Psalm 51:1-19

Psalm 51, we're going to read its entirety, verses

1 through 19. Be gracious to me, O God, according

to your loving kindness. According to the greatness

of your compassion, 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, I have sinned and done what is evil in

your sight, so that you are justified when you

speak and blameless when you judge. Behold, I

was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother

conceived me. Behold, you desire truth in the

innermost being, and in the hidden part you will

make me no wisdom. Purify me with hyssop and

I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter

than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness.

Let the bones which 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 steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from your presence and do

not take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to

me the joy of your salvation and sustain me with

a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors

your ways and sinners will be converted to you.

Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, the

God of my salvation. Then my tongue will joyfully

sing. of your righteousness. O Lord, open my

lips that my mouth may declare your praise. For

you do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I

would give it. You are not pleased with burnt

offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken

spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, O God,

you will not despise. By your favor. Do good

to Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem. Then you

will delight in righteous sacrifices and burnt

offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then young

bulls will be offered on your altar. As we come

to Psalm 51, we approach it for the last and

final time as we've been studying this psalm.

Lord willing, It's been as edifying to everyone

as it has been to my soul to work through this

and to study this psalm. So I appeal to you to

listen and hear the psalm one last time. Don't

let up on repentance just yet. Relax in your

hearing at this time as we conclude this study

of God's holy word in Psalm 51. So today as we

come to this, we're going to spend our time and

we're going to look at defining and explaining

what repentance is. We've seen clearly in Psalm

51 what repentance is. What it's made up of.

It's composed of. We're going to look in Psalm

51 and we're going to see what it says about

the fruit of repentance, what comes from repentance,

what the result of repentance is. We see this

in Psalm 51. But we're also going to see that

there's a confidence and a certainty that David

is in possession of, even in the midst of his

anguish and his brokenness in Psalm 51. We've

seen that. over and over and over in this psalm.

It's almost like these parallel realities are

taking place in David. Mourning and brokenness,

but also certainty and confidence. So we're going

to look at this, and we're going to see it in

Psalm 51. And finally, we're going to look at

the relevance and the need of repentance from

Psalm 51. What makes repentance and Psalm 51?

So utterly relevant for our lives as believers,

but also for the church as a whole. Beginning

with the first item we must consider, the elements

of repentance. Repentance is always composed

of different elements or different components.

We've seen this in Psalm 51. True repentance

is always composed of recognition of sin. David

recognizes his sin as sin in Psalm 51. He says,

my sin in verse 2, my transgressions in verse

1. He says, against you, you only, I have sinned.

And then he says at the end of verse 4, we're

in the middle of verse 4, and done what is evil.

And your sight. He recognizes his actions. He

recognizes his wickedness as evil. In the sight

of God. He takes ownership of his sin. He says

my sin. My transgression. My iniquity. He's owning

up to his own culpability in this matter, and

he's recognizing his sin as sin. But we also

see that true repentance is always composed of

brokenness and contrition over that sin which

we've committed. Isn't that the reality we see

of David? Isn't that why he says the sacrifices

of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite

heart? True repentance always involves brokenness

and contrition over what we've done to a person

in the sight of God. It always involves a shattering

of the spirit, anguish and mourning and grief

from our hearts over the sin we have committed.

But we also see, That there's shame and guilt

involved in true repentance. True repentance

is not devoid or not without guilt over that

sin. True repentance always involves guilt over

sin. We see this when David says, Against you

and you only I have sinned and done what is evil

in your sight, so that you are justified when

you speak and blameless when you judge. He's

guilty. And his conscience is condemning him

of his sin. His conscience is pricking him. Why?

Because he's done that which is worthy of condemnation

in the sight of God. There's actual guilt and

actual shame on his conscience that needs cleansed,

that needs washed away as a result of his sin

and his life. True repentance always involves

shame and guilt because of sin. But it always

involves confession of that sin as well. It's

not just enough to recognize sin as sin. It's

not just enough to be broken over sin and to

have an emotional repentance. It's not just enough

to have guilt over sin. We must be driven to

verbally and to confess that sin to God himself

in prayer. Repentance involves confession of

sin to God. We've referenced this multiple times

in our study of Psalm 51, Proverbs 28, 13. He

who conceals his transgressions will not prosper.

