Growing Up with the Psalms: (Part V)

THE REPENTANT PSALM

Psalm 51:1-13

God in His great wisdom has allowed the Bible to be filled with numerous accounts of lives that can serve as excellent sources of teachings for us today. Many of these lives can show us that though they were real ordinary human lives subjected also to the same temptations and struggles like us, they were able to leave some left some remarkable mark in their times because of their intimate relationship with God. I am reminded of what the apostle Paul has said

Since we are studying the book of Psalms, the life that immediately stands out is David. Almost half of the 150 Psalms are attributed to him. He was truly a remarkable man of God. Through God's help, from his humble beginning as a shepherd boy in Bethlehem, he became one of the most outstanding kings of Israel. He is not only well known for his victories, His Psalms are also exceptionally inspirational.

Our Bible text this morning would be one of them. What makes this Psalm really significant is the fact that this came out during one of the lowest times in David's life. All of us are probably familiar with David's adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, which was recorded in 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12. To give you a little summary, this moral failure started when David looked with lust on Bathsheba as she bathed. Despite of his knowledge that she was married to one of his military generals, he summoned for her to be brought to his palace and engaged in a sexual relationship with her. To make the matters worse, when she became pregnant, David tried concealing his sin by plotting that Uriah is sent in the front lines of the battle so that he would be killed. It is quite obvious that this was not a sin of impulse. David wasn't just caught up in circumstances beyond his control. He planned and plotted to carry out his sin and he put great effort into concealing it. No one would probably expected David to go this low. But, in God's mercy, He confronted David for his sin of adultery and murder through the prophet Nathan. God gave him the blessed opportunity to make it right with Him.

This was the occasion behind Psalm 51. David will humble himself before God and seek His forgiveness and restoration. I believe this is a great Psalm to study because in one way or another we can all relate to the story of David. We are all creatures of failures. David can show us how we should respond to God when we have offended Him because of our sins. I want to divide our passage into three and demonstrate how David dealt with his sin:

I     THE CONFESSION OF GUILT:

In the Bible, man had commonly responded towards sin in four different ways: First, there is the response of Adam and Eve who would not take responsibility of their actions. They would pass the blame on someone else. Adam blamed Eve; while Eve blamed the serpent for her disobedience (Genesis 3:12-13). Secondly, you have someone like King Saul who tried to justify what he did. Instead of admitting his guilt, he said he disobeyed because he wanted to offer God an offering for worship (1 Samuel 13:1-15). Then, there are also people who would cover their sins. David tried to hide his adultery by killing Uriah. And last but not the least; the only right response is the confession of sin. After David was finally confronted for his sin, he had a change of heart which led to his confession.

Allow me to clarify the idea of confession. Many times when we speak of confession, we think it means that we are sorry for our sins, that we tell our sins to God and ask Him for forgiveness. However, when you go to the Bible, the word confession literally suggests to say the same things. Therefore, to repent and seek God's forgiveness for our sins, we need to begin in saying the same things about our sin based on God's view of sin. Throughout the Psalm 51, you would find David using three specific words to refer to sin that clearly conforms to God's perspective:

A. Transgression (v.1) - This means rebellion wherein a sinner breaks away from or sets himself or herself against the lawful authority. It describes a willful act of disobedience.

B. Iniquity (v.2) - This simply means crooked, twisted or bent.

C. Sin (v.2) - This literally means missing the mark, or the goal.

Do you see your sins in the same way? Today, our society had tried changing some labels in order to undermine the seriousness of the offense against God. Instead of calling it homosexuality, they are calling it alternative lifestyle; for fornication, they are calling it sexually active; and then for drug addiction, the label is drug dependent. I'm sure you can still think of other sins that people have stop calling the way God calls them. Clearly, this is our society's attempt to lessen or eliminate accountability.

In here, David is acknowledging the fact that he is guilty before God and admit that he deserves to be punished for what he has done. That's the reason why he can say in verse 4 - Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.

Beloved, forgiveness begins when we are willing to humble ourselves to God and see our sins the way He sees them and accept the fact the He has all the right to judge us because we are really guilty. Confessing your sin is much better than covering it:

II    THE CALL FOR GRACE:

David's sin has made him extremely miserable. Listen to him describe his condition:

• v. 8 - "Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice." (Physical aspect - becoming weak like an old man).
• v.11 - "Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me." (Spiritual aspect - Lost of fellowship with God).
• v.12 - "Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." (Emotional Aspect - Lost of joy in life).

When he pursued his lustful desire, he thought it would be gratify him. But, the truth is: it only brought him major complications in life. The Bible is quite clear about this truth:

Notice, sin promises some pleasures, but they are just for a short time. The consequences of sins are much greater especially for a child of God.

Because of David's condition, he calls to God and make an appeal for forgiveness based on His moral attributes. He was absolutely confident that because of His excellent moral character, He would show grace towards him. What characteristics of God did he emphasize?

A. "Unfailing Love": (v.1a)

David understood that God's love for him is constant. He does not stop loving him even when he disappoints Him.

We are not capable of the same love. Human love is so response- oriented. We only love those who love us. God, on the other hand, will continue to show us His love even when we stop loving Him. It is because of this love that we are still alive today. A writer for Daily Bread, David C. McCasland, wrote, "It is not health or wealth, but God's unfailing love that sets us free in every circumstance of life."

B. "Great Compassion": (v.1b)

David knew God as someone who possesses great compassion. Now, God's compassion or mercy which has been demonstrated throughout the Bible has often been understood as His capacity to withhold the deserved penalty and relieve the distress of the sinner He pardons.

David doesn't deny the fact that he deserves to be punished. But, he was asking that God be merciful to him. I want all of us to know that God like a good parent does not enjoy seeing us suffer because of sin. He feels our pain. He even hurts worse than we do at times. With regards to God's compassion, we often refer to

Do you know that these words were said at the height of Israel's rebelliousness that God allowed them to be taken as captives as a nation? Yet, God has never stopped loving them. If they have humbled themselves before God, God could have forgiven and replaced their sufferings with blessings.

This is exactly what David was doing. He was not excusing himself, trying to manipulate and abuse God for His love and mercy. He was sincerely humbling himself confessing his sins before God. Now, with such an attitude, will God forgive? Absolutely!

God will always forgive when we go to Him and confess our sins before Him. Once we are a child of God, we can never commit a sin that God won't forgive when we humbly seek out His forgiveness.

III   THE CONSEQUENCES OF GRATITUDE:

True repentance should always result to some works of righteousness. In the New Testament, John the Baptist preach a message of repentance, but he emphasized that repentance must have some fruits:

David knew this as well. If you consider the concluding verses of Psalm 51, you would find David making some promises to God:

A. To teach other sinners: (v.13)

"Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you."

It was David's resolve to be teachers of others. We have a saying that experience is the best teacher. David has gone through some experiences that others don't have to go through. For those who are going through what he has gone through, he can also provide some guidance to help others become overcomers. In the same, we should never waste our experiences. If we are overcomers today, we have the responsibility to assist others around us.

B. To praise God for His deliverance:

"Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise."

While David was in sin, there was no sense of God's presence in Him. His worship and praise were affected. David recognizes that once God has delivered him from sin , his praises will be restored. He can again declare the goodness of the Lord.

Beloved, our highest aim in life is to bring glory to God. Most often, Satan robs us of this opportunity because we allow sin to get the best of us. We have to guard ourselves from sin. If we fall, and I know we will, we should immediately humble ourselves and seek God's forgiveness. Let's us not prolong our agonies by trying to hide our sins. Just like David, let's make it right with God as soon as possible.