July 2, 2006 Psalm 51

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

In Psalm 51 David confesses, "my sin is always before me." He asks God to forgive "all my iniquity." He even uses three different words for sin. "Transgression" carries with it the idea of an in born rebellion. "Sin" means to "miss the mark" in any variety of ways. "Iniquity" seems to refer to the guilt or debt that is owed or felt because of sin. Some might say he was obsessed with his sin. This reminds us also of Martin Luther - who had a great sense of unworthiness as he heavily abused his body in a monastery for years. Although this sort of a confession seems honorable to us, it also seems strange to a majority of us. When we go to bed at night, a majority of us at best might utter a simple, "forgive me for any sins I committed today." We'll stumble around and try to think of a few things we may have possibly done wrong. But our sins don't worry us half as much, and we go to bed and sleep well through the night knowing that we are forgiven in Christ.

Is ignorance bliss in this instance? Or should we strive to have a deeper sorrow over our sins and a greater exploration as to who we really are? This kind of confession is the confession of a strong believer - even though it sounds like weakness. Like Paul said, "when I am weak, then I am strong." However, when you go to bed tonight you can't just decide to be sorry for more sins. But it can be produced in us through the Holy Spirit working through the Word. Today we are going to look at this model confession of David. It is a classic and core Christian confession. I hope that the Holy Spirit will bring to your mind and heart a whole new understanding of who YOU are and who HE is as we look at Psalm 51. It is -

The Classic and Core Christian Confession

I. Confesses that sin is primarily against God

Why was sin so serious to David? He says in verse four, Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. No matter what David did, not only the adultery and murder - but every sin - David looked at it as if it was a personal sin against God. When we sin against someone, we don't tend to think in these terms. For instance, when a parent loses his temper and yells at his child, he may go and apologize to his son saying, "I'm sorry I lost my temper." But he doesn't think to himself, "this little boy has been given to me by God Almighty. He has told me to be a good role model for this boy. Losing my temper was a bad example for that boy - and now he'll think that losing temper is an acceptable way to live. I have just abused this wonderful gift that God has given me. Jesus even said that it would be better if a millstone were hung around my neck than to offend one of these little ones who believe in me. I need to beg for God's forgiveness!"

Did you ever stop to consider that aspect of sin? When you complain about your husband to other women, you are not just sinning against his good reputation. You are telling God, "I don't care if you said not to badmouth my neighbor. Other people need to know how oppressed I am. Other people need to see how wicked my husband is and how good I am." When you wish that you had a better body and a better job - more popularity - like the people on TV - what are you in fact saying to God? "I'm not happy with the body you've given me - the job you've given me - the role I've been given in life." You see, God constantly gives us gifts every day - and we waits to see how we respond to His gifts - just like you wait to see the response of someone at a birthday party. When we don't use His gifts, abuse them, or complain about what we've been given, it's like we're insulting Him. David understood this overall concept of sin. He knew God was in the equation - and it made Him sorrowful for the way He treated God through the usage of His time and talents.

What really made David wary of this was what he says in the second part of verse 4. So that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. David recognized that God was also His judge - that he would have to answer to God for what he had done. I know of a man who had to go on trial before a judge and said, "it was a very humbling experience." Your whole future is in the hands of that one judge's decision. On Judgment Day you will be in the hands of God's decision. Were you abusive with your wife? Did you feed your children properly? Clothe them right? Read Bible stories to them? Or were you a lazy employee? Will God have plenty of reasons to judge you as unworthy of heaven?

David confessed, "God, you have plenty of reasons to judge me as guilty. You would have every right to as the Perfect Judge that you are." It made him feel unworthy. This is what confession is all about. It's recognizing that some day you will have to stand before the Judge. At that time, God has plenty of reasons to condemn you to hell - because ultimately every sin you commit is a sin against God. Think about your sins like you have directly insulted God - whether you wanted them to be or not.

II. Confesses that we are sinful from conception

This second confession is even more foreign to a majority of Christianity today. Most would deem it unworthy of confession. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. David felt guilty because he was sinful from conception. In his core - David knew that he was nothing but a sinner. This was the same as what even Paul said of himself in Romans 7:18, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." Both of them felt guilty for who they were, and they confessed who they were to the LORD.