But he who confesses and forsakes them will find

compassion. True repentance. Always involves,

always consists of, is always composed of confession

of sin to God in prayer. It's not mere thinking

about it. It's confessing of it to God himself.

But then there's a final component that we see

in Psalm 51. That's the forsaking of sin. We

can't merely recognize it, be broken over it,

have shame and guilt from it, and confess it.

We must actually exercise and use our will to

forsake that sin in our life, to give it up,

to turn our back to it, to face a different direction,

to will that we are going to change and to actually

change. It's the actual forsaking and giving

up of. The sin. So these are the elements that

compose and make up and compile true repentance.

Now, what if someone says, well, I'm broken over

my sin. But I don't have any guilt or shame for

what I've done. I feel sad about it. Well, I'm

emotionally in turmoil over it, but it doesn't

drive me to do anything about it. It doesn't

bring about anything in my life. It doesn't drive

me to confess it or to forsake it. I'm just sad

about it. That's partial, incomplete, superficial

repentance. True repentance is always composed

of all of these elements. It's not a compartmentalized,

partial, incomplete repentance. That's superficial

and false repentance. Psalm 51 clearly tells

us that every one of these elements is what makes

up repentance in the life of the sinner. They

all must be present. They all must always be

present to some degree or another. For it to

be true repentance. True repentance is well -rounded,

complete, and whole person repentance. It's not

just repentance in our mind and our head. But

it's also repentance that involves our heart.

in our emotions, in our affections, in our longings,

in our desires. It's not just repentance that

involves our will. It's repentance that involves

our affections as well. It's a whole person,

well -rounded, complete, and total repentance

that is true repentance. This is important because

it helps us to identify and distinguish True

repentance in our lives from superficial repentance

in our lives. If it's merely emotional or intellectual

repentance with no heart and no will, then it's

not true repentance. If there's no confession

and no forsaking, it's not true repentance. All

of this encourages us. and exhorts us to take

stock of the repentance in our lives, to consider

it, to examine it, to think about our repentance,

to not simply say, I'm sorry, but to think about

the reality that we have, in fact, sinned against

a holy God. Am I truly repenting before the Lord?

Is my heart really in this or am I just going

through the motions in my mind? It encourages

us to take stock, to consider and examine, to

take inventory of our repentance in our lives.

We must also see, secondly, the fruit of repentance

in Psalm 51. Repentance always... produces certain

realities in the life of the penitent. Always.

It always brings about certain things in the

life of that sinner. We saw, particularly in

Psalm 51, that David made this endeavor in verse

13. He says, then I will teach transgressors

your ways and sinners will be converted to you.

David was determined to undertake this endeavor

to witness, to minister, to serve men, unconverted

sinners, but only when he had been restored following

his repentance. So that is David's fruit that

comes from his repentance. It's that which his

repentance produces. They're not one and the

same. David's endeavor, his ministry of service,

his usefulness he's going to undertake is not

the same thing as his repentance. His repentance

precedes and takes place before the fruit. This

is important because it shows a connection. And

it shows a relationship between repentance in

the life of the saint And the usefulness in the

life of the saint. The fruit in the life of the

saint. John the Baptist actually gives us a great

illustration of this. In Luke chapter 3. Starting

Luke 3 · chapter mention

in verse 7. We read. So he began saying to the

crowds. Who were going out to be baptized by

him. He said you brood of vipers. Who warned

you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore,

bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do

not begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham

for our father. For I say to you, that from these

stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.

Indeed, the axe is already laid at the root of

the trees. So every tree, that does not bear

good fruit, is cut down and thrown into the fire.

