Psalm 51 - Guilt and Redemption

Reading in Psalm 51, this is a psalm of David

when Nathan the prophet went to him after he'd gone into Bathsheba

and this is his response.

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's conceive me.

Behold, you delight in truth in 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.

Let 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

and 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 you will delight in right sacrifices,

in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings.

Then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Thanks, Catherine.

So this is the time now for kids of creche age

up to year two.

This is the awesome display.

Crouch age to year two.

We'll go out to our Sunday school program

and we're going to stand and sing our next song,

Judge of the Secrets,

and then David will come and bring the message to us.

Thank you.

Good morning, everyone.

If you're a visitor here this morning,

my name's David.

I'm one of the pastors.

It would be hard to imagine a more attention-grabbing,

a more confronting heading than we get in Psalm 51.

Just look at the heading.

In the English Bible, it says,

when Nathan the prophet went to King David

after he had gone into Bathsheba.

Literally, in the Hebrew, it says,

after David had entered into Bathsheba.

This is a poem about guilt and redemption.

So, immediately, it's a song our society is likely to reject

because, on the whole,

our society now rejects the concept of guilt.

Guilt is construed these days to be an evil in itself.

Oftentimes, it's said to be the construct of religions,

something that's used to control people.

Historically, it's not been like that.

Historically, guilt has been accepted

as the proper working of conscience,

which confronts us internally

with our wrongdoings.

But modern wisdom

is moving to demand

that people should be guilt-free

in any absolute moral sense.

And the cry of society now is so commonly,

don't judge me.

And behind that statement

is another statement that says,

well, look, my mental health,

my happiness,

do not allow for any challenge

to my attitudes

or my actions,

especially when they make me uncomfortable.

Don't judge me.

But for all this,

guilt in our society is alive and well.

It's the feeling that keeps on giving.

I think every one of us here know

something of guilt.

And it really is the feeling

that keeps on giving day and night.

in fact, some are so burned

with a deep sense of guilt

eating away at them

that they actually develop

serious mental or physiological illnesses.

It's a powerful, powerful thing

that won't be written out of life

simply because our society don't like it.

Now, unfortunately,

many Christians are moving also

to reject the ideal of guilt

because increasingly Christians

seem to be of the opinion

that God's ideal for them

is to be happy.

So, again,

any challenge to thinking

or behavior

which makes a Christian uncomfortable

is very unwelcome

and generally met with a response,

again,

don't judge me.

Or, in churches,

it's more,

don't guilt me.

Essentially,

what that means

and what that does is

when you respond to that,

essentially,

you're blaming

the person who issues the challenge

for how you're feeling.

It's their tone of voice,

their words,

their motivation

in challenging you.

That's the problem.

Don't think for a moment

that I need to look inside

and see if there's any substantial basis

to the challenge.

But, again,

at the other extreme,

some Christians are so bowed down,

and so burdened,

so trapped in their sense of guilt

that, quite literally,

it drives their every waking moment

and, indeed,

their sleeping moments

or their nighttime moments.

And it robs them,

totally robs them

of any sense

of enjoyment

of their relationship with Christ.

Psalm 51

speaks into all of those things

and gives us a real-life model

of God's pathway

for dealing with guilt,

God's pathway

for turning back to him

in guilt,

and encourages us

to see

that the person

God esteems

is the person

who's described,

chapter,

verse 17,

the person who's described

as one with a broken

and contrite heart

or spirit.

First step way,

first step in the pathway

is to say,

if you're a visitor,

the outline is on the back

of this sheet you handed

this morning

will help you track through

with me a little bit,

at least in terms of

the major headings.

So,

set up my year,

my year.

first step in

the pathway

of turning back

to God

is to say,

my rebellion,

autonomy,

and failure

is damning.

But I own

all of it

in detail.

Verse 6 verses.

We've already heard

the background

to the story.

it's the awful fall

and fall

and fall

of King David.

And verses 1 and 2 then

is an expression

of helplessness

before God's justice.

Have mercy on me, O God.

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 actually knows

that in God's law

there is no specific

sacrifice to atone

for adultery

and murder.

There's sacrifices

for heaps and heaps

of other situations,

but there's no specific

sacrifice

offered to atone

for adultery

and murder.

His only hope

is to throw himself

on God's mercy.

But it's important

as we move into this psalm,

this is a really important

thing to hang on to,

I think.

Even as he knows

his guilt

and owns it,

even as he throws himself

in God's mercy,

David,

in his first two verses,

still knows

he belongs

to God.

God's mercy.

Why?

Because of God's

covenant love.