Isn't this taking sin to an extreme? I mean, why should we feel guilty about something we are by nature? If this is the way God made us, then why should we apologize for it? You hear the same excuse coming from those who are naturally attracted to people of the same sex in today's society. If it is natural, it has to be ok. Why confess it? The only difference is that they claim that their behavior - because it is "natural" - is the "way God made me." That would mean that God is condemning the very behavior that He created. The problem is that God doesn't create sin. God doesn't make mistakes. The truth, however, is that sin is not the creation of God - but the result of Adam and Eve's sin. God didn't create sin, man jumped into it. Paul writes in Romans 5:18-19, as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men. . . through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners. As a result of this trespass, we are by nature objects of God's wrath - whether we are homosexual or heterosexual, single or married, church goers or murderers - because in our core we are all under the same label, "sinful from the time my mother conceived me".

Since David confessed it, that means that he felt guilty about it - that he still needed forgiveness for it. Sinful nature is not something that God just winks at and looks the other way at. If it were, David would not have confessed it or felt guilty about it. Natural sin is not something that makes no difference to our holy God. We cannot take this for granted from God. Yet there are many who do just this - and act as if we all have a natural goodness or quality in our selves as humans that God just has to love. They claim that God doesn't really hold us accountable for sins we don't "willingly" do. Such a confession betrays an ignorance of the holiness of God and denies what David is obviously confessing here.

Think of it this way - the Gospels say that Jesus had "no place to lay his head" during his ministry. Imagine being one of Jesus' disciples - and following Him through the countryside for those three years. What an honor and a privilege it would have been to be one of the twelve - being given the ability to perform miracles, chase out demons, and just listen to the Word of God on a daily basis. Do you think that any of those disciples (besides maybe Judas) ever considered complaining about the food they had to eat? The places they had to sleep? I can't imagine such a thing - because they felt privileged just to BE there with their Savior! When we recognize what we are by nature - it keeps us from thinking more of ourselves than we ought. When a dog is taught how to roll over and fetch a stick - it may be impressive to some - especially when compared to other dogs - but in the end it is still just a dog. In the end, no matter how "good" we may turn out to be, in the end we're still just sinful humans. Why would the God of the heavens choose to have fellowship with us - SINFUL humans? When Luther died he is reported to have simply said, "we are beggars, that is sure." We don't deserve to sit at God's table any more than a dog deserves to sit at the table and eat with the family. We are not proud of our heritage - which goes back to Adam and Eve. It is full of rebellion and sin from beginning to end - no matter how good or impressive it may look in our own eyes.

III. Is specific

Finally, that brings us to the reason this whole Psalm was written. The introduction states, For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. It was David's adultery and murder that brought about this whole penitential Psalm. He was honest about this by explaining the background of the Psalm. He also reflects his guilt as he prays near the end of the Psalm, "Save me from bloodguilt, O God." For the rest of his life David would have to live with the guilt of knowing that he had murdered one of his prized fighters and his own neighbor - Uriah. He had stolen his wife and committed adultery with her. The whole country would sooner or later know about what he had done if they hadn't already. He knew that he deserved to die for what he had done. When Nathan confronted him he finally admitted to what he had specifically done and confessed it.

The model confession shows us that sometimes we need to be specific, especially when we commit publicly specific sins - or sins that obviously go beyond the realm of weakness. You might know the guilt of having had premarital sex. You might know the guilt of having struck someone out of anger. You might have the guilt of divorce. These kinds of sins are ones that linger in your brain and soul for years on end. These kinds of sin are important to admit specifically. Be honest with God as to what you did and why you did it. Be honest to the person you have offended. Often we are afraid that our own words of guilt and admittance will be held against us. We hold back from specifics because we don't want to relive or especially say what we've done - it's just too embarrassing. Yet sometimes we need to be specific. When a husband forgets an anniversary, he can't just say, "I'm sorry." His wife wants to hear WHY he's sorry - and if he's sorry he wants to tell her why. Is he sorry just because she's mad? Or is he sorry because it was an important day to him? Is he sorry because his inaction was like telling her he didn't care about her? Or is he just saying "I'm sorry" so his wife will stop giving him the cold shoulder? Sometimes we need to be more specific - especially with a specific offense.

