I thought it would be appropriate to take a little
break this summer and still commit ourselves
to exposition and consecutive exposition, but
something a little bit more personal. And that's
what we find in Psalm 51. Today we're going to
start and we're going to look through certain
periods and certain events in David's life that
lead up to his penning of Psalm 51. the events
which lead to it. And that will help us see the
relevance of that psalm for us today. So in 2
Samuel chapter 11, we're going to read verses
1 through 4 to start. Then it happened in the
spring at the time when kings go out to battle,
that David sent Joab and his servants with him.
and all Israel. And they destroyed the sons of
Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at
Jerusalem. Now when evening came, David arose
from his bed and walked around on the roof of
the king's house. And from the roof he saw a
woman bathing. And the woman was very beautiful
in appearance. So David sent and inquired about
the woman. And one said, Is this not Bathsheba,
the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the
Hittite? David sent messengers and took her.
And when she came to him, he lay with her. And
when she had purified herself from her uncleanness,
she returned to a house. Verse 5 as well. The
woman conceived, and she sent and told David
and said, I am. So the way we are going to proceed
forward today is we are going to look at, we're
going to consider five things. The first being
David himself. The second being David's sin.
The third being David's rebuke. The fourth being
David's restoration. And the fifth, David's help
for us today. Beginning with David himself. When
we think about King David, we think about the
fact that this man was called a man after God's
own heart. We think about the fact that He loved
God's law. He sung day and night of God's law
throughout the Psalms. He penned and he created
songs and poems about his love for the precepts
and his love for the law of God, his love for
the Lord, for his covenant God. We think about
the fact that David was the one who slew the
giant. We think about his exploits and his mighty
deeds on behalf of Israel, his holy indignation
at the Philistines that would dare challenge
the God of Israel. We think about the fact of
his bravery and his courage in slaying a lion
or a bear when they came after his sheep. Out
in the field. He was a man. That was godly. That
was faithful. That was holy. He's a man according
to Romans chapter 4. Who was justified by faith.
We read. But to the one who does not work. But
believes in him. Who justifies the ungodly. His
faith. is credited as righteousness, just as
David also speaks of the blessing on the man
to whom God credits righteousness, apart from
works. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds
have been forgiven and whose sins have been covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not
take into account. David was a justified... David
was a mighty saint. Yet, we have to remember
something else about David's life, don't we?
This mighty man of God, this mighty man of faith,
the king of Israel, the one that loved Jerusalem
so dearly, and the people of God, fell deeply
into sin. This man backslid in his faith. He
went from loving God and being full of faith
to reveling in the depths of iniquity. That should
cause us all to pause for a moment, brothers
and sisters. It should cause us all to think.
about our condition and our place before the
Lord. It ought to give us pause to consider the
nature of our hearts and what the state and condition
of our minds and our longings and our desires
are with the Lord. This leads us to the second
thing we have to examine this morning. David's
sin, which we read about. in 2 Samuel 11, verses
1 -4. David did not fall into sin in an abrasive
or an abrupt manner, meaning he didn't see a
cliff, run and jump over the cliff. It was a
subtle and gradual digression. The text says
that David stayed at Jerusalem, and this was
during the time when kings went off to war. David,
who was a leader of the mighty men. Maybe the
comfort and the fame, maybe the privilege and
maybe his position, maybe the pride started building
in him. Maybe he started thinking, I don't need
to fight these battles. I don't need to put myself
in danger. I'll stay here in comfort. And the
comfort of the palace, it was gradual, it was
progressive. We see that he stayed, but then
we see the man who would stay up all night, meditating
on the law of God, now is rising from his bed,
twiddling his fingers. What does he do? He walks
and he looks and he sees. So now, the subtlety
of sin that came from his spiritual lethargy
and complacency turns into looking and seeing
and desiring. And what does he do? He sins and
then he takes. His sin goes from desire and longing
and looking to taking. And then we see that it
turns into acting. We see so many gracious opportunities
for David to abstain, for David to cease, for
David to forsake, for David to abandon his sin,
his desires, his longings. So many gracious opportunities,
but his desire turned into taking. His longing
turned into looking. And the transgression of
God's law in his heart turned into the outward
transgression of God's law in his life. Adultery.
