Create in Me a Clean Heart

This morning we're going to partake again of the Lord's table.

The table has bread on it and it's got grape juice.

And as most of you here know, the bread represents the body of Jesus

and the cup represents the blood of Jesus.

These are heavy symbols.

We're here this morning to remember a death.

And this is hard.

It's heavy.

But this death, the death of Jesus, is the most important thing that there is to know

and believe and embrace in the entire universe.

To appreciate this death, we need to first acknowledge our sins.

And we're going to do that this morning with the help of King David,

David, a man who lived long ago.

David, even though he was a man after God's own heart,

was a sinner just like me and just like you.

Even though he loved goodness and righteousness,

even though he was a worship leader and composed music expressing his love for God,

he was still a sinner just like you and me.

If you know the story of David, God chose him to be the king of Israel.

And through great hardship and trial, God established David as the king of all the nation

after the death of King Saul.

And God gave David amazing success in battle against all the surrounding enemy nations.

But David, too, was a sinner like you and me.

We're going to read his story this morning in 2 Samuel chapter 11.

2 Samuel 11 · chapter mention

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war,

David sent Joab, the commander of the army,

out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army.

They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah.

But David remained in Jerusalem.

One evening, David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace.

From the roof, he saw a woman bathing.

The woman was very beautiful.

And David sent someone to find out about her.

The man said,

She's Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam,

and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.

Then David sent messengers to get her.

She came to him.

And he slept with her.

Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.

Then she went back home.

The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying,

I'm pregnant.

So David sent this word to Joab,

Send me Uriah the Hittite.

And Joab sent him to David.

When Uriah came to him,

David asked him how Joab was,

how the soldiers were,

and how the war was going.

Then David said to Uriah,

Go down to your house and wash your feet.

So Uriah left the palace,

and a gift from the king was sent after him.

But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace

with all his master's servants,

and did not go down to his house.

David was told,

Uriah did not go home.

So he asked Uriah,

Haven't you just come from a military campaign?

Why didn't you go home?

Uriah said to David,

The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents,

and my commander Joab and my lord's men

are camped in the open country.

How could I go to my house to eat and drink

and make love to my wife?

As surely as you live,

I will not do such a thing.

Then David said to him,

Stay here one more day,

and tomorrow I will send you back.

So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.

At David's invitation,

he ate and drank with him,

and David made him drunk.

But in the evening,

Uriah went out to sleep on his mat

among his master's servants.

He did not go home.

In the morning,

David wrote a letter to Joab

and sent it with Uriah.

In it, he wrote,

Put Uriah out in front

where the fighting is fiercest.

Then withdraw from him

so he will be struck down and die.

So while Joab had the city under siege,

he put Uriah at a place

where he knew the strongest defenders were.

When the men of the city came out

and fought against Joab,

some of the men in David's army fell.

Moreover,

Uriah the Hittite died.

Joab sent David a full account of the battle.

He instructed the messenger,

When you've finished giving the king

this account of the battle,

the king's anger may flare up,

and he may ask you,

Why did you get so close to the city to fight?

Didn't you know they would shoot arrows from the wall?

Who killed Abimelech, son of Jerob-Besheth?

Didn't a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall

so that he died in Thebez?

Why did you get so close to the wall?

If he asks you this,

then say to him,

Moreover,

your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.

The messenger set out,

and when he arrived,

he told David everything Joab had sent him to say.

The messenger said to David,

The men overpowered us and came out against us in the open,

but we drove them back to the entrance of the city gate.

Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall,

and some of the king's men died.

Moreover,

your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.

David told the messenger,

Say this to Joab,

Don't let this upset you.

The sword devours one as well as another.

Press the attack against the city and destroy it.

Say this to encourage Joab,

When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead,

she mourned for him.

After the time of mourning was over,

David had her brought to his house,

and she became his wife and bore him a son.

But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.

The Lord sent Nathan to David.

When Nathan came to him,

he said,

There were two men in a certain town,

one rich and the other poor.

The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle,

but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought.

He raised it,

and it grew up with him and his children.

It shared his food,

drank from his cup,

and even slept in his arms.

It was like a daughter to him.

Now a traveler came to the rich man,

but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle

to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him.

Instead,

he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man

and prepared it for the one who had come to him.

David burned with anger against the man

and said to Nathan,

As surely as the Lord lives,

the man who did this must die.

He must pay for that lamb four times over

because he did such a thing and had no pity.

Then Nathan said to David,

You are the man.

This is what the Lord,

the God of Israel,

says,

I anointed you king over Israel,

and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.

I gave your master's house to you

and your master's wives into your arms.

I gave you all Israel and Judah,

and if all this had been too little,

I would have given you even more.

Why did you despise the word of the Lord

by doing what is evil in his eyes?

You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword

and took his wife to be your own.

