The Prayer of a Broken Heart (Psalms 51)

The Prayer of a Broken Heart

KincaidSelma Community Church

Psalm 51

Max Moore 04/04/25

Summary Sentence

Since we will continue to sin, we should repent, ask for restoration, and

renew our relationship with God.

Pray

Intro:

1. 7,517,610 steps and nearly 3,000 miles from NYC to San F

2. Not the hills, snow, rain, or the terrain, but sand.

3. Samuel 11 and 12, the story of how David had sinned.

Read Whole Chapter

First Main Point: Repentance: We should come to God and repent after we have sinned.

1. David was painting a picture of what repentance should look like for

us. This is a change of mind, which leads to a change in behavior.

2. Todd Friel said, “Repentance is the right response to wrong action.”

3. David put himself in a position to sin.

a. Abandoned his purpose, aka staying home from war

b. Focused on his desires when temptation came.

c. He tried to hide the sin from others.

d. Murdered to cover up his sin.

3. Proverbs 28:13 “Whoever conceals their sin does not prosper, but the one who

confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” We should be confessing our sins!

4. David wrote in Psalms 32:3, “When I kept silent my bones wasted away

through my groaning all day long.” Are we the same? Do we ever…?

a. Satan likes it when we do not confess our sins.

5. Band-Aid illustration on “hiding” our sin from God.

6. Verse 1 Read, blot out, wipe away. David sinned at least 9 months ago.

Because of this sin, the child passed away.

7. Verse 3 Read, David cannot forget his sin. Smudge on his glasses.

8. Verse 4 Read, We’ve sinned against God.

a. Nan Merrill, “Once we understand that sin is against a fellow human being

alone and that all sin is a transgression against God, we will no longer treat it so

lightly.”

9. Tempted to think it’s a little sand in our shoes but it can derail our

whole objective in life.

10. Sinful from childbirth, but there is no excuse for sin! We have been

given the ability to say no to sin.

11. We should acknowledge our sins. Not only that but its severity.

12. God will always respond to a repentant heart.

13. No outward religious action can replace a “broken and contrite

heart.”

14. External religious activity cannot replace internal heartfelt remorse.

15. Sinning against God=Sinning against His nature.

16. Verse 11. Do we have to worry about that? Will God take His Holy

Spirit from us?a. We don’t have to worry about that. The Holy Spirit worked

differently during OT times.

b. The Holy Spirit indwelled with certain people for a certain time

period. 1 Samuel 16:14 for instance, “Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed

from Saul.”

c. David is asking God not to take His favor from Him or His HS. Should

we pray for this too? No.

d. 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the

Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”

e. The HS helps us share the gospel, pray, fight temptation, gives us

wisdom, and understand Scripture and the things of God.

17. The Lord wants brokenness because we have sinned against Him and

Him only. Don’t come to God with our shoulders high, strutting, like we

think we’re big. But kneeling before God begging for forgiveness.

18. Don’t make promises to God about not sinning. We will sin.

19. Satan lies to us telling us our sin isn’t that bad.

“Compared to Billy Bob. You only looked at another person lustfully but you didn’t sleep with her.”

20. 21. 22.

23. OUR SIN IS BAD BECAUSE WE ARE SINNING AGAINST GOD!

“Look at my sinful human nature<” God, I have sinned against

We should ask God for mercy and also for Restoration.

Second Main Point: Restoration: After we have repented we can have our

hearts restored.

1. Verse 7 and 10. David is asking God to restore his heart. Clean him

from his own sins.

2. We should be seeking God for cleansing and forgiveness.

3. We can be confident because Grace > sin

4. Romans 5:20-21,

“The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But

where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so

also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

5. Jesus' death on the cross was enough to pay for ALL our sins, past,

present, and future. No matter what we’ve done, when we’ve done it, or

where we’ve done it, God will forgive. 1 John 1:96. Spurgeon: “If our sins be in Humber as the hairs of our head, God’s

mercies are as the stars of heaven; and as He is an infinite God, so His mercies are

infinite; yea, so far are His mercies above our sins, as He is above us poor sinners.”

7. We are terrible human beings. Verse 5&6.

8. Luckily God’s grace is so much more than our sins. God doesn’t have

a finite amount of mercy. Ephesians 2:4a

9. Luke 15 Parable of the Lost Son and the Father’s reaction.

10. When we repent of our sins we can experience restoration. But not

only that…

Third Main Point: Renewal: We can experience a renewed relationship with

God.

1. 1700s Robert Robinson.

a. “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it—Prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my

heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.”

b. “It’s not too late to offer your heart to God Mr. Robinson.”

2. It wasn’t too late for him and IT’S NOT TOO LATE FOR YOU!

3. In Psalms 51 David longs for a renewed heart and a steadfast spirit.

Come to him with brokenness.

4. Self-care is good and bad… but Self-care<Soul care.

5. We have the power to say no to sin.

6. Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the patterns of this world but be

transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

7. It’s not just outward action but our most inward thoughts. 2

Corinthians 10:5, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself

up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it

obedient to Christ.”

8. How are we setting our thoughts above? Renewal is a constant

process.

9. Another form of soul care is spiritual rest. Just like our physical

bodies. Our soul needs the same kind of rest. Rest found at the feet of Jesus.

10. Jesus constantly withdrew from the business of life, we should be

doing the same.a. We might like to numb ourselves with Netflix and Instagram but

those are short-term escapes for long-term problems. A peace that lasts can

be found in eternal security.

11. David wanted a “sustained spirit” so that he could,

“teach

transgressors your ways” and “so that sinners will turn back to you.”

12. David wanted to share the truth with others. Mark 15:10,

“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

We should do the same.

Conclusion:

1. This beautiful poem from the depths of a broken heart shows us that

no matter what we’ve done, NOTHING is too much for God’s grace.

2. All of it!!

3. Turn and repent of our sins and believe that Jesus came on this earth,

to live a wonderful perfect life. Humbly take our sin upon that cross and

give the ultimate sacrifice for our transgressions.

4. Repent and take full responsibility for our sins. God will restore our

relationship and renew our heart so that it is focused on things above

rather than our deceitful heart.

5. Restoring peace and joy that we find in salvation.

6. “Jesus sought me as a stranger, wandering from the fold of God.” -Robert

Robinson

Pray