A heart filled with lust. That was... brought
to fruition in the act of adultery with another
man's wife, he being a married man. It wasn't
just adultery, brothers and sisters. It wasn't
just lust. It was all of God's law. And this
man knew better, didn't he? This man sinned in
the face of knowledge. He sinned in the face
of God's law. He willingly, volitionally, voluntarily
took part in this iniquity. And he did not repent
of it. He commits the act, but then he receives
word from Bathsheba that she is pregnant. Now,
David knows enough. And he knows the shame that
comes with it. He knows the consequences. He
knows it's wrong. He knows it's unrighteous.
So what does the great king seek to do? We all
know the story. He seeks to cover it up. To conceal
his transgression. To hide it. What does he do?
He immediately sends to Joab. his commander,
his general. He says, send Uriah the Hittite
to me. Uriah comes. He starts small -talking
with Uriah, and he's kind of building him up.
He says, you know what? Go home. What's David
doing? He wants David to spend time with his
wife. He might think the child is his. That doesn't
work. Why? Because Uriah is a man of integrity,
a man of honor. He has convictions. He won't
enjoy the comforts of his home, the comforts
of his wife, while his fellow soldiers are out
in the field. So he stays down with the palace
servings. So David says, why haven't you gone
home? David says, stay for another two or three
days, then you can go back. David schemes, he
thinks, what can I do to hide this sin? What
can I do to cover this sin up? So he brings Uriah.
I'm going to weaken his constitution. I'm going
to get him drunk. Then I'm going to send him
home. That doesn't work. He can't cover it. So
what does he do? His last resort. What's his
last ditch effort? He has the man murdered. By
putting him where the fiercest battle is, where
the fiercest warriors are. Do you see what's
happened in the life of David already? The subtlety
of sin has grown into this giant monster, this
giant beast, and his concealment of it only multiplied
the transgression. Have you ever heard the saying,
I think it goes something like this, it takes
a thousand lies to cover up a single lie? Brothers
and sisters, the same is true for sin in general.
It takes a thousand transgressions to hide and
cover up a single transgression, a single sin.
His desire and attempt to conceal his iniquity
only multiplied. the wickedness he was taking
part in. No longer was it just the act of adultery
and the rest of his transgressions associated
with it, but now it's the act of murder and hatred
in his heart. He seeks to cover it up, and seemingly,
he's successful. Have you ever considered that?
With appearance sake, it's almost as though David
got away with this. It's almost as though he
slipped one by. He kept it from men. I don't
know if his servants knew what was going on.
But it seems as though he concealed it. It almost
seems as though he concealed it from Bathsheba
with regards to Uriah as well. He was keeping
it from the sight and the knowledge of men, of
his servants, of his kingdom, of his nation,
the brothers and sisters who saw his sin, who
viewed his sin in its entirety as he committed
it. who observed the iniquity as he took part
in it, who watched on as he broke the law of
God which he loved and knew so well at one point
in his life. Verse 21 says, When the time of
mourning was over, David sent and brought her
to his house, and she became his wife. Then she
bore him a son. But the thing that David had
done, was evil in the sight of the Lord. He may
have hid it from the eyes of men, but David could
never keep his sin, his iniquity, his transgression,
his wickedness from God himself. God saw his
sin all the while. God watched on as this faithful
man fell to the pits of darkness. And how long
did David stay in this sin? How long did he remain
in this backslidden state? Well, the baby was
born by the time Nathan the prophet came to him.
That means... that David remained in an unrepentant
state of sin for almost a year long. A whole
year, willingly, volitionally, sinning against
his God. Think about the repercussions on his
heart. Think about what this would do to this
man's conscience. Think about what this would
do to the condition of his soul, brothers and
sisters. Think about what this would do to his
fellowship and his communion with God who justified
him. Think about what this would do to his usefulness
in life. Think about what this would do to his
joy, his confidence, his faith. He stayed in
it for a year, and this leads us to the third
thing this morning, David's rebuke. We read in
2 Samuel chapter 12, Then the Lord sent Nathan
to David, and he came to him and said, There
were two men in the city, the one rich and the
one poor. The rich man had a great many flocks
and herds, but the poor man had nothing. except
the little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished.
