September 7, 2003

Lesson 1

The Book of Praises

A Prayer of Repentance

Focus Thought
Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven. A broken spirit and a
contrite heart are the keys to getting right with God.

Scripture Reference

Psalm 51
II Samuel 11-12
I John 1:7

Focus Verse
Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Expositional Passage
Psalm 51:1-13
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto
the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight:
that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou
judgest.
5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part
thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter
than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken
may rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free
spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted
unto thee.

LESSON OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION
 I. THE CRY FOR PARDON
  A. Have Mercy
  B. Spiritual Washing
 II. ACKNOWLEDGE AND CONFESS SINS
  A. Lingering Guilt
  B. Remember
 III. SIN IS AGAINST GOD
  A. Sinfulness of Sin
  B. Recognizing Sin
 IV. NATURE OF SIN
  A. Our Carnal Nature
  B. What God Desires
 V. RENEWAL
  A. The Return of Joy
  B. The Clean Heart
  C. A Right Spirit
  D. Teaching Others
CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION
       David's sin had been deep and dreadful. What he had done had been
truly despicable. Everything about David's adulterous affair with Bathsheba
and his murderous plot against Uriah had been morally corrupt. The son of
Jesse had "given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme" (II
Samuel 12:14).
       How are the mighty fallen! Like a skilled mountaineer who becomes
careless over time, David had begun to slip. He was at ease in Jerusalem
during a period of war. Stumbling over his own unbridled passion, David
forgot that he had been especially chosen by God to rule Israel. When sin
triumphs, even the hallowed presence of the Lord seems a distant memory. As
believers, we are shocked by the duplicity of David's nature; we are
appalled by the actions of one who had known God so well.
       The title of Psalm 51 states, "To the chief Musician. A Psalm of
David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to
Bathsheba." Psalm 51 is the heartfelt prayer of a "sinning saint," and
perhaps the most expressive of the seven penitential psalms (Psalm 6, 32,
38, 51, 102, 130, 143). It is the earnest cry of a man who has been indicted
by God and by his own conscience. David felt like a spiritual leper. He
determined to approach the Lord for cleansing, not just forgiveness. David
had already received assurance from Nathan that he had been forgiven and
that he would not die because of his transgression (II Samuel 12:13). His
heart, however, longed for fellowship and favor with God. "Purge me with
hyssop," he cried, "and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter
than snow" (Psalm 51:7).
       The prophet Nathan had exposed the transgression of the king. No
surgical knife had ever cut deeper or with greater precision than the words
of the prophet.

       "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,
and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents
of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).

       For his secret sins, David would be publicly punished. (See II Samuel
12:12.) Psalm 51 is his frank and open confession of those sins.
       The most remarkable thing about Psalm 51 may be David's candid
honesty and humility. "Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness"
(Proverbs 20:6). David declared his unworthiness before the Lord. After
stopping at nothing to cover his horrible iniquities, the king now stood
before his God as if he were naked. God had finally removed the deceptive
cloak David had been wearing, and David was humbled and desirous of God's
full pardon for his sins.

I. THE CRY FOR PARDON
       The king of Israel quickly confessed his sin before the prophet.
David must have sensed that the Lord was extending mercy far beyond what he,
as king, would have given to the people. It is the goodness of God that
leads individuals to repentance (Romans 2:4). The riches of God's grace
magnifies the shame of our sin!

A. Have Mercy
       David was convicted-proven guilty in the courtroom of his own heart.
Only the Spirit of God can bring about such sobering conviction. What the
rigorous demands of Mosaic Law could never have accomplished the prophet
Nathan, using a simple parable, was able to do. David was smitten by his own
sense of justice. There was no escaping the verdict. Unwittingly, David had
become both juror and judge at his own trial and pronounced the sentence.
       David appealed to God for mercy. There could be no other recourse for
the guilty party and no other hope of recovery. More than anything else the
king realized he needed the compassion of a loving God. In Psalm 51 he
pleaded for the mercy of the Lord before he began his confession. "Have
mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the
multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions" (Psalm 51:1).
       David well knew what the law demanded. He knew that it said, "eye for
eye, tooth for tooth" (Leviticus 24:20). The law said, "he that killeth any
man shall surely be put to death" (Leviticus 24:17). The law clearly stated,
"the man that committeth adultery . . . with his neighbour's wife, the
adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death" (Leviticus
20:10).
       It is not immediately evident on what basis David could be forgiven.
R. D. Whalen has suggested that David received mercy primarily because he
himself had shown mercy. (See Matthew 5:7.) In the case of Mephibosheth,
David had spared the grandson of his archenemy, King Saul. Eastern monarchs
often slaughtered whole households of possible contenders for the throne.
But David had shown Mephibosheth great kindness. Meeting with David,
Mephibosheth received back all that had belonged to Saul. And Mephibosheth,
though a cripple, ate thereafter at the king's table.
       Every sinner needs to appeal to God's mercy. There is a vast
storehouse of forgiveness waiting for the transgressor who will hurry to the
place of reconciliation. "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will
have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon" (Isaiah
55:7).
       David's forgiveness was certainly undeserved and so, too, is ours.
None can boast of his own righteousness. Every believer has been raised from
spiritual death.

