PSALM 51
“HAVE MERCY ON ME, O GOD!”
In the title of Psalm 51: “To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.”
You all know the story. Second Samuel Chapter 11 gives us the familiar account of King David’s sin, which is the backdrop for Psalm 51... “In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab…” David, the mighty warrior king of Israel at the height of his popularity, decides not to go out to battle against the Ammonites. And that is where the problem begins. David is not where he is supposed to be. Instead of leading the army like he usually does, he stays back in Jerusalem in his palace and he sends Joab his commander out to lead the troops.
Late one afternoon David is walking on the roof of his house and he notices a beautiful woman bathing down in her courtyard. Hey, it happens sometimes. You are walking along and you see something you should not and you turn and go the other way, right? Well, that’s what we should do and is what David should have done. But he didn’t. Instead, he lusted after this woman. He obsessed about her. He wanted her for himself.
And so, using his available resources (he is the king), he inquires who she is, discovers that her name is Bathsheba and that she is the wife (she is married and, of course, David is married) of Uriah the Hittite. And Uriah is no stranger to David. If you read 2 Samuel Chapter 23, Uriah is one of David’s 37 mighty men that is listed by name. So, he is not just any old soldier. He is one of David’s best soldiers. But David wants Bathsheba and he knows Uriah is away at war. So, being the sovereign ruler of the land, David exercises his authority, arranges to have Bathsheba brought to him; he has sexual relations with her (after all he is the king and the king gets whatever he wants). And then he then sends her back to her house.
And wouldn’t you know it. Bathsheba gets pregnant and she informs David of that fact. Well, David comes up with a plan to cover his sin of adultery. He arranges for Uriah to get some R&R, take a break from the war, and come back home and spend some “quality” time with his wife. But the plan backfires. When Uriah arrives in Jerusalem he refuses to go home. He is a loyal and dedicated soldier and he cannot bring himself to go enjoy himself while the rest of his comrades are out on the battlefield. That is where he needs to be – out there with them! So, when David cannot convince Uriah to go home to be with his wife, David comes up with Plan B. He sends Uriah back to the war and gives Joab the commander orders to place Uriah on the front lines of the battle where he knows the fighting will be the fiercest. His plan works! Uriah is killed in battle.
After a period of mourning for her husband’s death, Bathsheba becomes King David’s wife and she bears David a son. Now, Chapter 11 closes with these words: “But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.”
Chapter 12 comes along – enter Nathan the prophet. God reveals to Nathan what David has done. He sends Nathan to confront David about it. Nathan uses a parable to make a point and to convict David of his sin. There are two men – a rich man and a poor man. The rich man has many flocks and herds but the poor man has only one lamb. The lamb he had bought with his own money and had raised it as a household pet with his children. And, as often is the case with our pets, the poor man grew very attached to the lamb. The Bible actually says that the lamb became “like a daughter to him.” Well, on one occasion the rich man has a guest come and visit, but instead of preparing a meal from his own flock, the rich man takes the poor man’s only lamb, his beloved pet, kills it and serves it to the guest. Well, when David hears this, he is enraged. He says, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and shall restore the lamb fourfold…” Nathan looks at David and utters those famous words: “You are the man! You are that rich man, David. Because of what you did to Uriah, God is going to punish you.” And Nathan tells David several things that are going to happen, but the last thing he says to David is that the child that is born to you is going to die. David pleads with the Lord to spare the child – “it was not the child’s fault, Lord.” But, despite all of David’s cries for mercy, the child dies.
At some point during this period of spiritual upheaval in David’s life he pens the words to Psalm 51, a psalm about confession of his sins.
“Confession” is the key word here. We know what 1 John 1:9 says: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We know that. Well, what does it mean, then, to confess our sins before God? Even before we get to the text, what does it mean?
[Class comments about what confession means biblically]
Real confession is agreeing with God about our sin. We see it the same way He does. And it involves a component of repentance in turning away from that sin. What good does it do to say, “Lord, I agree with you about my sin and that it is an awful thing, but I am going to keep doing it.” If that’s your attitude then you are not seeing it the way God sees it. So, the whole idea is that I realize it offends God and that I don’t want to do it anymore. We had a preacher one time who defined confession this way: “Admit it and quit it.” That is something that has stuck with me.
Second Corinthians 7:9 says that a godly sorrow for our sin will grieve us into repenting. John MacArthur says, “True confession can only occur when you see God truly (for who He is), when you see sin for what it is and when you see yourself for what you are.” And really that is the essence of Psalm 51, which we are going to look at.