And it grew up together with him and his children.
It would drink of his bread and drink of his
cup and lie in his bosom. It was like a daughter
to him. What's Nathan saying? This man dearly
loved that ewe lamb. That ewe lamb was close
to his heart. Now a traveler came to the rich
man. and he was unwilling to take it from his
own flock or his own herd to prepare for the
wayfarer who had come to him. Rather, he took
the poor man's ewe lamb and prepared it for the
man who had come to him. Listen to David's response.
Then David's anger burned. It burned greatly
against the man, and he said to David, as the
Lord lives. Surely the man who has done this
deserves to die. He must make restitution for
the lamb fourfold because he is this, because
he did this thing and had no compassion. David
can clearly see the sin in this man's life. He
can clearly observe and see the sin and wickedness
in somebody else's life. What's he missing? He
has an inability to see his own sin. He has an
inability to see his own transgression. He's
blinded to the reality of the iniquity in his
own life. There's an obvious need for this rebuke,
isn't there? There's an obvious need for this
correction in his life. Why does he need rebuke?
Because of the results of his sin. His conscience
had been dulled. His heart had become calloused
and hard. He was no longer sensitive. to sin
in his heart, his mind, and his conscience. Godly
sorrow was sapped out of his mind, out of his
life. And what were the consequences on his fellowship
and communion with the living God? David, who
once enjoyed sweet, intimate, Spiritual fellowship
with God, where he could hear from God in his
word, in his law, and David could pray freely,
praising him with joy in his heart. Experienced
the gracious influence of the work of the divine
spirit in his life. His power, his influence,
his manifest fruit. It was gone. It was withdrawn.
He had grieved the Spirit of God. This is why
Paul tells the church at Thessalonica, do not
quench the Spirit. And earlier when he warns
against immorality, he says, you sin against
the God who gives His Spirit. This is why Paul
tells the church at Ephesus, do not grieve the
Spirit of God. Willing, and unrepentant and ongoing
sin quenches and grieves God's Holy Spirit in
your life. You do not lose your justification.
You do not become unsaved. But the gracious influence
of the Divine Spirit in your heart and soul is
withdrawn. The Spirit of God dwells within you,
but his felt presence is no more. His power,
his influence, his holiness is no longer exerted
in your life because of ongoing willful sin.
The reality is this rebuke, incorrect, was very
gracious. God sent Nathan. The Lord sent Nathan.
It says that in 12 .1. Then the Lord sent Nathan
to David. He needed to be rebuked. He needed
to be corrected. Do you know why? To waken up
his conscience. To rattle his heart. To show
him his iniquity and his sin. He needed to be
startled. He needed to be frightened. He needed
to be shaken so that he'd wake up. after David's
anger burns against the man, Nathan says to David,
you are the man. David is the one who stole the
ewe lamb. David's conscience wakes up. David's
heart feels again. David says in verse 13, I
have sinned against the Lord. This rebuke was
very kind and very gracious and very merciful
of the Lord. Because it brought about godly sorrow
in this once faithful man's life. It showed him
the weight and the burden of his sin. It gave
him the sense of iniquity in his own life again.
His conscience now felt the weight of the burden
of the transgression he'd been committing. It
was a gracious rebuke. It was very necessary,
very needed. And it brought about godly sorrow
in his life. He now felt the impurity, the unholiness
of what he had done. He now felt the judgment
of God in his soul. He now sensed condemnation
around him. He now realized the depth of what
he had done. He was broken. He was shown his
sinfulness. He was shown the sinfulness of sin
in his life. And he knew it. He felt it. He sensed
it. He experienced it. But now the question comes.