So his guilt is real,

but his position of guilt

is not despair.

Verses 3 through 6,

we get a sense

of just how powerful

this is in David's life.

He's lived with it

for almost a year

before he's confronted

by Nathan,

the prophet.

He's lived with,

verse 3,

day and night.

He's not been able

to hide from himself,

even though he's been able

to cover his tracks

publicly.

And now,

he takes ownership.

He takes ownership

in detail.

Now,

if you look at the,

you don't look at it now,

but on the front cover,

I've put in

a little bit of stuff there.

Very sorry

for the small size

of the print,

but get a magnifying glass

and read it at home.

But it picks up

a very important thing.

Our English Bible

used three words

to describe

his crime.

Transgression,

iniquity,

and sins.

Now,

for most of us,

they're just some sort

of vague religious words.

But in the original Hebrew,

they're very nuanced

and very confronting words.

Transgressions

is much more

than doing something wrong.

It describes rebellion

against God's authority,

defiance of God's authority.

Iniquity,

then,

is the opposite

of what flows.

It's the self-assertion,

the autonomy

of making himself

his own authority,

making himself

his own wisdom

instead of God.

And sins

is the most frequently

used word

and describes

the abject failure,

which has to be

the inevitable consequence

of setting

our own course

in life.

And it's in those,

that sense,

David owns

his sin.

And that

moves David

from a focus

on himself

to focus

on God.

And that's how

we see the movement

from 2 Samuel 11,

the proud,

self-absorbed,

ruthless,

scheming,

pleasure-seeker.

to the broken man

who's absolutely

gutted

now that he understands

how he has treated

God in all of this.

He understands

he has failed

many,

many people

in lots of

different ways,

but ultimately

he comes to see

that it's

God he has failed.

And so

his confession

is both

detailed

and nuanced

but ultimately

it's not

a therapeutic

exercise

to get things

off his chest.

the next verse.

It's recognition

that his exposure

by Nathan the prophet

and God's

verdict of

guilty,

guilty,

guilty

is entirely

appropriate.

So his confession

is actually

bringing him

to see

the enormity

of his crimes

before God

in a very

detailed

break it down

into its

component parts

type understanding.

No vague

God,

I'm sorry

for my sin.

Now,

send me blessings.

Isn't that how

we often pray?

Verse 5 and 6,

David makes

no attempt

to explain

away his actions.

There's no

plea bargaining

going on here.

David understands

that he can't

say to God,

well actually God,

you realize

this is a

once-off

stupidity

on my part

and I want

you to see

it in that

term.

No.

David knows

it's not

a once-off

stupidity.

He knows

it's not

a product

of his

family,

social,

cultural

or environmental

backgrounds.

He knows

that what

he's done

is a

fundamental

part of

him

rising up.

And it

explains,

David knows,

why in spite

of being

described by

God as a

man after

God's own

heart,

he so

easily and

so radically

turned his

back on

that and

set his own

course in

life and

brought himself

to disaster.

God's own

heart.

And he

accepts,

verse 6,

that all

of this,

and he's

now got a

great long

list of

very specific

and detailed

sins in his

mind, he

accepts that

all of this

list is so

offensive to

God who

longs for

truth and

integrity from

the inside

out.

Not just an

external veneer,

God who

actually pushes

his people to

confront the

inconvenient truth

of their sin.

So owning

David's sin for

David has

taken all of

that.

Now friends,

just let me

pause there and

just sweep us

up into some

application.

application.

This broken

spirit that

David speaks

of in verse

17 is a

gift from

God.

Can I beg

you not to

fear it?

Because I

think that's

what we do.

Brokenness is

God's pathway to

renewal and

redemption and

restoration.

Restoration of a

sense of joy,

of fellowship.

Why would we

fear that?

Yes,

brokenness is

inconvenient.

Brokenness is

darn uncomfortable.

Brokenness is a

terrible thing to

experience.

The process of

being broken.

But look what it

leads to.

See, we all

long to succeed,

don't we?

That's a

basic part of

being human.

We want to

do well.

And not only do

we want to do

well, but we

then want to

find personal

recognition and

validation in

doing well, in

being a

trustworthy,

dependable

person.

Therefore, I

think deep

down, we

fear failure

most of

all.

And perhaps

for many

of us, we

fear failing

our own

standards.

And how

many times

a day do

we do

that?

We set

standards for

ourselves, we

want to validate

ourselves by

those standards,

and then we

find we

failed our

own standards.

Or we

betray those

closest to

us, those

that we most

want recognition

of being

dependable

before.

So we

fear owning

our sin in

all its

gory detail.