       "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians
2:8-9).
       Far from making little of his sins, David clearly expressed in this
psalm the greatest measure of distaste for his past failures. To be
forgiven-to be pardoned now-he realized, was no light matter. The word
"transgressions" in verses one and three comes from a Hebrew word pasha,
which means "revolt" or "rebel." David's sins, he confessed, were sins of
lawlessness, the willful breaking away from authority.
       Somehow David realized that his name was still in the Book of Life;
somehow he trusted that his name was not blotted out. (See Exodus 32:32-33.)
Still, it was all too true that his sin had left a shameful stain. David
dared to pray that even his transgressions might be blotted out (i.e. "wiped
out" or "wiped off").

B. Spiritual Washing
       It appears that although his sins were already forgiven, the psalmist
still felt impure. Perhaps David sensed the danger of a shallow experience
of repentance-the peril that without a thorough cleansing of his heart his
vices could easily resurface. The Hebrew word for wash is kabas, and it
refers to being ground or treaded out, as under a fuller's feet, for the
purpose of cleansing. David said, "Wash me thoroughly," which could
literally be translated, "Wash me again and again."
       God's plan for our salvation today involves a new birth of water and
the Spirit (John 3:5). Water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ is for the
remission or release of our sins. (See Acts 2:38; 22:16; Titus 3:5.) But
beyond spiritual regeneration, there needs to be a progressive cleansing:
"Wash me again and again" should be the prayer of every Christian. Our
hearts need to be washed by the Word of God (Ephesians 5:26). Furthermore,
we are to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit (II
Corinthians 7:1).

II. ACKNOWLEDGE AND CONFESS SINS

       There are consequences for sinning after we have known the Lord.
Though a person may be forgiven, eventually he will pay a price for his
disobedience. The deep wounds of sin can certainly be healed, but scar
tissue often remains as a reminder of one's foolish behavior in the past.

A. Lingering Guilt
       David suffered excruciating guilt for the crimes that he had
committed. Someone has suggested that it was a year between the time that
his sins were committed and the time when Nathan confronted the king. If so,
it must have been a horrible year. Psalm 32 and Psalm 6 were written during
the same period as Psalm 51, and both reveal the king's inner turmoil. "When
I kept silence [before I confessed] my bones wasted away through my groaning
all the day long. For day and night Your hand [of displeasure] was heavy
upon me" (Psalm 32:3-4, The Amplified Bible). "My [inner] self [as well as
my body] is also exceedingly disturbed and troubled. But You, O Lord, how
long [until You return and speak peace to me]?" (Psalm 6:3, The Amplified
Bible).
       Does God break bones? Yes, and He even breaks hearts-if that is what
it takes to turn us from our wicked ways. Charles R. Grisham has expressed
the thought that David began to age prematurely because of the heavy load of
guilt upon his shoulders. "The way of the transgressors is hard" (Proverbs
13:15).
       David stated, "For I am conscious of my transgressions and I
acknowledge them; my sin is ever before me" (Psalm 51:3, The Amplified
Bible). The past was just too painful to remember, and too vivid to forget.
Day and night the king suffered with guilt. He suffered, if he was sensitive
at all, because of those that he had injured and betrayed. He must have
wished a thousand times over that he had turned his back on sin and not on
God.

