Prayer of Repentance
Great Prayers of the Bible • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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We cannot begin to fathom the number of God-fearing men and women throughout the ages who have put to great use this prayer of repentance that is known as Psalm 51. It has been called the Psalm of Psalms by many and one writer described it as “arguably the purest and most profound plea for God’s mercy in all of Scripture.”
Athanasius, an early church father, once recommended to Christians that they recite it when they wake up in the middle of the night. The Reformer Martin Luther once claimed “there is no other psalm more often sung or prayed in the church.” Another Protestant Reformer, named Viktor Strigel said of Psalm 51: “This Psalm is the brightest gem in the whole book, and contains instruction so large, and doctrine so precious, that the tongue of angels could not do justice to the full development”. Charles Spurgeon said, this Psalm is a “matchless psalm well suited for the individual as well an assembly of the poor in spirit.”
It has shaped my prayers more than once as I have grieved times of personal failure, acutely aware of my shortcomings and the need for divine mercy. I have also been led to recite it during our time of prayer with the inmates at the detention center and it has led into some meaningful conversations with men weighed down with past regret.
I came across a sermon this week given by Pastor Josh DeGroote of Real Life Church in Ankeny, Iowa and I liked how he introduced this psalm:
He says: This psalm is for someone who has really blown it. And of course it is. But it isn’t just for that person.
There are some here (or watching) who have a woefully shallow and inadequate view of our sin and the glory of God’s mercy - this is for you. There are others who think they are too holy or mature or committed to really blow it - this is for you. There are others who have fallen headlong into egregious sin, and wonder if there is any hope for you, and be forgiven or useful to God again - this Psalm is for you. There are others who know the daily battle against sin - this psalm is for you. The issue is not whether Christians sin or not, we do. The issue is whether we have made peace with and cherish our sin or hate and forsake it. 19th Century Scottish minister William Arnot wrote,
The difference between a converted person and an unconverted person is not that one sins and the other does not, but that the one takes part in his cherished sins against a dreaded God, and the other takes part with a reconciled God against his hated sins.
We are continuing our series on Great Prayers of the Bible and today we examine this great prayer of repentance. Repentance is not simply saying you’re sorry. Repentance comes out of deep anguish and sorrow for your sin. It is a renouncing of sin - refusing to follow the path of sin anymore and instead committing to walk in obedience to the Way of Christ.
Psalm 51 is one of seven penitential psalms attributed to King David. The subscript to this psalm says “A Psalm of David, when Nathan the Prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.”
You may be familiar with the story. David was Israel’s greatest king. The Apostle Paul said of him, in the book of Acts…
Acts 13:22 (ESV)
…he (God) raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’
David was a man after God’s own heart because he had full faith in God, He loved and treasured God’s Word, and would do what God wanted him to do. The people of Israel prospered under David’s rule.
And example of David’s commitment to God is heard in another one of his psalms, Psalm 86:11-12
Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.
Despite his strong faith and commitment, when David had obtained great power, success and a level of comfort, he let down his guard. David, the great warrior king, sent out his army to battle, but this time he stayed behind in the palace. Strolling along the rooftop terrace of his house, he looked down on the city and his eye caught a beautiful woman named Bathsheba bathing. David sent for her, even after being warned that she was married to Uriah the Hittite, a soldier in his own army. He slept with her and she became pregnant. To cover his tracks, he called Uriah back from the field of war so he could visit his wife, but Uriah would not enjoy comfort while his commrades were risking their lives. So David devised a wicked scheme. He ordered the commander of his troops to advance against the enemy, put Uriah out front, then withdraw the men so that Uriah would be exposed. The plan worked, Uriah was killed.
After a period of mourning, David brought the widow Bathsheba into his palace and made her his bride.
It is a shocking story - but one that has been repeated throughout time. James warns the church in…
Everyone is tempted by their own cravings; they are lured away and enticed by them. Once those cravings conceive, they give birth to sin; and when sin grows up, it gives birth to death. Don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.
David didn’t start right off with murder. He started off with a look that led to desire that led to acting on that desire. In some twisted way, he probably justified each of his actions. The further he moved along this trajectory, the more calloused his heart became. There is no evidence of David having remorse for what he had done.
Then we read in 2 Sam 11:27
2 Samuel 11:27 (ESV)
…But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.
God sends the prophet Nathan to confront David about his sin and to break through David’s hardness of heart, Nathan tells him a story.