We really

find it hard,

I think, to

take this

first step in

repentance and

restoration,

because we do

not like what

self-examination

reveals about

ourselves.

It's a

tautology.

And even

when we do

try and step

into this

self-examination,

we then try

and minimize

confrontation

with the

quagmire, which

is our

hearts.

And we

try and do

that, I

think, through

a non-specific,

shallow,

pain-free,

I'm sorry for

my sin, as

I've already

said.

And we

quickly get

through that

as a

transition to

seeking forgiveness

and God's

blessing.

restoration of

the good

things that

we want

from God.

My friends,

we will never

turn to God

properly

and resolutely

until we

confront

truly

and

comprehensively

and in

detail

our

rebellion,

autonomy,

and

failures.

In and

through the

good things

that God

has given

us,

things which

like David

became

idols,

and things

to us that

become idols

to us,

or things

that, in

other words,

become more

important to us

than God

himself.

the things

we choose

to fill

our lives

with instead

of filling

our lives

with God.

Until we

confront those

things,

we will

never turn

properly to

God.

So my

friends, I'd

say to you

this morning,

as I've said

to myself

over many

years now,

and again

lots this

week,

stop trying

to hide

from

yourself.

Stop

trying to

hide from

God.

Be glad

that God

pursues you

and forces

you to

confrontation

with his

word and

his offense

as the

first stage

in being

free from

guilt and

moving towards

restoration,

moving towards

a renewal of

a sense of

enjoyment of

God's

forgiveness and

love.

So the

second point

then is,

your forgiveness

and total

renewal from

the inside

out is what

I beg for.

Picking up

verses 7

through to

12.

Owning his

sin is a

start.

But David

knows that

without God's

direct

intervention,

all the

time he

owns his

sin,

his guilt

will still

stay.

And that's

because guilt

is not just

a psychological

issue,

like many

today would

want to

reduce it

to.

So a

psychological

issue then

is fixed

by David

giving himself

permission to

be free from

guilt.

That's what

we hear today.

Or giving

himself permission

to love

himself again.

Guilt's not

just a social

issue either.

It's not a

simple matter

as we try

and say in

our society.

Well let's

just lock a

person up for

30 years and

give him the

death penalty.

That's not

going to deal

with his

guilt.

Might be a

deterrent for

society.

David's guilt

isn't even a

religious issue.

Fixed by

offering endless

sacrifices and

prayers.

David picks

that up in

verse 16 and

17.

keeping

religious

festivals.

David knows

that there's

no point of

him even

trying that

pathway because

that's not

going to

address the

guilt.

Being more

religious doesn't

do it my

friends.

So that's

our pathway

isn't it?

We offset

sin here by

trying to be

more religious

here.

It won't

work.

It doesn't

work.

It can't

work.

So David

needs God's

forgiveness and

pleads for

God's

forgiveness.

Described

verse 7 as

God's heavy

duty cleaning

operation to

remove dirt on

the inside,

make them

clean again.

Look at

verse 7.

Purge me

with hyssop.

Hyssop was

always offered

with a sin

offering because

not only you

have to deal

with the legal

guilt, you

have to be

cleansed from

defilement.

Purge me with

hyssop and I

shall be clean.

wash me and I

shall be whiter

than snow.

Put me through

the special

operation that

only you can

do, Lord,

that heavy

duty cleaning

cycle that

will tumble

me around,

but in the

tumbling around

bring the dirt

out from the

inside.

In verses

8 and 9,

David's longing

for that

response we

long for.

Most of

any time I've

had to confess

anything to

Allison, I

confess nervously,

but my hope is

that I'm going to

hear a response

that says,

thank you for

that.

It's all right.

The relationship's

intact.

You're forgiven.

That's the thing I

crave for as much

as I need to

confess.

And that's what

David's craving

for in verses

8 and 9.

David wants

to hear God

saying, it's

all right.

Everything's

forgiven.

You're

restored.

The relationship

can move forward

as if this had

never, ever

happened.

But not

satisfied with

even that,

David wants to

push even

further.

Verses 10,

11, and

12.

David isn't

happy just to

have a

reassurance that

everything's

all right.

He actually

wants to be

completely

renewed.

Total renewal

from the inside

out through God's

spirit.

Attitudes,

desires, and

thinking.

He's not just

after a quadruple

bypass for this

damaged heart of

his.

He wants a

complete heart

transplant.

And he

asks for it

with some

degree of

hesitation.

Verse 11 and

12, very hard

verses to

understand, but

here's my

take on them.

I don't think

they need to be

as complicated

as some

commentators make

them.