And the crowds were questioning him, saying,

Then what shall we do? And he would answer and

say to them, The man who has two tunics is to

share with him who has none. And he who has food

is to do likewise. What is John the Baptist preaching

on here? True repentance. He's preaching on the

reality that a good tree produces good fruit

and that a bad tree produces bad fruit and that

bad tree is going to be cut down with an ax at

its roots. So what is the fruit that John the

Baptist explains to the crowds that they should

pursue, that they should seek to endeavor? The

endeavor, the fruit that they should look to,

they should look for, they should seek to undertake.

He says to them, the man who has two tunics is

to share with him who has none. And he who has

food is to do likewise. The fruit that John the

Baptist is talking about is service and man work.

It's ministry and service unto others. It's good

works, brothers and sisters. True repentance

brings about true fruit in the life of God's

people. So there's a connection between repentance

and usefulness, repentance and service in the

life of the believer, in the life of the church.

It's important for us as a congregation. to understand

this. It's important for you as a believer in

Jesus Christ to understand this. What is the

foundation of usefulness, the foundation of ministry

and service towards men? Our dealing with God

and repentance, our dealing with sin in our own

lives. If we truly want to be useful to those

around us, As a church body, if we truly want

to be useful to those lost sinners around us

and we want to see people come to Christ, what

does that mean that we have to give ourselves

to? What does the focus of the life of our church

have to be on? What does the focus of your life

as an individual have to be on if you want to

be useful to the Lord in your life? Dealing with

your sin. Dealing with God. The pursuit of holiness

and godliness in your own life. Vital piety and

godliness and being in possession of godly realities

in your own soul. Knowing Christ yourself. Knowing

the God of the Word. Personally. Not theoretically

or conceptually, but actually spending time with

Him. Studying him in his word. Talking to him

in prayer through his word. There's a connection

between repentance and the usefulness of a church

and the usefulness of a Christian. True repentance

always produces fruit in the life of the believer.

So if we want... To be consistently useful to

the Lord. If we want to be consistently serving

those around us, what does that mean? We must

consistently be dealing with our own sin and

God in prayer. We have to be taking care of our

own souls before we can be taking care of the

souls of others. That's why the fruit of Psalm

51 is important. Because it teaches us that there's

a connection between the condition of our hearts

and the usefulness of our lives. We see this

fruit. There's other fruit in Psalm 51, but this

is the primary one that we spend our time focusing

on. Now lastly, or thirdly, we see the promise.

Of repentance as well. In Psalm 51. We see this

incredible reality. We see this incredible reality.

That here we have David. Who's in deep. Dark

anguish. Because of his sin. And his transgressions.

Because of what he's done. As king of Israel.

And as a saint. In the sight of a holy and righteous

God. Here we have David who's broken and full

of contrition, who's full of grief and mourning

over his sin and what he's done and breaking

the law of God. Yet here we have David also who

has confidence and hope and certainty alongside

of that brokenness and that anguish in Psalm

51. He's not in the pits of despair. He's not

thinking he's never going to get out of the pit.

We see this strain of hope and confidence and

certainty in Psalm 51 we read. In the second

part of verse 6, and in the hidden part, you

will make me know wisdom. David is confident

of God's work in his soul. How in the world is

this broken, contrite, Man, full of anguish,

having confidence in that reality. Where does

that come from? He says, purify me with hyssop

and I shall be clean. And then he even says,

wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. Where

does David get this confidence that he's going

to be whiter than snow, that he will be clean?

We see later. that a broken and a contrite heart,

God, you will not despise. David has a hope,

a certainty, a confidence that God will accept

his repentance. He has a confidence, a hope,

a certainty that God will be pleased with his

genuine repentance and that he will not be despised.

Where in the world does David get this hope in

this dark place in his life? What's the promise?

It's the promise of repentance. The promise of

repentance is this, that true repentance, true

repentance, always leads to... the pardon of

your sins. True repentance always leads to renewal

in your life. True repentance always leads to

the restoration of joy in the soul of the saint.

David knows this. He knows The power and the

effectiveness of true repentance in his life.