READ Psalm 51:1-5
This section, these first five verses, David expresses a right view of sin. He doesn’t make any excuses for his sin, does he? I want you to notice the choice of words that he uses in these verses...
“blot out MY transgressions… wash me thoroughly from MY iniquity… cleanse me from MY sin… for I know MY transgressions… MY sin is ever before me… against You and You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight.”
David knows he is guilty before God. And in v 1 he appeals to God’s mercy. Notice he doesn’t appeal to God’s justice. He knows that he deserves God’s judgment. In fact, Nathan has already told him a little bit about that judgment, hasn’t he? It is really a funny thing. We appeal to God’s justice when it comes to our enemies. David did a lot of times in the psalms. But when it comes to us, we are appealing for mercy. My favorite psalm is Psalm 103 and one of my favorite verses in that psalm is verse 10. Listen to this: “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.” That is a powerful verse. Aren’t you glad? Aren’t you glad that God shows us mercy rather than justice? Now, we know where justice took place – on the cross, right. But He shows us mercy.
In v 2 David says, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!” He knows that God cannot look on his iniquity. If he is going to have any fellowship at all with God, if he is going to get that sweet fellowship with God restored (that he once had), he must be cleansed. David has a right view of sin. First of all, he accepts his responsibility; second, he deserves God’s judgment; third, he appeals to God’s mercy; and finally, he asks for cleansing.
[Class discussion about what it means to be “cleansed” and how that happens in the life of a New Testament believer]
Now, the last thing I want you to see in v 5, that David recognizes, is what we call the “total depravity of man.” Sin is a part of our nature, right? It has been ever since Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis Chapter 3. You don’t have to teach your children to sin, do you? It is part of their nature. What we have to teach our children is NOT to sin. And David understands that. I have a verse for you, Psalm 58:3. It says, “The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.” Does that say it all or what?
In v 1-5 the first thing I want you to see is that David has a right view of sin. He sees sin the way God sees it. But confession (which is what this psalm is about) requires that, not only that we have a right view of our sin, but that we also have a right view of God. And that is what v 6-12 cover, David’s right view of God. And the things that David sees about God we can see about God as well.
READ Psalm 51:6-12
What a powerful prayer! This is David pouring out his heart to God. And David in these verses knows, he understands the character of God. God is holy and demands holiness of us. In v 6, “You delight in truth in the inward being.” God is not concerned so much with our outward religious activities. I guess they have their place. They are important to some degree. But God is more concerned with what is going on inside. In Deuteronomy 10:12, “What does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” One of the verses Jesus liked to quote.
God desires that we live holy lives and that begins with what is inside our heart, our mind, our will, our emotions, our bowels – what is on the inside. Jesus said this in Matthew 15:18: “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.” So, you hear something coming out of somebody, they are just revealing what is on the inside.
So, David recognizes that God is holy and demands holiness. But he also recognizes that God has the power to cleanse us thoroughly, to purge us of our sin. Let that sink in for a minute. God can do that!
“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.” Now, what is hyssop? Hyssop is a plant that is very common in both Egypt and Israel. It has sort of spongy leaves and it was used in ceremonial cleansing. By the way, it is kind of like a poor man’s paintbrush. If you read back in Exodus of the whole story about putting the blood over the doorposts, they put the blood over with hyssop. The high priest used it on the Day of Atonement. He would dip it into the brazen laver. So, when David is talking about hyssop, he is thinking about what is in the law and ceremonial cleansing.
He says, “wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Only God can cleanse like that, Only God can change a heart. Only He can transform a life.
Now, in v 10 he says “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” David recognizes that it is not just a matter of personal resolve to do better. It requires the supernatural working of God in his life if he is really going to change.
And we need to recognize that as well. We can resolve all day, “OK, I need to do better! I am going to do better!” It is going to require God working in your life to transform you. That is the requirement and David understands that. These are things God does.
[Brief class discussion on the convicting work of the Holy Spirit in our lives as believers]
I alluded to this previously. David received judgment for his sin, but he did not die. His son did, an innocent baby. And Absalom, his older son whom he loved. If you remember when Absalom died, David was distraught with grief. And yet Absalom is the one that seized the kingdom away from David and then “went into his father’s concubines” (2 Samuel 16:22). By the way, that was one of Nathan’s predictions, that whole rebellion of Absalom. So, it was not like David “got away scot free.” There were consequences. David’s life from this point on, if you read the narrative back in 2 Samuel, he had just a very painful miserable family life – one thing after another. David’s life from this point forward would be filled with a great deal of personal pain and heartache, especially within his own family. I think much of it goes back to his sin against Bathsheba and Uriah. Something was different after this.
