STUDY THEME: GOD OF GRACE AND GLORY. 9-22-02
"GOD FORGIVES." PSALM 51: 1-17
PSALM 51:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-12, 13-17
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO PSALM 51.
We can be profoundly grateful that Psalm 51 is in our Bible because it is one of the greatest passages in the Bible.
The lesson today focuses on one of the most important realities in biblical faith—the fact that God forgives human beings of their sins when they confess and repent. The lesson is based upon the well-known double sin of King David. His horrible sins of adultery and murder could have destroyed him as a person and as a king. When he was confronted by God’s prophet with his sins, David could have responded by arrogant rebellion and could have refused to admit his sins and could have refused to repent. But fortunately for him, and for Israel, that was not what he did. He was as great in his repentance as he was in his sin! But the lesson does not so much focus on David’s wrongs as it does God’s gracious forgiveness.
As we move through this lesson we need to understand that forgiveness is not cheap and easy with God; it took the death of God’s own Son so that God’s righteousness might be fulfilled as well. No person should ever go ahead and sin because God will easily and quickly forgive their sin.
Dr. Luther Dorr said, "I will never forget an experience I had as a young minister in witnessing to a man about his relationship to Jesus. I was using the "Roman Road" presentation. When I shared with him the fact that all are sinners, his response was, "I don’t think I have ever done anything to offend the Almighty." He had no perceived need for forgiveness because he denied the reality of sin. Psalm 51 would have been meaningless to him at that point in his life."
Today’s lesson addresses the Life Question: How can I experience God’s forgiveness after I’ve sinned. We will explore the Biblical Truth: God forgives those who humbly and honestly confess their sins and depend solely on His grace. The desired Life Impact is to help us accept God’s forgiveness.
The superscription of Psalm 51 says that it is "a psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. The Biblical account of David’s two great sins, Nathan’s confrontation of the king, and David’s confession are in 2 Samuel 11:1-12:13. 2 Samuel 11:1 says, "In the spring, at the time when the king’s go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army---But David remained in Jerusalem." Had David been where he should have been, leading his troops, temptation would not have overtaken him.
David saw Bathsheba bathing. He sent for her and committed adultery with the wife of Uriah. When she later told David she was pregnant, David sought to lure Uriah home to spend time with his wife; but these efforts failed. Then the king sent a letter to Joab, his general, telling him to place Uriah where he would be killed. David’s sin with Bathsheba may have been impulsive, but Uriah’s murder was cold and calculated.
When you get saved it doesn’t mean you lose the capacity to sin. We are all sinners, and we never completely overcome our nature to sin as long as we’re still here on earth. 1 John reminds us that if we think we have defeated all sin in our lives, we are deceiving ourselves. But many times sin in the believer is an unexpected opportunity from an undetected weakness. The sin doesn’t take away our salvation that God has give us, but it can knock us down spiritually and emotionally. Sin brings suffering. Your eternal security doesn’t offer you protection from temptation. As long as you live on this earth, you will be capable of sinning.
The devil tempts us to sin by suggesting to us that , "we can get away with it." Then,
after tempting us to sin, he spends his time accusing us with "you’ll never get away with it." He wants us down and discouraged, thinking that we will never be able to get back up again. But the Bible, in today’s lesson, tells us how to get back up after we’ve been knocked down.
David went to great lengths to hide his infidelity. He did not confess it to God. When he discovered that a child was conceived during his adultery, he schemed to evade responsibility. When his intrigue failed, David had Bathsheba’s husband Uriah killed. Then he married the pregnant widow. Assuredly, he had adverted scandal and saved his throne. His secret seemed secure until the day the prophet of God confronted him in 2 Samuel 12:1-15.
For months David tried to hide his sin. Then Nathan came and told David of a situation of obvious injustice. When David said that the man who did what Nathan described ought to be killed, Nathan said, "Thou art the man." Then the prophet boldly pronounced God’s judgment on David. The king confessed, "I have sinned." Psalm 51 represents David’s confession in a prayer for forgiveness, and restoration to fellowship and service. It is one of the most moving prayers in the O.T.
In Vs. 1 David began his road back to a proper relation with God by asking for forgiveness. David’s sin was not only a sexual violation against Bathsheba or murder against Uriah, but pride against Yahweh, imagining he was autonomous and could live without regard to God’s commandments.
