Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.  Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.  
For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.  Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight--That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.  
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.  Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.  
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  Make me to hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities.  
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.  
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.  Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. 
Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.  O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.  For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart--These, O God, You will not despise. 
Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem.  Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, With burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar. 
 
 

We often hear the old saying, “Confession is good for the soul.”  The Bible teaches that there are times when confession of sin is needed—for many reasons—including the salvation of the one who needs to confess.  But the Bible also shows that confession is seldom done, and that, even when it does take place, it is often done improperly.

Psalm 51 is an example from the life of David that can instruct us in the heavenly principles of proper confession.  All of us need to be big enough to make things right when we have clearly done things wrong.  When David found out that God knew what David knew about his sin, David said, “I have sinned” (2 Samuel 12:13).

Our study of this psalm should include an intense look at David’s case as well very personal applications by each one of us.

The key word in this lesson is “mercy”, which is found in verse 1. Here is our outline:
I. The Appeal for Mercy (51:1,2).
II. The Need for Mercy (51:3-5).
III. The Basis for Mercy (51:6).
IV. The Results of Mercy (51:7-13).
V. The Praise of Mercy (51:14,15).
VI. The Sacrifices to Mercy (51:16-19).

Let us now study each of these sections of the great singer’s confession.

I.  The Appeal for Mercy (51:1,2).  David began by admitting that he needed mercy with the plea “be gracious.”  This is one of the words for mercy in the Old Testament.  The source of true mercy is the true God and His lovingkindness.  In light of his predicament (his sin), David asked for God to love him tenderly by showing compassion on him.  He knew that mercy was powerful enough to blot out his violations of the law of God so that he could again be treated as a washed and cleansed soul.  He was wrestling with his own sin, as well he should have, but he knew that the ultimate way for it to be dealt with was through God’s mercy.

II.  The Need for Mercy (51:3-5).  In this part of his confession, the sinner confessed very openly that he was guilty.  This was very fitting since his sin was (and is) so well known.  David had become overwhelmed by his sin to the degree that he said, “it is ever before me.”   He went on to admit that he had sinned against his maker—up to that point in the story of 1 Samuel 11, 12; he had not been bothered enough by it all to admit that he had sinned against Uriah, Bathsheba, the baby, Israel, etc.  But when the prophet said, “Thou art the man,” his integrity surfaced again.  David next commented on the fact that sin, among the human race, is universal. He did not teach that babies are born in sin (in other words, he did not teach that infants are sinners in any sense), but he did teach that he—and all others—are born into a world that is dominated by sin (Shame on all who teach that we are born sinners, and shame on all who mistranslate scriptures in order to get this false doctrine into their Bibles—such as the New International Version, and shame on all those who recommend such mistranslation.).  The statement of David in verse 5 is a poetic comment in which he accepts his own guilt based on his own sins.  He was not lost as a result of begettal, birth, or inheritance—he was lost because he had committed adultery and murder!

III.  The Basis for Mercy (51:6).  Here, our inspired poet points out that God desires for us to have a comprehension of His truth in our “inward parts.”  This necessitates our sincerity (honesty with self and God).  And it also necessitates our letting God’s word into our souls (James 1:18-25).  Without this as a basis, the rest of the psalm is meaningless.  Does your attitude regarding the need for truth run parallel with the attitude of David?

IV.  The Results of Mercy (51:7-13).  As to his sins, there are three poetic descriptions given.  First, he wrote of the cleansing (v.7).  Second, he wrote of the joy (v.8).  Third, he wrote of the forgiveness (v.9).  He was obviously grateful that God was willing to hide His face from David’s sins—BUT HE DID NOT HIDE HIS FACE FROM DAVID!  Then, he wrote of his new beginning regarding three important relations.  There was the relationship with himself (v.10).  Then there was the relationship with Jehovah (v.11).  And finally, there was the relationship with salvation (v.12).  In the New Testament, John presented a concise statement of the possibility of forgiveness for Christians who sin in 1 John 1:7-2:2: “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.  My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin.  And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”  The last point in this section of Psalm 51 is remarkable—David stated his intention to be such a positive teaching influence in his time that sinners would be converted to Jehovah (v.13).  In other words—David was going to be evangelistic!  This verse has two important resolutions.  Note them and learn from them: First, he said, “I will teach.”  Second, he said, “Conversions will come.”