But I want you to understand that David accepts the painful consequences of his actions. I really believe that this is what v 8 is referring to where he says, “Let the bones that you have broken rejoice.” Obviously, these are not literally broken bones, but you can sense the pain going on inside of him that he feels.
And he is expressing a desire to have fellowship with God again. He says, “Let me hear joy and gladness.” He says, “Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.” David basically says in these verses, “God, I’ve learned my lesson. I accept my responsibility. I was wrong. I accept the punishment, but God, I want my joy back. I want that relationship with You again.” You sense that in these words.
[Class discussion on the differences between how Saul and David responded to God’s prophets]
David knows that only God can change his heart. He understands there are consequences for his sin. But there is one last thing he knows about God and that is that God is not only a God who forgives, but He forgets our sin. And he knew that in the Old Testament. And we definitely know that as New Testament saints, don’t we? There are a couple of great verses I want to show you. Isaiah 43:25, God says, “I am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” Isn’t that a great verse? Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.” How far is the east from the west? An infinite line both ways, right? The prophet Micah asks, “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of His inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love.” So many great verses.
And David understands the heart of God. He understands the essential character of God. He has the right view of God. Now, he understands that all the elements that are eventually going to lead him to a complete restoration of fellowship with God are, in fact, the very work of God Himself. God has got to do it. And so, David appeals to God’s loving nature to have his fellowship restored and to have forgiveness. So, David has a right view of sin. He has a right view of God. And now the rest of the psalm shows us his right view of himself.
“After You do all this, God…”
READ Psalm 51:13-19
But all that can only happen with a broken and contrite heart. So, what is David saying in these verses? His reason for wanting to have a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart; to have the joy of his salvation restored and a willing spirit is not for his own happiness or for some selfish ambition of his. His whole reason for wanting that is to be useful to the Lord. “I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will return to You,” (v 13). “God, I want to be able to be used by You, for Your kingdom!” “I will sing aloud Your righteousness” (v 14). “My mouth will declare Your praise” (v 15). David says, “God, I want to still be able to sing about You! I want to still be able to write psalms about You!” Was David a singer and a psalm writer? Absolutely. As I was preparing for this lesson, I was curious and I looked this up. Do you know that in the book of Psalms there are 73 psalms that are specifically attributed to David. Now, there are probably many other psalms that David wrote that are not attributed to him. But 73 psalms that we know are attributed to David. So, I went on line and started searching different websites that might be able help me determine the chronology of the various psalms. It is interesting to note that Psalm 51 in the order of the psalms, chronologically, is 37th. Which means that 36 psalms were written before his sin with Bathsheba (assuming Psalm 51 was written around the same time as his confession of that sin). Thirty-six psalms were written before. Thirty-six after. Did God continue to use David? Absolutely!
In verse 16-19 David is saying, “God I understand that what You want from me is not religious activity. That has its place, but what you want – You don’t want all that. You want me. You want me, God. You want all of me. You want me completely, 100 percent yielded to You. That is what You want.” And just like the potter forming the clay into the vessel he desires, David is saying, “Lord, make me into what You want me to be.” That is the essence of what he is saying here.
Is that your prayer? Because I know if you are honest, you deal with sin too. We all do. We have to deal with our sins. We have to confess our sins. But you know what? We can still be used by God. He can still use us for His kingdom work. And there is much to be done, isn’t there?
Now, what David did was terrible. His sins were inexcusable. They are out there on the pages of scripture for us to see forever. How would you like that to be your life, and everybody reads about it thousands of years later? We would have expected more from King David than that. Before that sin he was just amazing. They were singing songs about David. He was like the most popular guy. He was “THE guy.” God was really using him. But it was the way that David dealt with his sin, his own personal failure, that shows us that he indeed was “a man after God’s own heart.” He was not perfect, not by a long shot. But he was a man that God used in a mighty way throughout his entire life.
I am always amazed at his reaction to Nathan the prophet. He owned up to it. He was repentant immediately. And he confessed his sin, repented. He turned back to God. He had the right view of sin. He had the right view of God. And a right view of himself.
I really contemplated what song we should sing for this lesson. I decided on a hymn we used to sing all the time in Baptist churches. Almost every Sunday we would sing this song when I was growing up. But for some reason we don’t sing it much anymore. But it goes along with the very thought we had here at the end – “Have Thine Own Way, Lord.”
Have Thine own way Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay!
Mold me a make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
Have Thine own way Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today.
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.
Have Thine own way Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o'er my being absolute away!
Fill with Thy Spirit 'till all shall see
Christ only, always living in me!