But there's got to be some basis for this promise.

What is the basis for David's hope and certainty?

Well, the basis is the reality that true repentance

is always paired with something else. True repentance

is always bound. as we've seen in Psalm 51, to

something else. True repentance is bound to true

faith. And true faith is always bound to Jesus

Christ and all his work. This is the foundation

of David's confidence, his certainty, and his

hope. It's the gospel, brothers and sisters.

The gospel is David's confidence. The work of

Christ is David's confidence. His death, his

sacrificial death on the cross, his resurrection,

the work of God and the redemption of his people

is David's confidence, brothers and sisters.

We have to remember. That repentance is given

because of the gospel. Did you know that? True

repentance is always a provision of the gospel.

God gives true repentance because of the gospel,

not because of the law. Think about that. True

repentance doesn't have anything to do with the

law. Your ability... To deal with sin in your

life does not come from the law of God. It does

not have anything to do with any legal aspect

of the moral law. It has everything to do with

the gospel of Jesus Christ. Where do you get

your true repentance from? Where does the believer

receive the ability to exercise repentance? How

do you, as a sinner, come into possession of

true repentance in your life? It's because God

gives you true repentance because of the gospel

of Jesus Christ. It's because it's a grace. True

repentance is given as a grace of God's new covenant

with Christ. He provides it. He gives it to you

and to me, to sinners. So true repentance is

given because of the gospel. So if you're in

possession, Of true repentance in your life,

brothers and sisters? The only reason you're

in possession of it is because God has given

it to you out of his gracious mercy in the gospel

of Jesus Christ. But it's not just that he gives

us repentance because of the gospel. God is faithful

to receive true repentance always because of

the gospel as well. Why is it that God always

receives and always restores and always renews

and always cleanses and always pardons the sinner

in possession of true repentance? Why is it that

he does that, brothers and sisters? It's because

of Christ. Just as our faith binds us to Christ,

God is bound to Christ in faithfulness because

of the new covenant. Did you know that? Just

as faithful as God is to forgive the sins of

his people in justification by faith, God is

faithful to forgive and pardon and cleanse and

renew his people in sanctification following

justification by faith because of Christ himself

as well. So he gives repentance because of the

gospel and then he receives that very repentance

that he's given to sinners because of? The gospel.

So don't despise preaching and teaching and talk

of repentance. It has everything to do with the

gospel of Christ and the provisions that he has

made in that glorious gospel. I want us to hear

this. This is important for every single person

here. If a person is truly penitent, if you are

truly repentant in your life, you can have absolute,

complete, and total certainty that you will be

forgiven of your sins and that you will be cleansed

of your corruption and your guilt. Not because

you're great. Not because you repented. But because

you're in possession of true repentance. And

because God forgives those in possession of true

repentance. Because he's given it. He will always

forgive those who truly repent. That means if

you're here today and you know Christ. and you

repent, truly, you will be pardoned and you will

be cleansed. Your conscience will be wiped away.

Your conscience will be cleansed and washed by

the blood of Christ. The actual pollution and

corruption as a result of that sin will be cleansed

and pardoned, will be removed. That means that

if you're here today and you don't know Jesus

Christ as Savior, but if you truly repent, if

you're in possession of repentance, then you

will have your sins pardoned. How can I say that?

Because if you are able to repent truly, then

God has given you a new heart. If you're able

to repent as defined in Psalm 51, God has regenerated

you and he's already forgiven your sins. Therefore,

you're already one of the child of God. So if

you're here today and you truly repent according

to Psalm 51, period. Your sins are forgiven.

And they will be forgiven. And you can have confidence

and certainty. of that reality. This is only

true of genuine repentance. Remember that. This

promise is not a promise for that superficial,

partial, or incomplete repentance. This promise

of repentance is only true for those in possession

of genuine, true repentance according to Psalm

51. This leads us lastly to the need of repentance.

We see this in Psalm 51, I think almost more

clearly than anything else. We look at this psalm

and we hear the story of David and we know why

David needs repentance. We all understand this

part. We all understand this part of the sermon,

brothers and sisters. If you're here today, you

know why we need repentance. You understand why

you need repentance in your life. You understand

why the person next to you needs repentance in

your life. You know why I need repentance in

my life. How many times does David say over and

over, my sin, my transgression. My iniquity.

