A Fresh Start

Introduction

Background of the passage.

David’s sin with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11-12)

David was in the wrong place at the wrong time (should have been in battle)

David looked an lingered

David acted on his sin and then tried to cover it up

David was confronted by God through Nathan the prophet and then he repented.

All of us sin and mess up. What is important is what we learn from our failures and how we respond.

Some of you may be needing a fresh start this morning. If you aren’t, you will at some point in your life.

Let’s take a look this morning at how David responded and the fresh start that He got with the Lord by turning to Psalm 51 and looking at David’s prayer.

Psalm 51 ESV

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 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. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; 19 then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Pray

1. We Need God to Cleanse Us (v.1-2)

Psalm 51:1–2 ESV

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!

The first thing that all of us need is mercy. We cannot get enough of God’s mercy. And it’s a good thing that God has plenty to give.

Charles Spurgeon said,

God’s mercy is so great that you may sooner drain the sea of its water, or deprive the sun of his light, or make space too narrow, than diminish the great mercy of God.

Charles Spurgeon

It reminds me of the old hymn, the Love of God.

The love of God is greater far Than tongue or pen can ever tell; It goes beyond the highest star, And reaches to the lowest hell; The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win; His erring child He reconciled, And pardoned from his sin.

CHORUS O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forevermore endure The saints' and angels' song.

I won’t go through the rest of the song, but it is a powerful reminder that we need God to save us from our sin. We need Him to cleanse us!

And did you know that God wants to do do that for you?

Again quoting Spurgeon he says,

Jesus chose us, loved us, bought us, cleansed us, robed us, kept us, glorified us: we are here entirely through the Lord Jesus.

Charles Spurgeon

It’s pretty incredible to thing that God would want to save me, considering all the bad things I’ve done towards Him, but it’s true!

2. We Need to Acknowledge Our Sin (vv. 3-6, 14-17)

Psalm 51:3–6 ESV

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 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. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Psalm 51:14–17 ESV

14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

David had to realize that his sin was first against God, then against other people

He recognized:

He was born into this world a sinner

He had sinned against God and his sin was an offense to God

God wanted honesty rather than his sacrifices

He needed God to save him, and that he couldn’t save himself

In the New Testament we have the promise that if we find ourselves in David’s shoes, God will always forgive us if we will come to him.

1 John 1:9 ESV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

3. We Need God to Restore Us (vv. 7-12)

Psalm 51:7–12 ESV

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

David asks for God to restore Him :

ceremonially (v.7)

with joy that he had before (v.8, 12)

with relationship (vv.9-10)

with his ministry and influence (vv.11) - Saul

Have you ever blown it with God and just felt slimy and dirty? Maybe you feel that way this morning. Jesus said

John 6:37 ESV

37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

God has given you a promise today that whether you are a saved sinner or lost and searching for wholeness in your life, God will forgive you if you call upon Him and He will restore you.

4. We Need to Teach Others from Our Experiences (v. 13)

Psalm 51:13 ESV

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.

You will make mistakes in your life. You will sin against the Lord. But the real question is whether or not you will learn from your experiences to prevent them from happening to you in the future.

We can also take what we’ve learned through our life lessons and help teach others. You can change their future by helping them to avoid the painful lessons that you’ve gone through....if they will listen to you.

And that also means that we should be humble and teachable. We can learn from others’ mistakes and successes, whether for good or bad.

Illustration:

Youtube influencers

Often paid to spin a product

They earn your trust by trying to seem normal and likeable

Be careful what you believe

Listen to what Psalm 1 says,

Psalm 1:1 ESV

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

The Bible also says in Proverbs,

Proverbs 13:20 ESV

20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

So be careful what lessons you are teaching others and be careful what lessons you are learning from others by who you hang around and let influence you.

5. We Need to Recognize the Affects of Our Sin on Others (vv. 18-19)

Psalm 51:18–19 ESV

18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; 19 then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

David recognizes that his sin affected those under his leadership and care.

The whole city and country was often impacted by the wickedness or righteousness of the king.

Leaders model a pattern of living for those that are following their leadership.