What would David do? How could David be restored
to fellowship with? How could David be restored
to that once sweet, holy, intimate, loving communion
and fellowship he enjoyed over a year before?
How would he get back to that? How would he find
relief from the weight and burden of such sorrow?
Brothers and sisters, how would David go from
the impurity back to holiness? How would David
make his way from being spiritually destitute
and impoverished back to spiritual poverty and
health and life and well -being and joy and hope
and faith? This is where Psalm 51 Comes in. It's
right around this time in David's life. That
he pins. Psalm 51. Sometime after he'd been rebuked.
His conscience had been enlivened. His heart
had been shaken. It's sometime in here. That
David writes Psalm 51. Psalm 51 is David's highway
back. To holiness. Psalm 51. Is David's path.
Back to restoration. And fellowship with God.
Psalm 51. Is the steps that David walks up. In
order to find sanctification. And holiness in
his life again. Brothers and sisters. This is
not a doorway. To justification. It's a doorway.
To godliness. and joy and holiness of life. This
is where Psalm 51 comes into the picture. David's
restoration. This is the fourth thing we have
to consider this morning. Now, turn with me to
Psalm 51. Psalm 51 is as though the Lord gives
us this blessed window. that we might look through
it and observe David's cry before God after he
has sinned as a justified man. It's as though
the Lord has graciously given us a window to
look in and see what takes place in David's prayer
with God as he's restored and brought back into
fellowship. This is why Psalm 51 is so important
for us, brothers and sisters. What does the Christian
do when they have willingly sinned against God?
What does the Christian do when they've backslidden
in their life? What does the Christian do? when
they've grieved the Spirit of God in their life?
What does the Christian do when they've lived
and dwelled and breathed in unrepentant sin?
Psalm 51. Psalm 51 helps us understand the nature
of restoration to fellowship with God. We see
in verses 1 -2, Be gracious to me, O God, according
to your lovingkindness. according to the greatness
of your compassion. Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse
me from my sin. David appeals to God. He does
not demand or command that God be, but he appeals
to God in his mercy to act according to himself
and his own nature. He knows he doesn't deserve
it. But he appeals to God that he would be faithful
and true to his merciful and compassionate character.
We read in verse 3, For I know my transgressions
and my sin as ever before me. Against you, you
only, I have sinned and done what is evil in
your sight so that you are justified when you
speak and blameless when you judge. Behold. I
was brought forth in iniquity and in sin. My
mother conceived me. We see that it is a confession.
An acknowledgement of his absolute responsibility
in the matter. He frees God of all blame. And
he says, it was me. I sinned. I transgressed.
I broke your law. He thoroughly acknowledges
and confesses his part in the sin. We read in
verse 6, Behold, you desire truth and the innermost
being. And in the hidden part you will make me
know wisdom. Purify me with hyssop and I shall
be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than
snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness. Let the
bones which you have broken rejoice. Hide your
face from my sins and blot out 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 sustain me with a willing
spirit. David makes a petition for deep, inward
renewal in his life. He wants to experience joy
again, and he knows the only way that will happen
is if God, through his spirit, brings joy into
his life. We read in verse 13, Then I will teach
transgressors your ways, and sinners will be
converted to you. Deliver me from blood guiltiness,
O God, the God of my salvation. Then my tongue
will joyfully sing of your righteousness. David
dedicates himself to obedience and service to
this great God. There's also a progression in
this song. It would be foolish for David. to
cry out and request joy and to sing with righteousness
before he's made known and confessed his sin.
And he's appealed to God. He knows that joy only
comes after he's appealed to the mercy of God
and he rests in that mercy. After he has... confessed
his sin to this holy God. Verse 15, O Lord, open
my lips, that my mouth may declare your praise.
For you do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise
I would give it. You are not pleased with burnt
offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, O God,
you will not despise. Consider, the year of David's
sin. The ceremonial law did not cease, brothers
and sisters. His responsibilities and his duties
to the ceremonial law and as king did not cease.
He still did sacrifices, but it was only outward.