When we get specific with God - we are showing God and ourselves that we're not just using confession as an easy way out so that we can move on with our lives. We aren't just saying "I'm sorry" because God wants us to. We are admitting to God specifically what we did wrong and why we did it because we genuinely feel bad about it. We are taking a good look at our thoughts and actions and opening ourselves up to God. God likes to hear us be specific in our confession - to be honest with Him. It is part of a model confession to admit actual sins that have been committed in thought, word, or deed.

IV. Pleads for God's mercy

As we look at what we confess to be, it is obvious that we shouldn't naturally be able to come to a holy God as we are. This is a situation so bleak that no mere decision or reform of actions will do. David never once pointed God to anything in himself that should make God want to have mercy. Instead, what did David plead for? O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. David simply asked God to look at HIMSELF - to act according to HIS nature. You see, God is completely different from us in His nature. Instead of being by nature sinful, He is by nature not only holy, but also at His very core a God of unfailing love. An unfailing love is one that still decides to love even though the object is unlovable. This is what David plead for. He also pleaded for God to act according to His great compassion. Compassion is when you see someone wipe out on a bicycle, and instead of laughing at them - you feel bad for what they've done. David knew that God - although He was holy and just - didn't want to see His people get the justice they deserved. He didn't want them to go to hell. He didn't revel or enjoy seeing them live with guilt and fear and drowning in sin. This is what David held to in His confession.

This is the way God says He is. He doesn't love us because it makes Him feel good about Himself. He doesn't love us because we are his cute little pets. He loves us because He is in His core a God of unfailing love. He loves because He IS love. You need to believe this about God - otherwise you will have no desire to reveal your soul to God. You will be afraid to confess any sins to Him, because you will be afraid that He will give you what you deserve. But when you believe that God's love is greater than your sins - when you believe that God wants to have compassion and that His love is not based on who YOU are - then you can have the courage to request what David requested.

David asked of the LORD, Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. That word for "blot" is what was also used in Genesis 7:22-23 in God's description of the destructive forces of the flood. He wanted the LORD to powerfully wash away ALL of his sins - to do it all - because He recognized that even the best of his works were still tainted with sin. These were some tall requests. David asked the LORD to blot out ALL his iniquities - not just half of them or the "really bad ones" - but each and every one. He was asking for absolute and complete forgiveness - which would translate into complete holiness before God.

Because God is a God of faithful love, this prayer was answered in Christ. 1 John 1:7 says "the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from ALL sin." Peter also writes in 1 Peter 3:18-21 that, "Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." These words tell us that the blood of Christ give us a total cleansing - which is poured on us at our baptism. At the cross of Christ God hid our sins in His Son and buried them in the grave - so that He would never have to look at them again. Our sins were washed away in one flood of God's wrath - which landed on Jesus.

Finally, David prayed, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." David realized that he could not recreate the joy and confidence he once felt in God's forgiveness. It had to come through a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit who would assure him of his forgiveness. So He prayed that God would work that miracle - enabling him to see beyond his own sins and cling to the coming Savior - so he could once again rejoice in the joy of salvation. In this model confession He realized that the only way his faith could find joy would be by the grace and mercy of God. This is what God wants you to do - to pray that the Holy Spirit would give you the confidence to stand before the judge on Judgment Day - being convinced that all of your sins have been blotted out by Christ. Not one sin you have committed will be on your record when you are judged on Judgment Day, because they were all put on the cross of Christ when you were baptized and made one with Christ through faith.

Are you one of those people who just doesn't know how to pray? When you go to bed at night, do you only know "now I lay me down to sleep?" If I asked you to confess your sins right now to the LORD - how many of you would know what to say? Instead of just saying nothing, it's ok to pull out David's inspired "cheat sheet" - good old Psalm 51. It is the classic and core Christian confession. It contains plenty to confess. In it you can say to God, "my sins have been offensive to YOU. I am naturally sinful. Even my deeds are embarrassingly sinful. I have committed adultery. I have lied. I have been greedy. I deserve nothing but Your justice. Yet I pray for you to be merciful. I know that in Your mercy You sent Jesus to receive my justice. I know my sins have been washed away in Him - in my baptism. So help me to cling to your mercy, so I can rejoice once again in YOU - and sleep easy in your blood tonight. Amen."