That we can also pray
That God in his mercy
Brings this uncomfortable
And disruptive season
To a speedy end
And that God's church
Here in New Haven
And all around the world
Can once again
Gather without disruption
And celebrate
Without restriction.
Right?
That's a picture
Of verse 18 and 19
His large gatherings
Lavish celebrations
Verse 17 reminds us
God wants our hearts
More than anything else
And sometimes
God will take away
Other things
Just like he did
During the Babylonian exile
To get our attention
To call us to repentance
To call us
To the simplicity
Of coming before him
With a broken
And contrite heart
But if our hearts
Are in the right place
God delights
In large gatherings
In lavish celebrations
And we can
And even as we seek
To make the most
Of a challenging season
For however long
It may endure
We can look forward
To those things
Once again
When the proper time comes
We can look forward
To celebrating
And rejoicing
And all the fanfare
Of a great big worship service
That is a picture
Of heaven to come
So brothers and sisters
This psalm invites us
Individually
And communally
To walk in the way
Of repentance
Pleading for God's grace
Longing for his renewal
And praising
His glorious name
Let's pray
Father thank you
For this psalm
This word to us
We pray that it would
Draw our hearts
And even throughout this week
Continue to draw our hearts
Into the way of repentance
Lord that we would plead
For your grace
And mercy
And face our guilt
For what it is
And that we would
Know your forgiveness
Through the cross
Of Jesus Christ
We thank you
That through him
He is the atoning
Sacrifice for our sins
He is the one
Who by his spirit
Renews us day by day
And Lord
Would you renew us
Not only individually
But also communally
Lord may we experience
That restoring power
And that
That change
Those
The joy in praising you
For how you work
In each one of us
And among us
We pray this in Jesus name
Amen