It was only external. There was no true heart
religion. David makes a commitment to true inward
heart religion, not mere outward and external
traditions. And he knows that that is what pleases
God Almighty. Finally, we see in verse 18, by
your favor, do good to Zion. Build the walls
of Jerusalem. Then you will delight in righteous
sacrifices and burnt offerings and whole burnt
offerings. Then the young bulls will be offered
on your altar. The king is crying out as a restored
man for the good of the people he's been lying
to for a year. He longs for God to bless. Jerusalem
and his people in spite of his wickedness. Brothers
and sisters, Psalm 51 is for you. Psalm 51 is
for me. Psalm 51 is for all of God's people,
for all of time. Ultimately, it's a picture.
Of man as a sinner. And God in his grace and
mercy. Receiving back that sinner. When he's
transgressed God's law. Do you need that? I need
that. Brothers and sisters. Do you need to understand
more about that? I do. I want to be restored
to fellowship with God. when I've sinned against
him, don't you? Don't you want to experience
and know joy when sin has stripped it of your
soul? That's why Psalm 51 is important. This
leads us lastly to David's help for us. David's
whole situation that we've examined today offers
a great deal of assistance for us. It offers
a great deal of help in thinking about Psalm
51. David helps us understand that even the best
of saints can sin grievously against God. Many
will say, well, he was an old covenant saint.
I'm a new covenant saint. He was in Old Testament
times. I'm in New Testament times. Brothers and
sisters, That's a misunderstanding regarding
the nature of sin. We learn from this that it's
not about the man. It's about the nature and
the danger of sin and its subtlety. It warns
us against being lax and casual. And letting
sin creep into our life and build and progress
and gradually grow and build. That's why this
monster overcame David because he didn't kill
it when it was a little baby. It grew and it
grew and it grew until it bit his head off. That's
what sin does. It's not about Old Testament,
New Testament. It's about the nature of sin and
the danger that it presents to the saints of
God in every single age. It warns us to be very
cautious of letting up on the gas pedal with
regards to holiness and godliness in our life.
It warns us against being lackadaisical regarding...
mortifying and killing sin. There is no cruise
control with godliness and holiness in this life.
It doesn't matter what your age is. It doesn't
matter what your occupation is. Sin doesn't care.
It is gunning for you. It warns us. Be very cautious
of it. Don't think lightly of wickedness. Don't
think lightly of sin and iniquity, even if it's
a little thing. It was evil in God's sight. That's
not just adultery, brothers and sisters. That's
lying. That's deceit. Bearing false witness.
That's discontentment. That's murder in your
heart. It's not worshiping God in the right way.
It's worshiping him in the incorrect way. It's
taking his name in vain. Wickedness is evil in
the sight of God. He sees it. He knows it. But
it also exhorts us and encourages us to keep
fanning the flames of love for God and love for
our fellow brothers and sisters, for our neighbors,
for all men. It encourages us to fan the flames
of pursuing God in his word. It encourages us
to seek the face of God through prayer regularly.
to examine ourselves, to examine our hearts.
It also helps us see our need for rebuke and
correction in this life. Some of you here are
probably thinking, Psalm 51. I'm not necessarily
super excited about it. primarily because I don't
feel bad about my sin a lot. I don't have a lot
of conviction regarding sin and transgression.
I think I do pretty good. Brothers and sisters,
if that's you, do you know why that's you? It's
because you have no godly sorrow. It's because
you haven't received rebuke. and correction in
your life, and your conscience is dull. It's
because your heart is more callous than you think.
It's because sin has a much deeper hold than
you actually know. Psalm 51 is for you. You need
to receive the rebuke of God, the correction
of God from His Word. And allow your conscience
to be stirred, your heart to be shaken, so that
you wake up to the reality of sin in your life,
and you sense it, and you feel it. Then you will
appeal to the mercy. Of the living God. You will
appeal. To the Lord Jesus Christ. And you will
rest in. His atonement. And his work. But receive.