You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.

Now, therefore,

the sword will never depart from your house

because you despised me

and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite

to be your own.

This is what the Lord says,

Out of your own household,

I'm going to bring calamity on you.

Before your very eyes,

I will take your wives

and give them to one who is close to you,

and he will sleep with your wives

in broad daylight.

You did it in secret,

but I will do this thing

in broad daylight before all Israel.

Then David said to Nathan,

I have sinned against the Lord.

Nathan replied,

The Lord has taken away your sin.

You are not going to die,

but because by doing this

you have shown utter contempt for the Lord,

the son born to you will die.

This is a heart-wrenching story.

Even the best of men

can commit the worst of sins.

He knew what he was supposed to be doing.

It was the time when kings go off to war

and probably many of the other kings

were out there on the battlefield

with their armies,

but this king decided to stay home

where it was comfortable

and cozy

while his men

risked their lives.

David's men were out there

sleeping on the hard ground

in tents.

And what was David doing?

Enjoying the comforts

of his palace.

Going for a leisurely stroll

up on the roof.

He notices

a beautiful woman

bathing

and his heart

is overcome

with lust.

After finding out

that she is the wife

of another man,

he decides to take her anyway.

To be with her

as if she was his wife.

Deliberately

breaking the seventh commandment.

We don't know.

Perhaps David was thinking

I'm the king.

I can do as I please.

But then he found out

that Bathsheba

was now pregnant

with his child.

And he goes to

great lengths

as we just heard

to cover up

and to hide

this evil thing

that he had done.

He sends a messenger

all the way out

to where the army

is camped

to bring back

the husband

of Bathsheba.

all part of

an elaborate plan

to cover this up

expecting that he will go

and be with his wife

and he can make it look like

all along

this is Uriah's child.

But Uriah can't stop

thinking

about what his companions

his fellow soldiers

are going through

as they're camped out

in the open

in tents.

Could he really go

and enjoy the comforts

of his home

and his wife

and then go back

out to the army

and tell them

all about the great time

that he had

and the special treatment

he got for the king

while they were out there

risking their lives

missing their wives

and families?