David knows who God is. David knows of God’s mercy. David also knows the power of God. David never really forgot all of these things about God, perhaps he walked with God for so long that he became accustomed to God’s blessings. In regards to asking forgiveness, I heard an interesting point that was mentioned. Our speaker presented the following point. Imagine, just for a moment that we knew for a fact that Jesus would return at 7:00 PM tonight, what things would we need to be working on between now and then,. We off times walk around as if nothing is wrong, and yet when we honestly think about this question that was posed, we could thing of things that are not where they need to be. We don’t know when Jesus is coming back, so if we thought that we had things to do before 7 PM and if Jesus comes in the next few minutes, where would we be?
Look at the words that David uses as he asks for forgiveness, "blot out my transgressions, wash me thoroughly, cleans me from my sin." I think of that phrase "blot out", and I think of the use of a sponge to wipe up a mess; we compress the sponge over the site of the mess and the liquid is literally sucked up into the sponge and is eliminated. David is asking that the sin be thoroughly and completely removed out of his life and the manner in which it is done need not be gentle.
It may be David was thinking of "blot out" as erasing from a scroll; the idea being that sins are pictured as written in some accounting book. "Offense" or "transgression" translates one of three words the psalmist uses for sin. This one, most commonly used, means both advertent and inadvertent violation of law, commonly a rebellion against authority.
In Vs. 2 (wash away my guilt), guilt as used here has the root idea of bending or twisting. This is always a deliberate act, never accidental or inadvertent. Here, the metaphor of thoroughly washing clothes, and not merely removing a spot or stain, is used to indicate the psalmist’s need for a complete work-over by God. He is not talking about a small sin or fault. "From my sin cleanse me": as third word for sin, by far the more common was the root idea of "missing the mark." However, the word does not connote an accidental failure to hit the target or reach the goal, but a deliberate action and the long-term, lingering guilt, which results from it. The psalmist is haunted by it.
How do we react when we are confronted with the deeds that we may have done. Do we wish to be forgiven of only what we were caught over or the entire totality of where we have gone away form God? Too often we can grow comfortable with the things that we hide in those dark closets, the things that no one else knows about. These are not unseen by God.
How about admitting our wrongs? Let’s read what David writes in the next few verses.
David knows that he has done wrong, and if things are not made right, David knows that God is justified in the consequences that He hands out to those that sin against Him and remain unrepentant. David is conscience stricken. He cries out against the sin knowing that he has done evil before a holy God. You see, David not only sinned against his family and his wife, but against God. David saw sin as an insult to the Holy God who loved him and had redeemed him. It was a deliberate rebellion against God. If you are merely afraid of the punishment for your sin, you had better carefully consider your salvation. As a child of God, you don’t just weep over your sin because you are going to be punished, but because you have disgraced God. That’s the difference between a slave of God and a son of God. A slave fears the master’s lash; a son fears the father’s displeasure. When we sin against God, we break His heart, and that should bother us. Sin saddens the heart of God.
Vs. 4 shows that David recognized the seriousness of his sin because, all sin is ultimately against God. Many people have wondered how David could say, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight." They wonder why David did not acknowledge the terrible sins he had committed against Bathsheba and Uriah. It was not because David was unaware of his sins against these two---and against others. David knew that, at its heart, sin ultimately is against God Himself. This is what makes sin so serious. It is sin against God.
The last part of Vs. 4 shows that David considered that God was totally just and fair in however He dealt with him: "So it is right and fair for you to correct and punish me." It is only because of God’s covenant love and loyalty that the psalmist dares to ask. He has no other claim on God than God Himself and the kind of God David knows him to be. There is no appeal to God as such in order to motivate him to act; merely this recognition of God’s character and nature.
In Vs. 5, David realized that he had been sinful from the time of his birth, hence all his life. He knew that from the time of his birth, he was just as lost as all of mankind has been since that day in the Garden of Eden. Each and every one of us are in the exact same situation, and we remain in that situation until we call upon the name of our Lord Jesus, accept Him as our crucified and risen Savior, and seek to live out our lives through Him and in Him. David comes to the realization that he needs to be forgiven, that he has indeed trespassed when he knew better, and that part of his inheritance is that of a nature that is prone to sin from birth. IT NEED NOT REMAIN THAT WAY.
In Vs. 4, "Against you alone have I sinned": This is the heart of the confession. In 2 Samuel 11, David was concerned only with covering up his sin; now he comes clean, admits his gnawing guilt, and realizes that when all is said and done, no matter what the sin or sins, it is God who has been the innocent and undeserved recipient of his rebellion, whether overt or covert.