V.  The Praise of Mercy (51:14,15).  Deliverance from his sin was needed for the simple fact that the author of the psalm was guilty of sin—would to God that we would understand the nature of sin to this degree!  Blood was on his conscience—and only God could deliver him—through the shedding of even more blood!  In light of his deliverance, he was going to sing aloud.  Yes, others should hear from us the “joyful noise” of our salvation.  Let us appreciate the righteousness of God and let us sing about it, too!  He wanted the Lord to open his lips, thus allowing him to function as one of His prophets.  In principle, we should have our lips opened to exclaim His praises as a result of receiving forgiveness by obeying Christ (Hebrews 13:12-15).

VI.  The Sacrifices to Mercy (51:16-19).  The first verse of this section exposes a common mistake.  This mistake was common under the Old Covenant and remains one of the most common errors of our own day—it is not right to think that the mere offering of a sacrifice to God will appease His righteous wrath regarding our wrongs!  The uncommon essential is given in the second verse of this section.  True sacrifice starts with the broken spirit of the sinner, for he now wants to depend on God—all of his arrogance is gone—he will approach God with a heart that is repenting and willing to meet any and all of God’s demands.  These are the ones that are not despised by God.  I ask you to think on this set of questions as you think on this point: What breaks your spirit and heart?  Do your sins and God’s mercy move you in any way?  Or is your heart only “broken” when you are rebuked but refuse to repent? This poem, “David Before God”, closes with a lesson about the true place of “offerings.” God will do His will in Zion, and when we cooperate fully with His will, our sacrifices are acceptable.

All of us could put “self” in David’s shoes, for we have all sinned—but will we examine ourselves so soberly? How many of us could accomplish eternal good by finally admitting that which God already knows? 

Sin cannot be covered—except by the blood of Jesus.  Earlier in this study, we provided the quotation from 1 John about Christians who sin. But you may not be a Christian yet, so I urge you to read and respond humbly to the following plan for your forgiveness: Acts 2, 8, 16, 17, and Romans 6.

    — Skip Andrews

Next Week:
Psalm 52

“Lovers of Sin:
BEWARE!“
 
 

SICK LIST:  Nathan Lanier and Wayne and Robyn Kendrick were ill this past week.  Steve Fishel, father of the Grubb’s daughter-in-law, has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.  Let’s remember those who are ill and their families in our prayers.
 
SYMPATHY:  Paul Meacham’s grandmother, Vera Meacham, passed away Friday.  Dalton Barnett, Dennis Hatchett’s uncle, passed away Saturday.  Both funerals were Monday in Tennessee.  Our prayers are with these families as they suffer the loss of a loved one.
GROUP FOUR:  Group 4 is in charge of the services at Plantation South at 1:30.  Also, please meet up front following evening services for visitation assignments.
WELCOME HOME:  The Burnettes are returning from the Ukraine
SEEKING THE LOST:  Thursday—7:30.

SING:  Everyone is invited to the Meacham’s Friday, April 28, for a sing.  Please sign the list in the foyer if you can come.
 
CHILDREN’S CLASS:  5:30 today.
LADIES’ CLASS:  Tuesday at 10:00.
EVENING LADIES’ CLASS:  Monday, April 24, at 7:30—The Queen of Sheba.

BABY SHOWER:  There will be a shower to honor Katrece Howard Sunday, May 7, at 2:00.  All the ladies are invited.  It’s a girl!
FOR THE RECORD: 
AM Class    107 
AM Worship    120 
PM Worship    103 
Wednesday Class   108 
Contribution    $6283 
Budget     $6500
APRIL 30:  There will be a covered dish dinner following morning services.  After the meal, all who are interested in our teaching program are asked to stay for a meeting concerning our curriculum change.  We will begin using “Engraving Heavenly Truths.”