Psalm 51 (2021)

Notes
Transcript
Intro
Good morning. I want to add another welcome to you who are here in person and those watching online. I’ve been away on vacation for the last couple of weeks and it’s so good to be back with you. Our family had a great and relaxing time, even though we were traveling quite a bit. But it was fantastic and we made great memories. But now I’m back and I’m ready to hit the ground running with ministry again. Today will be our final week in the Psalms. Next week we will be launching into a new series called Replant: A Healthy Church. In this series we are going to look at what it means for us as a church to be on mission with God, what our core values are and what we are going to be focused on, and how that is going to be lived out or the vision behind who Hope is going to be now. I’m truly excited about it and I hope you will spend plenty of time in prayer and then join us each week for Replant.
But today we are making a stop off in Psalm 51, so go ahead and turn in your bibles or devices over there and save your place because we are going to camp out there.
My youth pastor growing up was named Kurt Anderson. I hope that you will all get to meet him one day because he is one of the most influential men in my life. When he came to Winterset to serve as our youth pastor, their sons were quite young. Nick was the oldest and a few years younger than him was John Jeffery.
A few weeks ago I shared a story about how one day as Kurt’s wife, Cindy, was at work she got a call from their babysitter. The sitter tells Cindy that John Jeffery is disobeying in some way and being uncooperative. Now all Cindy can hear in the background is John Jeffery sobbing saying, “I’m sorry... I didn’t do it!” Now that’s funny to us because we see the obvious, that he did it but he doesn’t want to get in trouble so to cover all of his bases he is apologizing and denying his guilt. We laugh about that because it’s kind of funny. What is so dangerous is that many times you and I do the same thing to God. We say we’re sorry but we try to weasel our way out of the consequences or having to own up to the depth of the sin that we are guilty of. We don’t want to just say we were wrong and sinned and not make some sort of excuse or throw blame around somewhere else. This morning, we are going to look at the some characteristics of repentance inside Psalm 51 as David is crying out to God in brokenness for his sin.
Read
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.

I. The confession of sin.

Let’s briefly recap David’s sins, or this may be the first time you’re hearing this story. This wasn’t some light stuff as we might think of it. It’s sin and that’s enough to need forgiveness but let’s take a look back.
The whole story is found in 2 Samuel 11 and 12. If you’ll remember it was spring and kings would go out to battle but David sent his men and stayed behind. He was out walking and saw this gal, Bathsheba bathing. He liked her and had her brought to him and he was intimate with her. Now, this was a bad deal because they were not married to each other, and in fact, she was married to a guy named Uriah, who happened to also be one of David’s soldiers out fighting.
It gets deeper because Bathsheba lets King Dave know that she’s pregnant. So David devises this plan to have her hubby come home and boom, they can make it look like the baby is his. Well, there’s more to it but the plan doesn’t work. In fact, he tries more than once but Uriah is a good guy and won’t enjoy the comforts of home and hearth while his brothers in arms are out fighting the war. So finally David sends Uriah back with a note telling the commander to put him at the place where the fighting is the fiercest and then pull back so that Uriah will be killed. This happens and then David marries Bathsheba.
WHOA!
This is intense. David, King David, the anointed, the man after God’s own heart is guilty of adultery and murder...
It gets bigger. The prophet Nathan comes to David and tells him a story. Let’s take a look at 2 Samuel 12:1-9 and see what happens.
2 Samuel 12:1–9 ESV
1 And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” 7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.
I encourage you to go back through this story at home and check it out.
Homeboy gets called out on his sin. He’s all upset about this injustice done and then he gets exposed as the one who has committed the heinous sin.
So now fast forward back to Psalm 51. David is broken over his sin and we have this beautiful and in some ways gut wrenching capture of what his repentance and his heart change looked like.
Let’s look at the first section where we see David’s confession of his sin.
V. 1-7
- David calls his sin out as sin. He doesn’t try to soften the blow and throw excuses or blame around. He accepts the blame himself.
- He recognizes that his sin was against God and God alone. When we sin, we sin against God. Sin comes against God. I don’t think many of you are as concerned about that as you should be.
- David calls his actions evil. (How many of us would do the same with our sin?)
- V. 5 - total depravity -understands the nature and predicament/condition of man
- I’m the worst sinner I know. I think I’ve reached the depths of it and then ... there’s more...
The difference between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow over sin is this:
Worldly sorrow is sad because you got caught.
Godly sorrow is sorrowful because you have sinned against a holy God.
2 Corinthians 7:8–11 ESV
8 For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. 9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. 10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.

II. David’s request for the cleansing of his sin.

V. 7
- David knows that there is no possible way that he, himself can atone for his sin.
- He realized and affirms that he is sinful from birth. V. 5
- He continually here recognizes and affirms that God is the only one who can bring the cleansing that he so desperately needs and wants.
- David knows the character of God because he was close to him. So many people run from God in sin and don’t realize the truth of His character because they have not been close to him.
- Blot out... like in a register... v. 1 and 9
-

III. David’s desire to be restored.

- v. 8 - the broken bones rejoice... David wants to rejoice even in being broken by God. He knows God can bring joy and healing and forgiveness.
- God broke them
- v. 10 David knows sin comes from a sinful heart and knows that he needs to be cleansed at the heart level (not a head thing only)
- v. 12 - the joy of his salvation
- only God can restore
-

IV. David’s availability to be used by God and for God.

V. 13 The forgiven want to be used to see God reach others.
A forgiven person not serving God in some way would seem to be a foreign concept to David.
V. 15 - the response to being forgiven ... the response to the truth of the Gospel, the life and forgiveness and righteousness we have in Christ ... the response is worship
- this praise comes from God
- v 16 right heart first — leads to right actions
- we aren’t talking about having good religious rituals... that’s not what God is primarily looking for.
- Francis Chan quote:
“If God cared only about religious activities, then the Pharisees would have been heroes of the faith.” - Francis Chan
God wants a heart that knows its place and is surrendered to God’s will.
The only way this happens is through the Gospel.
GOSPEL PRESENTATION - Jesus’ substitutionary sacrifice on the cross and resurrection.
Not: I messed up, I better hide from dad. It’s, instead: I messed up, I better call dad.
(Story about getting in the wreck with Tim and Jay?)

So What?

The So What (Conclusion and Response Invitation)
David repented of his sin.
Changed the way he thought about sin.
Change the way he acted toward his sin.
Wasn’t merely an intellectual acknowledgement.
I would call you to the same thing as Jesus did. Repent and believe. Believe the good news... that you can be forgiven and made clean. Given a clean heart.
Chris Hannon. Story of knowing him. 42 years old, two kids. Life over. Ushered into eternity yesterday. The end of life is coming and it’s nearer today than it was yesterday.
Make the most of your life. Not an emotional decision... but you don’t know when life is going to end and what story will be left. I want mine to be the gospel. We must trust the gospel and it WILL change our hearts and guide us to repentance.
Not try harder. Rely on, lean hard into Jesus.
We’re so dedicated to looking right, to looking good in others eyes... We should be transparent and just own up to the sin that is in us... Then the gospel works its power and we see our lives changed, our church changed, and our community changed. My great fear is that we don’t really, truly believe that it can happen with us. Do you?
Pray.
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