Psalm 51

I remember going to a college and career Sunday school class in my old church and Dean and Judy Stringer

! who live in Talmo, Georgia, not too far from the Sowers actually today they were teaching that class and

! and then I actually came that Sunday really broken and really fed up of myself and this was the song that we studied

and since that day like in 2002 like I have never found another passage in scripture I think that teaches on the true meaning of what

repentance before God looks like and so just in Psalm 51 today we're just going to walk through some of

we're not going to look at every little word and phrase but we're going to just walk through it together

and but we're going to kind of do it in the context of asking questions about about the psalm and

questions about repentance and uh as many in here know who who I you know confess my sin to and who I

pray with um and have accountability with uh they know that like I have a lot to learn about repentance

and um that I don't this isn't something that you just figure out that the Christian life is a life of repentance

continual repentance before God

so

let's just start very basic

but the word repent

at least in the Greek means to change one's mind for the better

it means to turn away from sin

hating it

turning to God and resolving by God's strength

to

not go back to it to overcome it

and so it's coming to God

um

so

it's not just a change of actions

it's a change of the way that somebody thinks about their sin

it's not like just do good things and you'll be fine

it's like you it changes your view of what sin is

before God

it's an attitude

shift that only that comes with

the new birth

um when the Holy Spirit saves us

and I don't know no better place to teach us about what repentance is than Psalm

51

but before we

dive into the Psalm

it's imperative that you know like what

what uh

the context is

um

most of you are not unfamiliar with the Psalm

but if you look at the

the title of it

like in the

above the little subtitle up here

it says to the choir master

a Psalm of David

when Nathan the prophet

went to him

after he had gone into Bathsheba

and so

the context of the story is found in 2 Samuel

2 Samuel 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11 and chapter 12

and

David is definitely one of my favorite

Bible characters

and I think without

these two chapters

we'd be really tempted to think that he was just like this invincible

guy

who

loved God and never messed up

um

and

the hope is not like well David's sinned

so I guess I can sin now

it is

the hope is

wow

um a man who had

such passion and love for God

fell into this

depth of sin

and God still showed him mercy

it showed that it magnifies the glory of

the gospel

so

this is where

King David

commits a terrible act of adultery

murder

and scandal

and

he first

he should have been off at war

fighting with his soldiers

but he's chilling out

in Jerusalem

and he

his eyes caught by

Bathsheba

who's bathing on

one of the rooftops

and

so he commits the act of adultery

has her

brought to him

and she is married to

a noble warrior

named Uriah

the Hittite

he must have been

like a

somewhat of like a mercenary

or a guy who had fled to Israel

and

believed in the true God

probably

and

so

he commits adultery

and then

shortly after

she comes in and says

like

I'm pregnant

I'm going to have

a baby

your baby

and he

panics obviously

his reputation is at stake

and

so what he does

he calls Uriah back

from the battlefield

tries to get him

to sleep with

his wife

so it can

appear as if it was his child

he refuses

because

it would be a dishonorable pleasure

for him to

partake of

while his men are out

fighting

and

something that David

should have been doing

and

so then he tries to get him drunk

plan B

he tries to get him drunk

to sleep with his wife

but he still doesn't do it

so then

he results to the worst

which is

to send him back

to the battlefield

and have him put

in the front line

to where he would be killed

by the enemy

and that's what happens

Uriah is killed

so then

David then moves in

marries Bathsheba

and he thinks he's

got everything covered

I mean

everybody knows

how one lie

has to be covered up

by another lie

and another lie

and another scandal

and

David knew

that this was wrong

and he still did it

he cared more about his

reputation

than anything

and then

God

God then sends

a prophet

Nathan

to confront David

and he tells David

a story

there was once

a rich man

and a poor man

there is a rich man

and a poor man

and the rich man

had many herds

many flocks

and the poor man

had one lamb

that he loved

and

treated almost as if

it was one of his

children

but then the rich man

had a visitor come

and instead of killing

one of the many

livestock that he had

he killed

and took