B. Remember
       Almost from the beginning, things had gone badly as a result of David
's affair with Bathsheba. For his part, her beauty had enamored him; and
she, living so close to royalty, had been charmed by his attention. In David
's thinking, it may only have been a passing relationship. Nothing, he
imagined, could come of it. But God has peculiar ways of bringing sin to
light, particularly when the one involved is in a place of leadership.
       Bathsheba "sent and told David, and said, I am with child" (II Samuel
11:5). The unwanted pregnancy changed everything. How long Uriah had been on
the battlefield is unknown, but obviously it was long enough to prove that
Bathsheba was an adulteress. Obviously there would be a scandal. Undoubtedly
there could be complications, and worst of all for David, personal
implications.
       Uriah had heard the king's request. A less disciplined man, one of
weaker principles, would have gone to the comforts of his home. But Uriah
was a soldier's soldier, one of David's mighty heroes. (See II Samuel 23:39;
I Chronicles 11:41.)

       "Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in
tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the
open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to
lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this
thing" (II Samuel 11:11).

       Uriah was a man who out of a sense of duty refused to enjoy his own
wife's company during a time of battle; but during this same time of battle
David was driven by the insensitivity of lust and stooped to enjoy the wife
of another.
       The situation had grown grim, even desperate, for David as he tried
to hide his sin. Treacherously, he planned the death of Uriah and sent his
concealed instructions by Uriah to his captain in battle, Joab.
       As a result of David's homicidal actions, his torturous memories
would cloud the rest of his life. He would remember the cunning Joab who
knew how to play on the king's guilt for his own advantage. David's hasty
marriage to Bathsheba, just days after Uriah's murder, must have brought
painful recollections. Neither could the psalmist forget the suffering and
the death of the baby that was born, due to David's own indiscretions and
sinful behavior.
       The prophet's words had struck deeply into the king's conscience.
Nathan recounted the many blessings that God had given David and accused him
of despising the commandment of the Lord. The prophet blamed David for being
the real murderer of Uriah, although the king had used "the sword of the
children of Ammon" (II Samuel 12:9) to commit the crime.
       David would not soon forget the awful judgments Nathan declared would
fall upon his home (II Samuel 12:10). Assuredly, evil would rise up against
the king from his own family. David simply could not forget. Indeed, it
would be difficult for anyone in Israel to ever forget the sin of David
their king.

III. SIN IS AGAINST GOD
       "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned" (Psalm 51:4). This might
seem like a strange statement in King David's prayer to God. Certainly the
monarch's iniquities had caused great harm, both to his neighbors and to all
of Israel. But David, in his heart, determined that all sin is ultimately
against the Lord. The prophet Isaiah confirmed that only God can blot out
our transgressions (Isaiah 43:25). The scribes in Christ's day asked, "Who
can forgive sins but God only?" (Mark 2:7). Ultimately, sin is always
against God.

A. Sinfulness of Sin
       Sin is a terrible taskmaster. It progressively demands still more of
its servants. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt; and when they asked for a
measure of liberty, the Egyptians forced them to gather their own straw and
yet continue to accomplish as much work as ever before. Taskmasters had been
set over the Israelites "to afflict and oppress them with [increased]
burdens" (Exodus 1:11, The Amplified Bible). Finally, the oppressed people
"cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage" (Exodus
2:23).
       David had begun to cry because of his bondage. In the words of Paul
the apostle, sin had "become exceeding sinful" (Romans 7:13). We discover
when we come to ourselves that wickedness is outright rebellion against the
law of God. The prodigal son confessed to his father, "I have sinned against
heaven, and in thy sight" (Luke 15:21). David confessed, "Against thee, thee
only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight" (Psalm 51:4).

B. Recognizing Sin
       Perhaps the most difficult sin to recognize is that which may exist
in our own lives. We can easily identify the evils and shortcomings of
others. We see the obvious failings and glaring faults of those around us.
While listening to Nathan's story, David became incensed at the rich man who
had stolen his neighbor's only lamb. The king's "anger was greatly kindled"
(II Samuel 12:5). Then, to his great dismay, David learned of whom Nathan
was really speaking. "Thou," the prophet charged, "art the man" (II Samuel
12:7).
       Suddenly David saw it all. He saw his sin as God saw it. The theft of
his neighbor's wife was an atrocious act, the murder of Uriah a heinous
crime.
       Our world needs spokesmen like Nathan who will declare the Word of
the Lord today. Sin must be identified and exposed for what it really is.
There is nothing clever or fulfilling about sin. Evil behavior separates us
from God. "The thing that David had done displeased the Lord" (II Samuel
11:27). David was a good man and great king who had fallen headlong into the
snare of the devil. It took a humble prophet to show him his need of
repentance.

