Psalm 51 Devotional

Intro

Has anyone ever had a moment of serious repentance with God I feel like I have to have them all the time I remember specifically in the earlier part of growing in my faith I would spend a lot of time in the prayer chapel at GCU. Inside it was dimly lit with a cut out of cross as a window to let the light iThe a few chairs, all facing the cross at the front of the room and all along the perimeter walls there were chalkboards where people would write prayers of things, confessions of sins or prayer requests to God. Every time I would enter, I felt like it was a special place. It was sacred, dedicated to worship God in a very intimate way. And I would go there a lotand for many reasons sometimes just for regular quiet time with God. But I remember going often to do business with God when I’ve fallen into sin. And the Holy Spirit would move me and work in me to make me weep for my sins and ask God for forgiveness.Psalm 51 was a regular go to place in my Bible during these times so this morning we’re going to explore Psalm 51 as a psalm of repentance and confession.

So you can turn there in your Bibles, but before we get into the psalm, we need a little bit of background information. This is a psalm of David and it’s one that he wrote right after his sin with Bathsheba that story is found in second Samuel 11 and 12.

Background Info

2 Samuel 11:1–5 ESV

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

Summary of David handling the situation

David found out about this so he called Bathsheba’s husband Uriah back from the war and encouraged him to go to his house and spend the night with his wife thinking that He might be able to trick Uriah into thinking the child was his. But Uriah refused to do this because he knew that he ought to be in battle, and so when this cover-up plan didn’t work David wrote to the general in the war and told him to organize the troops so that Uriah would die in battle.

Once Uriah died in battle than David took Bathsheba to be his own wife.

Summary of Nathan confronting David

Scripture says that the thing that David had done displeased Lord. And so the Lord sent Nathan to confront David about his sin. Nathan told David that God was angry with him and that there would be consequences. After that, David repented of his sin in front of Nathan and Nathan told him that he was forgiven.

Scripture Text

Psalm 51 ESV

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. 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! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 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. 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. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

How to Confess and Repent

Come in humility

Ask God for mercy and state your desperate need (verses 1-2)

Confess that you have nothing to bring but your need of him. There’s no good deed that makes God obligated to forgive you.

Be Specific

Reflect on and confess to God the gravity of your sins and your brokenness (verses 3-5)

State what it was that you did, why it was sinful, who you have sinned against (God, your own self, other people, etc), and what you ought to have done.

Ask God for what you need

forgiveness

a clean heart (v10)

strength to live for his glory (verses 13-17)

Pray for those hurt by your sin

verses 18-29

David was the king of Israel, and therefore it’s representative. His sin harmed not only Bathsheba and Uriah, but the whole nation.

Receive his forgiveness

There’s a promise in verse 7 (Psalm 51:7 “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” )

1 John 2:1 “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

Practicing Confession

So now what we’re gonna do is put this into practice. I’m gonna pass out these laminated note cards and some wet erase pens what I want you to do is take some time in confession and repentance before the Lord use this Psalm as a guide as you confess your sins, you can write them on this card. Then I watch to receive the forgiveness of the Lord, promised in verse seven and as an act of receiving his forgiveness I want you to come up when you’re ready to this bowl of water and wash away the ink on that card. This is symbolic of the way that God washes away your sins because of what Jesus Christ has done on the cross in your place. After a few moments of that, I’ll close in prayer and then Chris will come up to do our prayer time.