he stole

and killed

the little lamb

of the poor man

and then David

is outraged

he is furious

and he says

as the Lord lives

that man deserves

to die

you know

and little did he know

that he was pronouncing

judgment on himself

when he said that

so then

Nathan says

you are the man

and he

like

it's

it's like

he says

like

no

you're the man

he's like

you are the man

like yells it at him

and so he's found out

he's confronted by Nathan

and he knows that

that his sin

has been exposed

that the Lord

knows

like what happened

Proverbs 15

3 says

the eyes of the Lord

are in every place

keeping watch

over evil

and good

so

out of David's mouth

comes

I have sinned

against the Lord

and a psalm

of repentance

then comes

so

after he says

I have sinned

against the Lord

Nathan then tells him

the Lord

has taken away

your sin

crazy phrase

which we're going

to get into

so

so how can we

look at this

so I bet

later on

after Nathan

confronted him

he kind of

had some time

to himself

he probably

got alone

in the palace

or he went out

in the wilderness

where he was

when he was

fleeing Saul

and kind of

just got by himself

and he

communed

with the Lord

and

and he

wrote this psalm

in response

and this psalm

really does exhibit

true repentance

so we're going

to do it

in the form

of questions

the first one

is how do we

approach God

for mercy

and forgiveness

how do we

approach God

for mercy

and forgiveness

if you look

at verse 1

and 2

have mercy

on me

oh God

according to

your steadfast

love

according to

your abundant

mercy

blot out

my transgressions

wash me

thoroughly

of my iniquity

and cleanse me

from my sin

so

he pleads

mercy

and forgiveness

pardon

forgiveness

mercy

is undeserved

it is a

it's given

only by God's

good pleasure

nothing that you

can earn

at all

and

so what's

his case

before God

David has

no hope

of like

pleading with God

according to

his goodness

or his righteousness

because

based on the story

his righteousness

and goodness

is terrible

so he has

no case

to plead

like he can't

say I'm a good guy

he knows

that he's not

and his actions

just prove that

so it's faulty

so what does he do

he pleads not

on his own merit

he pleads

according to God

he says

according to

your

steadfast love

according to

your

abundant mercy

the way that reads

is the multitude

of your tender

mercies

your tender

compassions

so he

recognizes

he has no

entitlement

to ask God

for anything

at all

and

when we're there

we have to be

sensible

that God

should not

is under

no obligation

to spare us

we have to be

aware of that

reality

some of us

think that

we deserve it

when we get

angry with God

because of something

rough that happens

and shake our

fist at him

you're saying

that I deserve it

how dare you

bring this

upon me

David

has no such

case

he recognizes

that he's

not worthy

that God

should show

him mercy

otherwise

it would not

be mercy

right

so he

knows

there's

nothing

he can

do

to make

amends

for his

sins

so

what he

does

is awesome

you have

to remember

this

remember

this

when you

pray

David

appeals

to God

in a

manner

that

he taps

into the

very character

of God

himself

because he

knows

within

God

it's in

God's

nature

to be

merciful

he appeals

to God's

nature

not his

own

he

appeals

to God's

steadfast

love

it's in

the very

nature

of God

to forgive

and to

pardon

and that's

where he

goes

it's not

according

to you

or according

to me

and my

righteousness

but yours

it's in

the nature

of God

to forgive

pardon

heal

Isaiah

Isaiah 30:18

30

verse

18

says

therefore

Jehovah

longs

to be

gracious

to you

he longs

to be

gracious

to you

and therefore

he waits

on high

to have

compassion

on you

for Jehovah

is a God

of justice

how blessed

are those

who long

for him

so he

knows that

truth

and so

he's

going to

that

and so

that's

how you

have to

pray

like Lord

I'm

nothing

I don't

deserve

anything

but you

delight

in showing

compassion

you delight

in showing

mercy

so look

at the

terms

that are

used

in verses

1 and

2

like

they're

terms

of the

crime

committed

he uses

transgression

iniquity

and sin

they're all

pretty much

trying to

convey

the evil

of what

he's

done

so

transgression

is a

deliberate

premeditated

crossing of the line

that you knew

you weren't

supposed to cross

it's that

you know

that was

wrong

because

you're

going to

do

it

anyway

David

knew

what

he

was

doing

he

was

not

in

ignorance

at

all

also

iniquity

and that

is a

perverting

or a

twisting

of what

God

has said

I know

God

has said

this

I know

it's

okay

that

God

said

that

I

can't

live

this

way

or

act

that

way

but

I'm

going

to

do

it

anyway

!