In Vs. 5, "I know my offense": The sense here is stronger than acknowledgment or confession; it is a personal knowledge, a sense of continual awareness rather than an occasional consciousness. This sort of awareness produces continuing tension within because of fear and shame. To break through the denial and admit such is the beginning of recovery from any addiction.
The Bible teaches that we inherit a world of sin and a nature turned in that direction. Because we are born into a sinful world with a nature inclined toward sin, at some point all of us commit the basic sin of turning aside form God into our own ways. The Baptist Faith and Message (2000), Article III, "Man," states in part: "Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become convicted that the wrong he or she does is sin against God. Children generally learn the difference between right and wrong early in life, but they do not associate wrong with sin until they are mature enough to have a sense of God and His expectations. In other words, a child may realize early that it is wrong to disobey his parents; but he becomes morally accountable when he sees his disobeying as sin against God.
Vs. 6 shows that God wants honest and truthful hearts and lives. "But you want complete honesty, so teach me true wisdom." David knows that the change must take place deep down in the inside. He also comes to the conclusion that this is also God’s desire for his life. We can apply this to our own lives in that we must clean out the junk closets of our lives. We need to accept God’s help in this situation. If we have a flat tire on the interstate, and someone stops to help us, can the tire be changed if we refuse the assistance that is offered?
David also knew that he didn’t know everything, there were things in his life that he either didn’t know were contrary to God’s will or perhaps didn’t care to admit that they were in need. How about those closets in our lives that we hope no one ever opens? We need to be in a frame of mind when we allow Jesus to work in our lives to allow Him total access to each and every corner, crevasse, and recess where things can be hidden and obscured. Then at His command we need to remove that which does not belong.
We read in 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." This is almost identical to the beginning of David’s plea to God for forgiveness of what he knew better than to do in the first place. We ought to confess our sins daily and claim God’s gracious forgiveness through Jesus Christ His Son.
You will notice that some of these verses repeat some of the words used in Vs. 1 and 2. "Blot out" and "Wash me" are in both passages. These verses also add some new words about what happens in forgiveness. In Vs. 7, "true, I was born guilty: Literally, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity." Present sin has roots. It does not just crop up out of nowhere. If traced far enough the roots of sin go all the way back to conception and beyond. Thus, a person is born with a propensity to sin, an inherited weakness for it, and into an environment of sin which further established conditions whereby personal sin is all the more likely.
Although this statement can easily be explained by referring to David’s illicit intercourse with Bathsheba, its meaning is much more general than that. Without going so far as to over-interpret it, as has been done down through the ages, it is possible to say that it describes the human condition, and as such, reflects the O.T. idea of "corporate personality." However, clearly here, the psalmist is not confessing personal sins of his mother or ancestors, but his own. He is not philosophizing on "original sin" as Christians understand it, but simply stating "that’s the way it is." A person is a "sinner" simply by virtue of the fact of being human and living in the human condition. Which many Christians refuse to accept or admit.
In Vs. 8 David doesn’t mean that the Lord literally broke his bones, but rather that he is crushed in his spirit. God doesn’t cast us off when we sin; He squeezes us tighter! Because He loves us so much! As a Christian, the pressure of sin can sicken our bodies. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 11:30, reminded the believers that those who partook of the Lord’s table in an improper manner could become sick. That’s what sin can do in our lives. Without the joy and peace that comes from being close to God, we can just become sick. We cannot experience the joy of the Lord if we are walking away from God.
In Vs. 9, (Cleanse me with hyssop): A whisk of branches from the hyssop bush was used to sprinkle blood on the door posts at Passover, in rituals, using water instead of blood, for cleansing lepers, and in purifying a person defiled by contact with a corpse. The verb "cleanse" here means, "unsin me."
Vs. 10, "Create in me a pure heart, O God; and renew a steadfast spirit within me." David had a wrong spirit. I have seen that in back-slidden Christians. The most sour, cantankerous, abusive people I’ve ever met are backsliders. They are miserable on the inside, so they try to push their misery off on to others. They are usually the most critical people in the church, finding fault with everything. A perfect example can be found in David’s response to Nathan. The prophet came to David and told a story of a poor man who had a pet lamb that was like his only child, even eating from his table. Next door was a very rich man who had hundreds of sheep. But when a stranger stopped by, the rich man had the poor man’s lamb killed, and, fed to the stranger.