It seems that

the harder David tries

to get Uriah

to go home

and to be with his wife

and to cover up

this sin

the more obvious

it becomes

that David

is in a wicked

frame of mind

here he is

feasting with Uriah

in the palace

making him drunk

hoping to get him

to do

what he wants him

to do

while his men

are out there

fighting

putting their lives

on the line

finally David

decides to do

another great evil

to cover up

his sin

he breaks

the sixth commandment

and he

gives the order

for Bathsheba's

husband

to be killed

to be murdered

and he seems

so cold

and calm

and calculated

about it

he even sends

the message

sealing Uriah's

fate with him

and what is

David's response

when he hears

that Uriah

is dead

don't worry

about it

people die

all the time

in battle

don't let it

bother you

and with Uriah

out of the way

David

carries out

the fullness

of his adultery

taking Uriah's

wife

to be his own

problem solved

thought David

I wonder

how do you see

David

in this story

there he is

sinning

and sinning

some more

and then

trying to cover

it up

and then

sinning

some more

all the while

not too bothered

it would seem

by what he has

done

it's not

that bad

I mean

I've made

some mistakes

but as long

as nobody

knows about

them

it'll be

alright

who's the hero

of this story

it's certainly

not David

we probably

tend to look

at Uriah

as the hero

and he certainly

shines here

as a man

of character

but he's also

the tragic

casualty

imagine

yourself

in Uriah's

shoes

how would

you feel

if you were

him

and you knew

what your

king

had done

to your

dear wife

no

the real

hero

in this

story

is the

good

and just

God

who will

not allow

David

to just

get away

with this

and so

God

sends

his

prophet

Nathan

God

gives

Nathan

the exact

words

to bring

the

fullest

conviction

possible

to David's

heart

David

even

goes so

far

as to

pronounce

the sentence

that he

deserves

before he

realizes

that it's

him

this story

is about

he says

the man

who did

this

must die

because he

did such

a thing

and had

no pity

you

are the

man

said

God

to David

David

realized

that he

couldn't hide

his sin

from God

God

was going

to ensure

that he

did not

get away

with it

and David

crumbled

in repentance

before the

Lord

he said

I have

sinned

against

the

Lord

David

was broken

in his

heart

as he

admitted

what he

had done

that he

was guilty

and that

God

was right

and it's

here in the

midst of all

this that

David came

to pray

the words

we read

in Psalm

51

if you have

your Bible

open

you're welcome

to turn to it

what was

David's prayer

right in the

midst of this

it was

this

have mercy

on me

oh God

according

to your

unfailing

love

according

to your

great

compassion

blot out

my

transgressions

wash

away

all my

iniquity

and cleanse

me from

my sin

for I

know

my

transgressions

and my

sin is

always

before me

against

you

you only

have I

sinned

and done

what is

evil

in your

sight

so you

are right

in your

verdict

and justified

when you

judge

surely I

was sinful

at birth

sinful from

the time

my mother

conceived

me

yet you

desired

faithfulness

even in

the womb

you taught

me wisdom

in that

secret

place

cleanse

me

with

hyssop

and I

will be

clean

wash

me

and I

will be

whiter

than

snow

let me

hear joy

and gladness

let the

bones

you have

crushed

rejoice

hide

your face

from my

sins

and blot

out all

my

iniquity

create

in me

a pure

heart

oh

God

and renew

a steadfast

spirit

within me

do not

cast me

from your

presence

or take

your

holy

spirit

from me

restore

to me

the joy

of your

salvation

and grant

me a

willing spirit

to sustain

me

then I

will teach

transgressors

your ways

so that

sinners

will turn

back to

you

deliver me

from the

guilt

of bloodshed

oh

God

you who

are God

my savior

and my

tongue

will sing

of your

righteousness

open my

lips

Lord

and my

mouth

will declare

your praise

you do

not delight

in sacrifice

or I

would bring

it

you do

not take

pleasure

in burnt

offerings

my

sacrifice

oh

God

is a

broken

spirit

a

broken

and

contrite

heart

you

God

will not

despise

David

David

came to

feel

the

depth

of his

guilt

have

you

David

acknowledged

to God

the

ugliness

and the

evil

of the

things

that he

had

done

have

you

David

knew

that

sinning

was a

perpetual

problem

in his

life

my

sin

is

always

before

you

do

you

know

that

David

came to

agree

with God

about the

rightness

of his

verdict

have

you

David

was truly

broken

over

his

sin

are

you

this

prayer

that

David

prays

here

this

is

what

repentance

is

it's

what

it

looks

like

look

at

what

David

asks

God

to

do

in

verse

7

cleanse

me

he

prays

what

David

means

is

that

he

knows

the

evil

things

he

has

done

have

made

him

filthy

in

the

sight

of

God

wash

me

he

prays

and

I

will

be

whiter

than

snow

my

guilt

my

sins

have

made

me

dirty

they

have

stained

me

but

notice

the

faith

that

David

expresses

here

God

if

you

wash

me

you

can

make

me

clean

you

can

take

that

stain

away

the

dirtiness

of

my

sin

verse

9

David

says

blot

out

all

my

iniquity

it's

as though

he's

saying

I

know

God

that

you

keep

the

official

records

on

everything

that

I

have

done

and

I

can't

change

what

I've

done

or

what

I

deserve

but

you

can

spill

the

ink

over

that

part

of

my

record

so

that

even

you

can't

read

it

or

see

it

anymore

and

it's

as though

David

in the

midst

of

all

this

realizes

what

has

led

him

to

do

this

evil

in

the

first

place

I

mean

it's

if

God

forgives

and

wipes

away

the

sin

cleans

off

the

record

that

deals

with

the

past

but

what

about

the

future

David

knows

that

he

is

inclined

to

sin

again

even

after

all

this

he

realizes

that

there's

not

just

his

actions

that

have

been

dirty

but

that

the

dirtiness

of

his

actions

has

come

out

of

the

dirtiness

of

his

heart

and

so

he

prays

create

in

me

a

pure

heart