It

can't

be

that

bad

it's

like

that

internal

lawyer

that

tries

to

justify

your

sin

when

you

know

God

has

said

no

and

then

he

used

the

term

sin

the

one

that

most

of

us

are

familiar

with

is

the

missing

of

the

mark

that

God

has

set

that

God

has

intended

for

you

to

live

and

all

of

us

have

missed

that

we've

all

fallen

short

of

the

way

that

God

intended

us

to

live

and

then

he

even

causes

his

act

evil

later

on

it's

that

dark

terrible

unholy

everything

that

is

not

God

so

that's

the

terms

he

uses

for

his

own

actions

he

doesn't

say

it

wasn't

that

bad

he's

like

I

was

committing

transgression

iniquity

and

sin

and

evil

so

then

what

does

he

say

he

uses

these

awesome

terms

depicting

spiritual

restoration

that

only

God

himself

can

perform

in

light

of

these

evils

he

used

the

term

blot

blot

out

my

transgressions

right

it

means

to

wipe

away

to

obliterate

exterminate

in

the

ancient

times

they

used

papyrus

to

write

on

and

it

was

pretty

valuable

a

lot

of

times

they

would

take

a

cloth

or

something

and

erase

something

that

was

on

it

and

reuse

it

and

he's

saying

here's

the

record

of

that

evil

blot it

out

wipe

it

away

then

he

says

wash

to

wash

by

treading

out

wash

away

we

all

know

how

refreshing

it

is

to

have

some

of

you

have

been

camping

or

hiking

for

days

and

days

at

a

time

been

in

the

field

and

you're

cool

with

it

while

you're

there

but

then

when

you

come

home

you're

like

man

I

gotta

get

a

shower

like

you

just

stink

and

you

after

you

get

home

but

we

all

know

how

good

that

feels

but

he's

talking

about

feeling

that

spiritually

like

washing

away

of

all

the

evil

that

he

has

done

then

he

used

the

words

to

cleanse

to

purify

to

make

whole

right

awesome

words

and

all

that

according

to

God's

steadfast

love

and

God's

aberned

mercy

these

are

words

that

our

souls

should

long

for

in

light

of

our

sin

so

that's

the

first

question

second

question

what

is

true

confession

of

sin

what

is

true

confession

of

sin

we

see

this

in

verses

3

through

5

he

says

for

I

know

my

transgressions

and

my

sin

is

ever

before

me

against

you

and

you

only

have

I

sinned

against

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

in

in

sin

did

my

mother

conceived

me

so

look at

verse 3

there

he

says

I

know

my

transgressions

within

its

ever

before

me

he's

recognizing

that

he

knows

humbly

recognizing

that he

knows

he's

sinned

against

God

and

that

his

sin

is

ever

present

with

him

that

is

staring

him

in

the

face

that

he

can't

get

away

from

it

those

of

you

who

are

living

in

sin

now

like

secret

sin

in

your

life

or

even

open

sin

and

you

know

it's

inside

of you

it

says

in

scripture

that

there's

no

peace

for

the

wicked

there's

no rest

for

the

wicked

when

you

know

that

you're

living

in

open

sin

your

heart

is

in

turmoil

and

you

will

have

no

peace

and

you

know

that

he

recognizes

that

my

sin

is

ever

before

me

and

is

staring

me

in

the

face

then

he

says

like

the

results

of

sin

right

they

stain

us

and

it's

not

anybody's

fault

but

your

own

like

this

is

David's

fault

this

wasn't

Bathsheba's

fault

like

he

knows

that

he's

guilty

he's

taking

responsibility

I

know

what

I

did

I

know

what

I

did

and

I

recognize

it

and

I

call

it

for

what

it

is

sometimes

when

we

confess

sin

to

one

another

we

use

phrases

like

I

messed

up

or

I

did

something

wrong

call

it

what

it

is

sometimes

those

are

like

terms

to

kind

of

soothe

like

the

actual

evil

that

we

committed

it's

sin

and

it's

rebellion

before

God

and

he

confesses

that

then

look