IV. NATURE OF SIN
A. Our Carnal Nature
       Many today refuse to accept responsibility for their own behavior and
they blame others for their immorality. Too frequently people excuse
themselves for horrible crimes because of a difficult home environment,
physical abuse, or sexual abuse. While these certainly may be powerful
factors and unfortunate experiences, we are born with an Adamic nature that
chooses to sin. This seemed to be the thinking of Job when he affirmed, "Man
that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. . . . Who can
bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one" (Job 14:1, 4).
       Left alone, our carnal (fleshly) nature will always sway us to do the
works of the flesh. (See Galatians 5:19-21.) "The carnal mind is enmity
against God" (Romans 8:7). We are born with a propensity to be selfish,
dishonest, and cruel. Sin is embedded (like feldspar in granite) within the
very nature of man. David, having learned from his own experience, stated,
"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me"
(Psalm 51:5).
       Some have suggested, in reference to verse five, that David was born
illegitimately. (He was nearly overlooked when Samuel was about to anoint
one of Jesse's sons.) It seems much more likely, however, that David was
referring to the universal weakness of human flesh. He had begun to realize
how powerful sin could be within a person's life. His thinking was actually
in advance of his time. David probably would have agreed with the apostle
Paul who wrote, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no
good thing" (Romans 7:18).

B. What God Desires
       What a remarkable discovery David had made! He discovered what God
wanted was purity of heart. Many have tried to please the Lord through
religious performance or partial obedience. David, however, came to
understand that the Almighty was searching for more than these things. He
declared, "Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the
hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom" (Psalm 51:6).
       There are areas within each of our hearts that only God can see (I
Samuel 16:7). When David referred to "the inward parts," he spoke of this
hidden and secret realm of the heart. The "inward parts" and the "hidden
part" of verse six literally refer to that which is "concealed" or "closed
up." But what is hidden to mankind is not hidden from God; the innermost
thoughts of man are completely open to the Lord. Moreover, the Word of God
penetrates to the deepest parts of our human nature. (See Hebrews 4:12, The
Amplified Bible.)

       "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but
all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to
 do" (Hebrews 4:13).

       David had been anything but honest. He had been false to his friends
and family. He had been false to himself, and he had been false to his God.
Afterward, he expressed his need to be utterly sincere that "in the hidden
part" God would cause him "to know wisdom" (Psalm 51:6). Only when we are
genuine can we understand the ways of the Almighty. In another of his
psalms, David asserted, "Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from
secret faults" (Psalm 19:12).
       It was his lack of understanding God that caused King Saul, David's
predecessor, to fail. God gave to Saul specific instructions to completely
destroy the Amalekites, their flocks, and their herds. He and Israel had
gained an outstanding victory, smiting the Amalekites from Havilah to
Shur-from one extreme of Arabia to the other. "But Saul and the people
spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the
fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good" (I Samuel 15:9). All the
maimed and worthless animals they offered to God. What a failure of human
judgment!
       When the prophet Samuel arrived, Saul twice lied to cover up his sin.
(See I Samuel 15:13, 20.) Saul's deceit, however, was quickly detected. "And
Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and
the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" (I Samuel 15:14). Saul may not have
known what it all meant, but Samuel the prophet understood. The king of
Israel had betrayed his own heart. The unrepentant king, having forfeited
his trust and honor, was dispossessed of his throne.

V. RENEWAL
       There is ample evidence in the Scriptures to prove that God does,
indeed, forgive those who sincerely forsake their iniquities (II Chronicles
7:14). As a result, God will forgive and accept an individual who has walked
away from His Word, for if that person truly repents of his sins the Lord
will restore him with salvation.

A. The Return of Joy
       In verse eight of Psalm 51, David prayed that he would once again
"hear joy and gladness." In verse twelve he pleaded, "Restore unto me the
joy of thy salvation." When we lose God from our hearts, we lose peace,
purpose, and joy. David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, had lost his song.
Living in sin had bound his spirit. Living in sin had silenced his spirit of
true worship. The Jewish captives, taken to Babylon, cried out, "How shall
we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" (Psalm 137:4).
       Only God can restore our joy. He alone is able to satisfy our thirst
for salvation. Chapter twelve of Isaiah, a hymn of praise, spoke to the Jew
of his coming Messiah. Prophetically and joyously verse two proclaimed,
"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord
JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation" (Isaiah
12:2). The word "salvation" comes from the Hebrew Yehoshua, the Greek
translation of which is "Jesus." Isaiah chapter twelve is not only an
anticipation of Christ; it is also a confident expectation of the outpouring
of the Holy Ghost. (See John 7:37-39.) Deliverance would come and with it
would come a restoration of joy.