oh

God

take

away

completely

that

dirtiness

that

sinfulness

in

my

heart

God

do you

long

for a

pure

heart

do you

long

for God

to take

away

every

selfish

and

sinful

desire

of your

heart

and make

you

clean

there's

nothing

on this

earth

that I

long

for

more

verse

14

is

rather

jarring

David

prays

deliver

me

from

the

guilt

of

blood

shed

you

who

are

God

my

savior

what

do

you

think

do

you

think

that

God

should

answer

that

prayer

do you

think

he should

forgive

this

adulterous

murderer

and

spare him

the punishment

that he

deserves

it's as

though

David

realizes

there's

no

kind

of

sacrifice

that I

can

bring

that

will

truly

atone

for

what

I've

done

verse

16

you

do

not

delight

in

sacrifice

or

I

would

bring

it

you

do

not

take

pleasure

in

burnt

offerings

what

does

David

have

to

give

no

amount

of

bulls

or

rams

or

grain

offerings

is

really

going

to

do

it

all

I

have

to

offer

you

God

is

my

broken

heart

and

my

repentant

spirit

should

God

forgive

this

adulterous

murderer

and

spare

him

the

punishment

he

deserves

looking

back

to

verse

one

David

appeals

to

the

mercy

of

God

to

the

compassion

of

God

to

the

unfailing

love

of

God

and

as

the

story

goes

God

does

forgive

David

of

all

this

wickedness

so

that

David

does

not

receive

the

punishment

he

deserves

we

read

this

back

in

2

2 Samuel 12:13

Samuel

chapter

12

verse

13

David

said

to

Nathan

I

have

sinned

against

the

Lord

Nathan

replied

the

Lord

has

taken

away

your

sin

you

are

not

going

to

die

but

because

by

doing

this

you

have

shown

utter

contempt

for

the

Lord

the

son

born

to

you

will

die

this

is

maybe

the

hardest

part

of

the

story

for

all

of

us

how

God

why

does

God

seem

to

punish

the

innocent

child

instead

of

David

how

could

he

do

that

why

should

the

innocent

son

of

David

bear

the

punishment

for

his

sin

I

wish

I

could

tell

you

this

morning

that

the

child

doesn't

die

but

the

child

does

die

at

some

point

we

have

to

accept

by

faith

that

God

reserves

the

right

to

give

life

and

to

take

it

away

from

any

one

of

us

at

any

moment

he

is

God

and

we

are

not

he

is

pure

he

is

free

from

sin

he

is

just

he

only

ever

does

what

is

right

and

we

are

not

as

David

just

expressed

we

are

sinful

even

from

the

womb

so

hard

as

it

is

we

simply

have

to

accept

this

by

faith

God

is

not

being

unjust

with

this

punishment

and

once

we

come

to

terms

with

that

we

see

a ray

of

grace

God

is

pointing

to

something

here

should

God

forgive

this

adulterous

murderer

and

spare

him

the

punishment

he

deserves

should

God

forgive

you

for

all the

wicked

things

that

you've

done

and

spare

you

the

punishment

that

you

deserve

amazingly

God

loves

this

man

David

with

an

unfailing

love

despite

what

he's

done

amazingly

God

has

compassion

on him

despite

what

he's

done

and

amazingly

God

can

take

away

David's

guilt

David's

sin

he can

blot

out

his

transgressions

and

he does

it

it would

seem

by punishing

the innocent

son of

David

for his

sin

now let

me be

clear

David's

innocent

child

dying

did not

atone

for David's

sin

it

couldn't

but it

does

foreshadow

an innocent

son of

David

who would

come

at a

later

time

a son

of David

whose

undeserved

death

is

enough

to

atone

for

David's

sin

I'm

talking

about

Jesus

who

died

not

just

for

David's

sin

but

for

mine

and

for

yours

for

the

sins

of the

whole

world

does

it

seem

fair

does

it

seem

just

that

God

would

punish

the

innocent

Jesus

to

take

away

our

sins

yet

because

God

is

compassionate

and

merciful

and

full

of

this

unfailing

love

for

you

and

for

me

he

chose

to

punish

the

son

of

David

Jesus

to

take

away

our

sins

so

that

we

could

be

spared

the

punishment

that

we

deserve

and

that's

what

this

table

behind

me

is

all

about

it's

here

we

remember

the

death

of

Jesus

his

body

was

broken

his

blood

was

shed

and

he

didn't

deserve

it

we

did

he

did

it

so

that

we

could

be

cleansed

and

washed

so

that

that

stain

that

we

couldn't

remove

could

be

gone

and

so

if

you

have

repented

like

David

did

of

your

sins

and

you

are

trusting

in

Jesus

and

his

death

to

save

you

to

forgive

you

to

atone

for

you

I

want

to

invite

you

to

partake

together

with

us

of

the

bread

and

the

cup

I'll

ask

Dave

Spellacy

and

Rod

if

you

would

come

up

and

pass

out

the

elements

and

if

you

have

done

this

if

you've

repented

and

believed

in

Jesus

you're

welcome

to

partake

you're

welcome

to

remember

with

us

and

if

not

please

just

signal

with

your

hand

to

let

the

elements

pass

you

by

we're

going

to

wait

until

everyone

who

wishes

to

partake

has

been

served

and

then

I'll

give

thanks

and

we'll

eat

and

drink

all

together

to

Sill

van

r

on

another

can

t

use

c

to

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Father in heaven, we thank you so much for your mercy and your compassion.

We have sinned, all of us, so many times we can't even keep count.

But we thank you that Jesus' blood can atone, can wash clean, can blot out our transgressions completely.

Amen.

We pray the prayer of David.

Restore to us the joy of your salvation.

Thank you for this gift and this love.

In Jesus' name, amen.

So, there's my need.

Thank you, David.

Share this.

Make next two gifts.

Thank you.

There is a blessing.

Thank you.

This morning's service would have to end with sadness

if that was the end of the story.

But praise God it isn't.

Three days later,

Jesus was busted out of that tomb.

God raised him from the dead.

His death brought our forgiveness

and his resurrection brings us life forever.

And that restored relationship with God.

And so we have so much because of that to look forward to.

I'm going to invite our worship team to come up

and lead us in song again.