What should happen? I can see David lived with rage. He jumps from his throne, clenches his fists, and orders the rich man to pay four-fold. Then Nathan springs his trap: "You are the rich man, David". Bathsheba was the lamb that was stolen. David was angry because his sin had made his spirit sour. He was quick to judge the small sin in the lives of others because he carried great sin on his own shoulders. Sin sours the spirit and makes us critical, judgmental people.
In Vs. 11, "Do not drive me from Your presence." Ordinarily, God would turn away his face, that is, withdraw his presence, as a sign of displeasure. Here, the prayer is that God would do so, not to the sinner as much as to his sin only.
"Take not from me Your Holy Spirit": The Spirit of God is never implanted within a person in the O.T.: It is poured out upon them, a force form outside. It is an overwhelming experience, endowing a person with a power to do what he or she could not do otherwise. Yet it is not an impersonal force. It is God’s Spirit, and so, God himself in Spirit or "second wind" form. The Psalmist asks for a continuing experience of the creative, life-giving, joy-producing presence of God Himself. David may have been remembering the time when God withdrew His Spirit from King Saul due to his disobedience.
In Vs. 12 David begs, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation." David does not ask to have his salvation restored, because sin doesn’t cause us to lose our salvation. Instead, he asks for his joy to be restored, for sin saps us of our joy. If you fall into sin, you can be saved and still be miserable. The most unhappy, man on earth, is not the unsaved sinner. He’s living it us, having a ball, and enjoying the pleasure of sin. But the child of God who is out of fellowship due to sin, is truly miserable. When you became a Christian, you were not changed so that you can no longer sin, but you were changed so that you can no longer enjoy it as you used to. If you want to know if someone is a backslider, look at his joy. Does he have joy in his heart? If not, you can bet he has sin in his life. Christians are to have joy at all times. "Rejoice in the Lord always."
In Vs. 13-17 the mood has changed. It as though some assurance has already been given. The requests of Vs. 1 have, perhaps, been granted, or experienced as granted. In Vs. 13, "I will teach transgressors your way": Restoration leads to ministry. Testimony and praise flow from the new creation and the presence of the Spirit. Confession and forgiveness are a necessary prelude to mission. However, confession without mission is abortive and ends in an apathetic spiritual state. "The ways of God" involve both what humans should do and what God can do through them.
In Vs 14, David prays for God to "deliver me from blood-guiltiness, or bloodshed." In David’s case this would refer to his murder of Uriah and the subsequent punishment for it by his own life and blood and death. While it may have that meaning it also has the figurative sense of guilt for sins which ordinary ritual sacrifice cannot cleanse. Sins such as adultery and murder, David’s sins, are not provided for in sacrificial rubrics. There are no sacrifices prescribed to atone for them, only death. The psalmist is talking about that kind of sin from which only the direct, case-specific mercy of God can forgive him. He is no trying to escape the material consequences of his sin, but to be relieved of the guilt. The Bible is clear that while God does forgive, He also will hold us accountable for our sins and therefore we need His forgiveness and must not presume on it. Note in 2 Samuel 12:13 David is forgiven on the basis of his confession alone; no sacrifice is mentioned.
In Vs. 15 God’s forgiveness breaks the seal of guilt his conscience has shamed him into silence about God and godliness and enables the psalmist to sing genuinely, as opposed to merely "mouthing the words" of the praise of God. It also empowers one’s speaking ability to teach authentically because having experienced the forgiveness of God., The psalmist prays for the inspiration, the "second wind" of God’s spirit to do such, now that he has experienced God’s forgiveness. All of us human beings should be deeply grateful that God is a forgiving God.
In Vs. 16 "You do not desire sacrifice." Real sacrifice, a humble, contrite heart, is better, by far, than empty sacrifice, mere ritual for ritual sake. The best of gifts is unacceptable unless offered with and by a contrite heart.
In Vs. 17 the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit…a broken, humbled heart: One cannot ask for "Lips of praise" until one has engaged in a profound yielding and emptying. That is because God does not want mere religious conventions, externals, or pretenses. The person who offers his sacrifice of humble, contrite heart, accompanied by burnt offerings or not, can be assured of divine acceptance.
NEXT SUNDAY FROM 1 KINGS 17 AND 19 WE LEARN THAT GOD PROVIDES. ALREADY WE HAVE LEARNED THAT GOD IS HOLY, JUST, PATIENT AND FORGIVING. LET’S LOOK FORWARD TO LEARNING THAT HE PROVIDES.
A. V. DAUGHERTY 9-22-02