       "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of
 salvation" (Isaiah 12:3).

B. The Clean Heart
       A member of an Arctic expedition lies buried beneath the snows of the
distant northland. Upon a tablet at the head of the grave are inscribed
these words: "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."
       David made a plea in Psalm 51:7 that the Lord would wash or cleanse
him. (Compare with Isaiah 1:18.) It was as if David was saying, "Cleanse me,
Lord, for You can make me more pure than even the whitest, new-fallen snow."
It is not strange that some individuals have been temporarily blinded by an
expanse of glittering, white snow; the brightness can be blinding. In
contrast, however, for a time David had been blinded spiritually by the
darkness of his own soul, not by a pure and bright landscape. But now he
longed for God to make his heart as pure as fresh snow.
       David further pleaded to God, "Create in me a clean heart" (Psalm
51:10). He knew that he needed something more than the blood of bulls and
goats. No sacrifice under the law could adequately atone for the sins he had
committed. One writer has said, "The law could kill. It could not forgive."
The law demanded a full retribution, but "mercy rejoiceth against judgment"
(James 2:13). The law was limited, unable to purge the heart, but "the blood
of Jesus Christ . . . cleanseth from all sin" (I John 1:7).

C. A Right Spirit
       From the beginning God had weighed David's spirit and found it
excellent. "David did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and
turned not aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his
life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite" (I Kings 15:5). He was a
man after God's own heart and a man of unusual spiritual insight. When he
defeated the giant Goliath on the field of battle, he acknowledged that it
was God and not he himself that had gained the victory. He spared Saul's
life, though that king would gladly have taken his own. David's loyalties to
others had run true. He mourned the death of Saul, Jonathan, Abner, and
later his rebellious son, Absalom.
       Despite all this, the psalmist had wavered in his devotion to God.
Somehow his integrity had been shaken. Obviously shocked that he had so
readily given in to temptation, David prayed, "Renew a right spirit within
me" (Psalm 51:10).
       Here the word right means "constant" or "steady." The psalmist had
stumbled and fallen through his own inconsistency. He longed to be renewed
and strengthened through the power of the Almighty.

D. Teaching Others
       David's vow in Psalm 51:13-14 was based on God's pardon and
restoration. If the Lord would restore his joy, the repentant psalmist
promised that he would share what God had done for him. "Then will I teach
transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee" (Psalm
51:13).
       What an abundance of blessing David had known! He was seated at the
Lord's table where there were inexhaustible provisions. Even in the presence
of his enemies he was anointed by the Almighty; his cup overflowed (Psalm
23:6).
To be an effective witness, our "cup" must be full and overflowing. Only
through the anointing of the Holy Ghost can God truly replenish our joy.
Only through the Lord can our cup of blessing run over and out to the
unsaved.


CONCLUSION
       Conviction struck home in the heart of David like a brilliant flash
of lightning on a darkened night. The shepherd-king suddenly saw himself as
God saw him. The façade of respectability and integrity was gone. Men love
darkness rather than light. In a moment of time, however, God's conviction
can expose the hidden things of the heart.
       Psalm 51 is David's prayer that the Lord would restore favor to him.
The ruler of Israel had sinned deeply; he must, of necessity, repent deeply.
He asked to be cleansed, restored, and delivered. By means of sincere
repentance, David found forgiveness. Through abundant mercy he was able to
serve his God with a clean heart.


REFLECTIONS
. What were the demands of the law for David's sins? On what basis, then,
could he be forgiven? Discuss.
. Since David had been forgiven, why did he pray so earnestly to be
cleansed? Discuss.
. Discuss the lingering guilt of the psalmist. Why does a person sometimes
experience this?
. Discuss why the psalmist said to God, "Against thee, thee only, have I
sinned" (Psalm 51:4).
. How can we be renewed in the Lord once we have sinned? Discuss.



To get out of a hard situation,
try a soft answer.
Proverbs 15:1
A soft answer turneth away wrath:
but grievous words stir up anger.
YBIC, Thomas And YSIC, Linda.
twilliamson2@...
pofm@...