2 Samuel 12:1–7 (CEB)
When Nathan arrived he said, “There were two men in the same city, one rich, one poor. The rich man had a lot of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing—just one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised that lamb, and it grew up with him and his children. It would eat from his food and drink from his cup—even sleep in his arms! It was like a daughter to him. “Now a traveler came to visit the rich man, but he wasn’t willing to take anything from his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had arrived. Instead, he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the visitor.” David got very angry at the man, and he said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the one who did this is demonic!He must restore the ewe lamb seven times over because he did this and because he had no compassion.” “You are that man!” Nathan told David.
David’s heart is exposed - the full weight of his sin falls upon him. David confesses “I have sinned against the Lord.”
Michael Wilcox in The Message of the Psalms says…
Only the living word of God through his prophet Nathan could bring this sinner to repentance. No Bible story describes the heart’s convicting quite like 2 Samuel 12, no Bible prayer expresses the lips’ confessing quite like Psalm 51.
David had broken quite a few of the big 10 Commandments:
Thou shall not murder.
Thou shall not commit adultery.
Thou shall not steal (he stole Uriah’s wife).
Thou shall not bear false witness (he tried to cover up his sin though deception)
Thou shall not covet.
And an argument could be made that he violated the other five as well.
If a man after God’s own heart can sin so greatly - then it is fair to assume that we all can as well. And if God is willing to restore David after such a heinous act, he most certainly will restore us as well. Through his mercy comes a conviction of hearts, no matter how hardened, but the response to that conviction is on us.
Will you repent? If yes, then Psalm 51 can help us shape our prayer of repentance.
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 uses three different words for it in Psalm 51: “iniquity,” “sin,” and “transgressions” (vv. 1–3). Each term has been deliberately chosen for its unique meaning. To “Transgress” is to rebel against God’s authority and law, “iniquity” is “to bend, to twist” what should be, and “sin” is missing the mark. David cries out Psalm 51:3
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
He owns it. True repentance requires that we own our sin. Not make excuses for it or try to minimize it. Acknowledge what has been done - or left undone. The harm it has caused others, ourselves and most importantly God. If you don’t think your sin harms God, take a look at the cross.
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 conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
Our actions may have harmed others - but our sin is against God. David’s sin resulted in Uriah’s death, put his chief commander in a position of committing an evil act against one of his own men, inflicted harm on Bathsheba - her reputation and her marriage, and it would poison Israel. Sin is detrimental to the entire community - its consequences have a ripple effect - but ultimately, sin is against God. You are violating his commands.
As Timothy Tennant states, “All sin, at its root, is a disregard for the holiness of God and is a sin against him. The gulf he (David) is in is not between himself and a commandment, but between himself and a holy God, who is the giver of the commandments.
David speaks to our sinful nature, we all have been “brought forth in iniquity” - we all have been born in sin. True repentance is not to just confess of one particular sin, but to profess that I am a sinner in need of God’s grace. It is more than what I have done, it concerns what I am.
When he says “you delight in truth in my inward being” - he is saying that yes, I am a sinner, but you have also put your truth and your wisdom in me and you delight when I live into that part of me. So what does it take to live into who he desires us to be?
An invitation for God’s Spirit to come and clean house.
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.
Hyssop is a plant that has medicinally qualities and it was also used in the Bible to sprinkle blood on the altar for the cleansing of sin. It is interesting that David knows that for his sin to be removed would require the shedding of blood - yet he could not at that time fathom whose blood would actually get the job done.
David wants to experience joy again and he knows that only God can bring joy out of his pain. The only way to experience joy is to have a heart transplant. His old calloused heart needs to be replaced with a new one. A clean heart and a renewed spirit.
Have you prayed for such a heart change?
Simply asking God to help you do better in the future will not do. We need a new heart and a renewed spirit.
This is what God desires for us. This is what God promises he will do.
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
And this is what Paul speaks of in 2 Cor. 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
David says “do this for me Lord and I will in turn teach others you ways.”
Do you hear the hope in this plea for mercy?
Lord have mercy on me - I am a sinner in need of your grace. Don’t abandon me, but cleanse me. Make it right again. Give me a new heart, renew my spirit and bring joy back into my life. You do this Lord and I will be your bold witness. I will tell others of your great love and mercy.
There is nothing I can do to restore myself. No payment I can make. The only thing I have to offer is my broken spirit - my broken heart. I lay this at the foot of your cross.
This is repentance. This is the way to restoration. God has already paid the price for your sin by sending His Son. Jesus shed his blood for you so that the power of sin over your life would be broken. So that you could receive a new heart and spirit.
I’ll close with the words of the great 4th-5th century theologian Saint Augustine: (paraphrased)
“Listen to him crying out, and cry out with him; listen to him groaning, and groan too; listen to him weeping, and add your tears to his; listen to him corrected, and share his joy. If sin could not be denied access to you, let the hope of forgiveness not be excluded from you either.”
Let us pray.
