Psalms 51

David Seeks Compassion and Mercy From the Lord V 1-5

David had commited terrible sins. He lusted after Uriah’s wife Bathsheba. That turned into an affair which resulted in David impregnating Bathsheba. David sought to cover up his sin by sending Uriah to the front lines and be killed. This is exactly what David did.

He probably thought he got away with it until the prophet Nathan confronted David with his sin. 2 Samuel 12:1-15

2 Samuel 12:1–15 NASB95

Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said, “There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. “The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. “But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb Which he bought and nourished; And it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, And was like a daughter to him. “Now a traveler came to the rich man, And he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd, To prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him; Rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. “He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.” Nathan then said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. ‘I also gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these! ‘Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. ‘Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ “Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. ‘Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun.’ ” Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. “However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.” So Nathan went to his house. Then the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s widow bore to David, so that he was very sick.

David sinned against God and God sent Nathan as a form of the Holy Spirit to convict David of His sin. David had gotten so far away from God that he did not even consider his actions sinful until Nathan revealed his sin.

David then ask the Lord to be gracious, compassionate, and forgiving of his sin in verses 1 and 2.

David felt the heavy hand of conviction on his soul in verse 4. He recognizes that he has sinned against the Lord and done evil in His sight. He confesses to the Lord that He is right to judge him. He recognizes that he has been a sinner since birth and has no excuse for his sin.

Our sin before God

We too sin before God. We must repent of this sin so that we can be forgiven of our sin, restored in fellowship with God, and sanctified to grow in Christ. We must not trivialize our sin or excuse it by blaming someone else for it. We must begin by repenting before God.

Acts 3:19 NASB95

“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;

1 John 1:9 NASB95

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The conviction of the Holy Spirit is meant for the forgiveness of sin and restoration of fellowship with God.

David Seeks Restoration With God V 6-9

David mentions that the Lord desires for him to have truth in the innermost being. He also recognizes that God is the One who gives it to him.

God does three things: Purify’s and cleanses (Forgiveness), Makes him to hear joy and gladness ( Restoration), and make broken bones rejoice (healing)

Forgiveness

David asks the Lord to make him clean. His sin made him feel dirty. He needed a holy cleansing. He needed to be washed. The stench of his sin was ever before him. He knew that the Lord could make him whiter than snow.

We too need to feel dirty when we sin. We must desire to be cleaned. Too many people get use the stench of sin and never seek to be cleansed. That is why we have a toxic culture. Everyone is diseased with sin.

Jesus Christ is the only one that can cleanse us from sin. 1 John 1:7

1 John 1:7 NASB95

but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Hebrews 10:22 NASB95

let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

1 Corinthians 6:11 NASB95

Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Restoration

David’s sin did not disqualify David from salvation but did affect his fellowship with God. Though God did not remove the consequences of his sin, He did restore fellowship with him. He made David to hear joy and gladness

When our relationship is right with God, we will have joy and gladness. There is nothing more miserable than having your fellowship with the Lord inhibited by sin.

Healing

David asked the Lord to let his broken bones rejoice. He was asking the Lord for healing from his sin.

It is kind of like a scar. Scars can remind us of injuries that we have had in the past. When we sin, the Lord heals, but often a scar is left to remind us not to fall into that same sin again.

David Seeks Sanctification V 10-12

David request : a clean heart, steadfast spirit, presence of God, joy of salvation, and willing spirit.

Not only did David want Forgiveness and restoration with God, He also desired to be sanctified. This simply means to be Godly or Christ-like.

Clean Heart

David realized that his heart was stained with sin. Sin had become the force that motivated his life. He needed a clean heart in order to live a clean life.

Jerry Bridges in Pursuit of Holiness said,” God’s Word must be so strongly fixed in our minds that it becomes the dominant influence in our thoughts attitudes and actions.

Steadfast Spirit

A steadfast spirit is one that does not give up when things get tough. David could have given up on God and went further in his sin. He wanted a steadfast spirit to do the right thing

We too must have a steadfast spirit. A steadfast spirit perseveres even when we are persecuted for doing the right things. Matthew 5:10-11

Matthew 5:10–11 NASB95

“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

This takes a steadfast spirit. Sometimes we have the mindset that if we do the right thing then God will protect us from evil.

Presence with God

David knew that he needed to be in the presence of the Lord. He valued and cherished this time and didn’t want God to turn him away.

Sanctification creates desire to spend tome with God. When we think that we are doing God a favor because we spent time with Him, then our hearts need more sanctification

Joy of salvation

David had lost appreciation for the works and calling of God in his life