It's the reality that God is holy and that we

are sinners. Repentance is needed because sin

is a very present reality in our lives. And it

remains a reality in our lives as long as we

walk the face of this earth. Because God remains

holy and just and righteous. Because God commands

that all men everywhere repent. He commands that

his people repent. So as long as there is sin

in our lives, there is a need for repentance

in our lives. This need is heightened by the

reality. That God has given us Psalm 51. What

is Psalm 51? It's a portrait of true repentance

for the life of God's people throughout the ages.

Why would God give his people a portrait of true

repentance for the ages? Because they need to

know what it looks like. Because they need to

know and understand what it means to truly repent.

Because they need to learn from David's repentance.

The Spirit of God gave us Psalm 51 in the Holy

Scriptures because we need repentance in our

lives, brothers and sisters. And praise God he

gave it to us. Sin is a familiar reality to each

and every one of us. And because we know sin

is a reality in all of our lives, there are certain

implications for repentance in our lives. Sin

is universal, is it not? Are you the exception?

Are you here today? Are you the exception to

sin? Have you come into this building and gathered

to worship God today? And not sinned against

him? Who knows all things? Who knows your thoughts?

Who knows the intent of your heart? Who knows

the secret things of your soul? Are you here

today and are you the exception? Are you the

one that doesn't fit into this universal scope

of sin? You're not. I'm not. None of us are,

brothers and sisters. Every single person here

has sinned against God and continue to sin against

a holy God. Therefore, the need for repentance

is what? Universal. You need it. I need it. We

all need it. If you're going to continue sinning,

then you must continue repenting. If God is going

to continue to be holy, and unchanging and immutable

and righteous and just, then he still requires

repentance of his people, brothers and sisters.

It's universal. None of us are the exception

to this rule. Only the Lord Jesus Christ in his

perfect life never had to repent of sin. And

he went to the cross. Brothers and sisters, We

all fit within this universal scope of sin. Therefore,

we all fall under the umbrella of need for repentance

in our lives. Sin manifests itself in a variety

of ways. But it also varies in its heinousness

and its grievousness. and the degrees to which

it will be punished. If sin varies, and sin,

there's a variety of manifestations of it, and

its acts, and its positions, and its dispositions,

and its desires, and its work, then what does

that mean regarding repentance in our lives?

What are the implications of that? Well, it means

that repentance, will vary in its degree, and

it will not necessarily always look the same

for every single person, even though it will

always consist of these components in Psalm 51.

That means that we prescribe repentance for all

men, but we don't prescribe the degree or the

intensity of that repentance in the life of all

men. Their repentance may look different than

your repentance. You may need to repent a greater

deal, with more sorrow, with more brokenness,

because of the nature of your transgression and

the nature of your sin. David needed big repentance,

didn't he? Why? Because... He had a big sin.

Repentance will vary in degree and intensity,

but repentance must be present. We prescribe

repentance for all, but we don't prescribe the

intensity or the degree of that repentance in

the lives of sinners. Sin is constant in our

life. Every hour, every day, we deal with sin.

I know that we can add some nuance in here, and

I'm working in generalizations to a degree, but

the reality is sin is constant in all of our

lives. It's a constant struggle. It's a constant

battle. Is it not in your life? It's constant,

brothers and sisters. It's a constant battle

in our souls because there's remaining corruption

within us because of our sin nature. If sin is

constant, then what else must be constant? Repentance.