But that might

just tell you

about me,

not the

commentators.

I think he

asks for that

big heart

transplant with

some trepidation

because he

knows jolly

well that God

would have every

right to say,

no way,

Jose, go to

hell.

Your crimes

against me are

so awful that

my last words

to you are going

to be, go to

hell, because

that's what you

deserve.

But he

hangs on to

the reality

of existing

relationship.

He hangs on to

the reality of

God's covenant

promise of

eternal relationship

with David.

You have to go

back to 2

2 Samuel 7:12

Samuel chapter 7

verses 12

through to 15

to see the

details of that.

But God's

already committed

himself going

forward to

David.

So he hangs

on to that

and he longs

for this renewal

even though in

his mind he's

battling.

Back?

Yeah, oh

good.

So again,

pause for some

application.

A broken

spirit

becomes a

willing spirit

through God's

spirit.

We can count

on it.

We can count

on it.

This is

immensely

practical for us

as Christians.

When we mess

up and we

do.

Our messing

up does not

break our

relationship with

God in

Christ.

But it will

rob us of any

sense of

enjoyment of

that relationship.

It will

rob us of a

confidence in

our salvation.

But our hope

is this.

God's spirit

that we

now have

within us

in Christ

is committed

to renewing

us from the

inside out

so that we

wholeheartedly

come to the

point and

grow into the

point and

overflow into

the point of

wanting to

display the

mind of

Christ in

all things.

don't fear a

broken spirit

because of

what it will

lead to.

Third point.

My longing,

says David,

is to be the

man after God's

own heart

who actually

brings you

glory.

Picking up the

last verses

13 onwards.

with the

renewing of

God's spirit

in his life,

the renewing

work of God's

spirit in his

life, King

David anticipates

becoming a

true model

of what it

is to be a

man after God's

own heart as

he overflows in

praise and

thanks.

Look at

verse 13.

Then, so

when I have

this renewing

work of the

spirit,

in my

life, then

I will teach

transgressors your

way and sinners

will return to

you.

The

transgressor

becomes the

teacher.

David goes on

to say it

will be a

life of

sacrifice.

It will be a

life of

sacrifice, but

not the

external,

religious,

outside-in

approach of

ritual sacrifices,

religious sacrifices,

sacrifices that

are offered on

the assumption

that God is

pleased with my

sacrifice and

that we are more

acceptable to him

because of those

sacrifices.

David's not

interested in that

at all.

It won't work for

me, says David.

There is a

sacrifice.

It's a sacrifice

of praise and

thanks from a

renewed heart,

renewed desires,

renewed attitudes,

overflowing into

a new life

where genuinely

and truly he

will be a

man after God's

own heart

because he now

has God's

spirit at

heart.

David has

regained the

joy of his

salvation.

salvation.

Remembering now

that the Lord

looks for the

heart that

knows how

little it

deserves on

the one hand

and how much

it owes on

the other

hand.

And this is

the broken

David.

He is

absolutely

confident,

verse 17,

absolutely

confident that

God will

never

despise,

make it

positive,

will always

esteem the

truly broken,

humbled person

who returns

to him for

forgiveness and

a total rebuild

through his

spirit.

But still

David's not

finished,

verse 18 and

19.

Let me read

these verses

and preempt it

by saying that

commentators generally

think these two

verses are added

on at some

later point in

time.

They reckon

they don't

fit easily

with the theme

of the sound.

But I beg to

disagree.

I think they

fit perfectly.

And here's

again my take

on it.

But let me

read them to

you first.

David says,

Do good to

Zion in your

good pleasure.

Build up the

walls of

Jerusalem.

Then you will

delight in

right sacrifice

and burnt

offerings and

whole burnt

offerings.

Then bulls

will be offered

on your altar.

again the

thought is that

these verses

speak of

national Israel

and perhaps

were added

sometime later

in the exile

period perhaps.

But I think

they fit perfectly

here and I

think the

thought is

this.

That as

David himself

turns back to

the Lord in

repentance and

is now focused

on the Lord,

suddenly his

horizons are

extended way

beyond himself.

To the point

that his longing

then becomes

that God

would do for

the nation

and indeed

for the whole

world exactly

what he's just

done in David's

life.

Why?

Because the

nation is

equally guilty

of adultery

before God

as David was

precisely a

guilty of

physical adultery.

And that's

where I might

disagree with

one small

point of

Don's

sermon.

David was

speaking about

me.

King David

was speaking

about me.

And you.