The gracious. Rebuke of God. In your sin. We
need. To be. Rebuked. that we might experience
godly sorrow in our life and be driven to the
throne of grace. It's a good thing. It's a healthy
thing to receive it, to accept it, to embrace
it. It helps us understand our desperate need
for ongoing confession. and repentance in our
life. Primarily because of our natures. A large
portion of the Christian life ought to be confession
and repentance. Something we repeat over and
over and over. Why? Because we have remaining
sin that dwells within us. David says, Behold,
I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my
mother conceived me. It's natural to him to sin.
He's naturally inclined to it. He is a wellspring
of iniquity. We all are because of the sin within
us. Therefore, you need to confess sin. You need
to repent of sin regularly. As often as we proclaim
faith in Christ, we ought to be confessing sin
and repenting of it. If you ask the Lord to help
you see your sin in your life, He will be faithful
to you, brothers and sisters. He will open your
eyes to see your iniquity. He will open your
hearts to understand and know just how sinful
you are. It ought to be a significant part of
the Christian life. What depends on it? Our usefulness.
Our holiness. Our godliness. Our worship. Our
brothers and sisters depend on it. Our fellowship
with God who saved us and redeemed us depends
on it. Do you want to know and experience his
spirit in your life? Then don't live. and dwell
in unrepentant sin. Confess it. Bring it to God
and expose it to his presence. Abandon it and
leave it there. Forsake it and trust in Christ
and you will be restored. You will experience
joy. You will praise him for his righteousness
and recognize him for his goodness. We have this
idea that little sins just need sorrows. But
brothers and sisters, remember, the Lord sees
it all. He knows it all. Sorry is not confession
of sin. Sorry is not forsaking of sin. Sorry
is not repenting of sin. Confess. your wickedness,
your iniquity, your sin, your transgression to
God and trust in the merciful provision of Jesus
Christ. And you will be restored to sweet, intimate,
warm, loving fellowship. And you will enjoy,
brothers and sisters, the gracious influence
of the Spirit of God in your soul. His manifest
fruit in your life, the warmth and the light
of the love of God at work in your heart. And
you will experience an assurance where the Spirit
of God testifies with your spirit that you're
a child of God. Confess your sin. Repent of it.
David helps us understand the real danger of
sin. Sin in the moment, at the time, can be enjoyable.
We don't tell this to our children often, do
we? Sin can be fun. Sin can be pleasurable. There's
a reason people transgress the law of God. But
it's fleeting. It's partial. And it ultimately
brings turmoil to your heart. Turmoil to your
life. Turmoil to your relationships. Turmoil
to your family. Turmoil to your fellowship with
God. It may bring partial fulfillment, partial
comfort in the moment. But brothers and sisters,
the reach and the effect and the results of sin
are detrimental to the soul of the saint, are
detrimental to one's fellowship with God who
saved them through the precious work of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Sin is not a toy to be played with.
It's a monster to be killed. It's very dangerous.
It has long -term effects. And even if you're
restored to fellowship with God, that does not
mean you will be free of its consequences. We
forget that. Sin has consequences in this life.
David knew that. He lost his kingdom. He lost
his empire that God had trusted to him, that
God had given to him, his rule, his reign. His
family fell apart. Some of those were covenantal,
but it doesn't change the fact that sin has real
consequences and effects that the Christian can
still experience, even. When they're restored
to sweet, loving, warm fellowship with God. Ultimately,
David helps us understand the Lord's gracious
and continual reception of his people. As grievously
as David sinned. As wicked as he acted. The sacrifice
of Jesus Christ was sufficient to restore him.
And it always is. There is no sin. There is no
wickedness. There is no evil. There is no iniquity.
That the Christian can commit that the Lord will
not restore them back and they'll trust in the
Lord Jesus Christ. It's a story about, Psalm
51 teaches us, and it's important for not just
believers, but unbelievers as well. Because it
teaches us that everybody with true faith and
true repentance will be received by God. That
anybody with true faith and true repentance can
appeal to the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. Their
sins will be atoned for and they will enjoy sweet,
intimate, warm fellowship. with the living God
who redeemed them through the blood of Jesus
Christ.