The prevalence of our sin dictates the prevalence

of our repentance. Don't let it compile and snowball

and build, brothers and sisters. When you sin,

repent of the sin. Move on. Pursue Christ. Love

people. Love God. When you sin, repent of the

sin. Move on. Be sanctified. Grow in godliness

and holiness. I don't say that lackadaisically,

but it's the reality. We are all going to deal

with sin in this life. Repent of it and move

on. But keep repenting of it. Don't give up on

repentance because it's hard or it's difficult

or it's monotonous. God requires it of us, and

it's for our good. It's for the good of our sanctification.

It's for the good of our holiness. It's for the

good of our families, for the good of our church.

It's for the good of your soul. Therefore, pursue

it. Consider it. Don't let up on it. Give yourself

to it. It's going to be part of your life. Unless

you just throw your arms up and say, I'm done.

I don't care about sin anymore. I am who I am.

Brothers and sisters, repentance must be regular

because our sin is regular. This is good for

our lives. It's good for our godliness. It's

good for your soul. The Lord Jesus Christ from

heaven wants his people to be a repenting people

because he wants what's best for you. And he

wants what's best for his glory in this life.

He wants his church to be full of life. He wants

his church to be full of power. He wants his

church to be full of vitality and strength. And

the way to do that is by dealing with our sin.

The Lord Jesus Christ wants this for his people,

for his bride. He doesn't want her to be weak.

He doesn't want her to be dirty. He wants her

to be a repenting bride. One who loves him and

loves people and deals with her sin, brothers

and sisters. Sin is constant. It's just a reality

we deal with in this life. But we also see and

we also know that sin is lifelong. It's a lifelong

reality. From the time we're born, doesn't David

say, I was brought forth in iniquity? And in

sin my mother conceived me? From the time of

our birth, we've been inclined to do that which

is against God and his law. It starts when we're

babies. It starts when we're conceived. And it

grows as we grow. So it's not a phenomenon that's

isolated to a certain period of years like 15

to 18. It's not a phenomenon that's isolated

to young children. It's not a phenomenon that's

isolated to middle -aged individuals. It's not

a phenomenon that's isolated to older Christians

and older saints. It's something that is lifelong

as long as we breathe in this world. That means

that none, from the young to the old, are exempt

from this call and this command and this duty,

this gospel grace of repenting of our sin. Sin

is the basis of our need. for repentance in our

life. And we see that in the life of the individual

Christian. It's good. God has given us Psalm

51 because it's good for his people. But this

is also important for the church as a whole.

In a bigger picture application, the church as

a whole needs repentance. The pulpits of the

land, the pulpits of the churches in southeast

Illinois, the pulpits of the churches in America

need to be filled with what? Repentance and sin.

And Christ and the gospel. God will not more

largely bless his church until there is a return

to the proclamation of repentance, sin, God in

his holiness, grace in Christ. That means that

the church needs to make sure that it does not

move on from that it does not proceed forth onto

greater, more important, more significant things

than repentance in its life. Repentance must

remain central. It must remain perpetual. The

proclamation of repentance would be a good thing

for the people of God if it were to resound in

the pulpits throughout the land. It's interesting

that we see in many churches, there's this commitment

and dedication to reaching and doing and going,

yet there's no focus on sin and repentance. What

has supplanted repentance and sin? The holiness

of God. Reaching the community. Reaching those

around us. But what point is that, brothers and

sisters, if there's no power and life and health

and the Spirit of God does not reside in that

congregation? There's no holiness and godliness

in its people. Because there's no mention of

repentance or sin from the pulpit of the churches.

There must be a return to repentance, sin, holiness,

and the gospel if there's to be larger blessing

upon the people of God in this world. And oh,

how we long for that. How we long for the Spirit

of God to be given to the people of God in this

day and in this age when we desperately need

it. That hope is strengthened. That confidence

in Christ and His promises is built up. And that

faith is emboldened and enlivened and renewed.

It's fairly simple, but it's more difficult.

It's just returning to the holiness of God. repentance

of sin, and the grace of Christ in the gospel.

So we've seen in Psalm 51, generally speaking,

the elements of repentance. We've seen the fruit

of repentance. We've seen the promise, the blessed

promise of repentance. And we've seen the need

of repentance.