Right through

the Old

Testament God's

repeated

criticism of

his people is

you've

prostituted

yourselves,

you've

committed

adultery,

you've gone

looking for

the pleasure

of life that

you find and

should find

in me,

you've gone

looking for

them in other

places.

things.

And I

think David's

just saying

here,

Lord,

that very

thing I've

experienced,

please do for

the whole

nation,

for the whole

world,

in line with

your long

time salvation

promise.

And when the

heart of the

nation is

renewed,

then their

sacrifices will

be delightful

to you,

Lord.

And they

will properly

reflect appreciation

for God's

mercy and

salvation.

sacrifices

were never

meant

essentially

to take

away sin

in themselves.

They were

meant to be

a picture

of God's

provision

for forgiveness.

God would

deal with

our hearts.

And not

until the

nations

renewed

through your

salvation

purposes,

says David,

will we

actually see

that reality.

And then as

a nation,

we will be

a people

after God's

own heart.

friends,

again,

application

here,

this broken

spirit will

never be

despised by

God.

We have to

beg for it.

Beg for it

for ourselves,

individually.

Beg for it

for our

church.

Have we

been guilty

of spiritual

adultery,

collectively and

individually?

I think so.

starting with

me.

Beg for it

for our

nation.

Don't fear

what God

uses for

our good.

Our proud

sinful hearts

need to be

broken so

that we will

turn to

God.

But the

same God

who breaks

us also

delights then

to rebuild

us in

his image

in Christ.

Now,

even if

you're a

believer here

this morning

and you're

suffering

enormous guilt

because you've

chosen to

walk back

into sin,

thinking what

it offered

would be

more satisfying

than God.

In a sense,

I think that

will sweep

every one of

us up here

this morning

individually,

won't it?

Some to

more of a

degree than

others.

Some with

particular

specific sins

that others

don't have to

feel guilt

over.

But in

any situation,

if you're a

believer in

that situation,

turn back

to God.

Own your

sin.

Don't fear

being broken

for our

sin.

Don't fear

being broken

by the Lord.

Rather,

see it as an

opportunity to

grow.

an opportunity

to believe

the gospel

more and

more.

That the

Lord delights

to rebuild

broken,

humbled people

from the

inside out

as his

pathway

to being

like Jesus

and glory.

The pathway

to glory

for Jesus

will be the

pathway to

glory for

you and

me.

And again,

I say to

you this

morning,

if you're

not yet

a Christian,

if you've

not yet

addressed your

guilt before

God,

if you're

still in

the business

of trying

to ignore

your guilt,

pretend it's

not there,

or deal

with it in

some other

way,

then go

to Jesus.

Because

Jesus

ultimately

is where

King David

is pointing

you to

experience

God's

salvation,

forgiveness,

and renewal.

See,

let me put

it together

like this.

King David

needed some

serious,

heavy-duty

intervention.

He needed

the king

of all kings

to arrest

him and

expose him.

He needed

Nathan the

prophet to

speak God's

word into

King David's

heart,

illuminating

his stupidity

and his

ignorance.

rebellion.

He desperately

needed a

sacrifice

offered on

his behalf

to deal

with his

sin,

but he

knew there

was no

sacrifice to

offer for

his particular

sin.

And all

of this

points us

to Jesus.

What King

David

experienced

externally,

we experience

internally.

in the

New Testament,

Jesus

describes

himself as

God's

King.

Come to

subdue

our

unruly

hearts.

Jesus is

God's

word who

speaks into

our lives

and illuminates

our ignorance

and points us

to truth.

truth.

The Holy

Spirit within

us convicts

us of

sin and

truth and

righteousness.

John 16.

And Jesus

is the

priest

who is

able and

has offered

the sacrifice

perfectly

suitable and

capable for

dealing with

the awfulness

of our sin

before God.

Jesus is

the complete

salvation

package

offered to

you by the

Lord with

the promise

that the

person

humbled

enough

to put

out their

hand and

take what

they do

not deserve

will never

ever be

despised

by God.

My friend,

do not

ignore your

guilt a

moment longer.

Do not

pretend you

don't have a

deep-seated

sense of

guilt before

God.

Come to

Jesus because

I can tell you

now,

he knows

your guilt

better than

even you

know it.

and will

ever know

it.

And he

has removed

it totally

from you.

Something you

will never

ever be able

to do for

yourself.

Let me

pray.

Lord,

these are

heavy words

in one

sense and

yet music

to our

ears in

another

sense.

for Lord,

you never

desire to

expose your

people in

all our

awfulness

without an

equal commitment

to rebuilding

us in all

your glory.

Help us

not to fear

one for the

joy of

experiencing the

other.

Amen.

Amen.