at

verse

four

and

this

is

key

this

is

key

he

says

against

you

and

you

only

have

I

sinned

against

and

done

what

is

evil

in

your

sight

David

could

have

said

and

he

would

have

been

right

in a

sense

Lord

I

tragically

sinned

against

Bathsheba

I

tragically

sinned

against

Uriah

and

the

nation

of

Israel

as

their

king

and

that

would

have

been

true

yet

he

confesses

against

God

alone

as

he

sinned

against

and

why

because

all

sin

ultimately

supremely

is an

affront

to

God

himself

he

is

the

one

who

actually

defines

sin

right

so

sin

is

what

God

intrinsically

hates

and

is

devoted

to

destroying

so

some

of

us

feel

bad

about

sin

because

it

hurts

us

it

stinks

like

we

feel

guilt

we

feel

shame

we

don't

like

what

it

does

to

us

turn

to

keep

your

hands

on

51

but

look

at

2nd

Corinthians

chapter

7

please

there's

only

just

two

places

for

you

to

turn

outside

Psalm

51

today

but

look

at

2nd

Corinthians

chapter

7

so

though

sin

does

bring

great

harm

to

ourselves

and

others

right

ultimately

it's

against

God

right

it's

against

our

loving

creator

and

when

he

was

confronted

this

is

what

David

said

to

him

he

said

I've

sinned

against

the

Lord

that's

what

he

said

to

Nathan

so

let's

see

here

look

at

2nd

Corinthians

chapter

7

verse

9

this

is

Paul

talking

and

he

says

as

it

is

I

rejoice

not

because

you

were

grieved

but

because

you

were

grieved

into

repenting

for

you

felt

a

godly

grief

so

that

you

suffered

no

loss

through

us

for

godly

grief

produces

a

repentance

that

leads

to

salvation

without

regret

!

So

this

is

a

very

clear

definition

of what

true

repentance

is

repentance

isn't

just

badness

it's

not

breaking

god's

law

in

and

of

itself

it

is

in

a

way

but

it's

saying

to

god

i

don't

want

you

it's

turning

away

from

god

and

turning

to

the

garbage

of

the

world

to

give

us

only

what

god

can

give

us

and

so

it's

not

just

feeling

bad

and

feeling

guilty

even

like

i've

heard

people

well

i'm

sharing

the

gospel

with

this

guy

and

he

seems

to

be

he

feels

pretty

bad

about

what

he's

done

i'm

like

well

it's

different

than

feeling

true

conviction

of

sin

it's

not

just

feeling

bad

for

what

you've

done

right

it's

mainly

because

you

have

sinned

against

god

and

the

way

that

david

defines

it

here

and

Paul

he

says

there's

two

kinds

of

sorrow

there's

worldly

sorrow

which

even

unbelievers

have

it's

man

centered

it's

merely

feeling

guilty

about

something

that

you've

done

and

it

leads

to

death

that's

like

what

he

says

then

he

says

there's

a

godly

sorrow

it's

god

centered

this

ultimately

means

that

you're

sorry

and

you're

broken

because

you

have

sinned

against

your

creator

you've

insulted

him

and

you've

hurt

him

right

true

repentance

starts

with a

sin

it's

ultimately

against

the

lord

himself

and

it

has

to

be

that

way

right

so

it's

a

godly

sorrow

that

leads

us

to

true

repentance

right

so

we

look at

we have

to think

of sin

as a

spiritual

condition

David

recognizes

that

reality

he says

behold

I was

brought

forth

in

in

in

in

sin

my

mother

conceived

me

right

yes

he

recognizes

that

his

action

was a

result

of

who

he

was

not

that

he

did

something

bad

he

recognized

that

he

was

born

in

a

state

of

sin

and

he's

not

making

an

excuse

either

some

people

may

think

that

he's

not

saying

well

God

I was

born

that

way

he

knows

that

it's

an

affront

to

God

but

what

it

is

he's

imploring

God

asking

God

to

show

mercy

right

he's

saying

I'm

so

weak

I'm

so

small

I'm

so

pathetic

please

have

mercy

on

me

that's

why

he's

using

that

argument

to

show

how