Psalms 51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. 2 Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. 3 For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. 4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.
5 For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. 6 But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.
7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice. 9 Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. 13 Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you.
14 Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. 15 Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you. 16 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
18 Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit— with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.
observation
In his book The Vanishing Conscience, John MacArthur talks about the disappearance of sin in our society. That may sound strange at first when you see the depravity of man growing larger every day. Modern culture will tell you that you are a victim and that as a victim you are not responsible for what you do.
“Society encourages sin, but it will not tolerate the guilt sin produces” –John MacArthur
Not so with King David, he knew that he had sinned and he was not going to call it anything else, he knew that he was a sinner from birth. He didn’t blame his parents or his childhood or the trauma of King Saul chasing him all over the country side. He took full responsibility, he knew that it was sin and that it is wrong to let sin control the way you live.
Romans 6:12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.
David cried out for mercy, he recognized his rebellion with a broken spirit. That’s what God wants, a broken spirit, forget the sacrifices if you don’t have a broken and repentant heart then not even Jesus sacrifice is going to do you any good.
David had lost his joy and he knew that he could only get it back again through confession so that God would restore their relationship.
application
I will act as if sin has some power over me but it doesn’t and when I behave this way I need to be sensitive to my conscience, I must not suppress the guilt feelings that the world tells us is wrong to have. I must be humble and broken for my rebellion against God.
prayer
Help us to always view sin as harshly as you do Lord. Thank you for your provision for my sin so that I can spend eternity with you.
