Be gracious to me, O God, according to your loving
kindness, according to the greatness of your
compassion, blot out my transgressions, wash
me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me
from my sin. As we continue to look at Psalm
chapter 51. Just a brief reminder regarding the
context and the setting of it. David sinned with
Bathsheba. He sought to conceal that sin for
over a year or near a year at least. And at the
end of that time, God graciously sends the prophet
Nathan to... This fallen king. This backslidden
man who loved the Lord so dearly. Who had sunken
so low into sin. The Lord graciously sends Nathan
the prophet and he tells a parable. And the story
of a rich man, the poor man, a ewe lamb. And
at the end of it, David is furious. He's enraged
by what the rich man does to the poor man and
taking the ewe lamb and killing it for his own
selfish purposes. And then at the end of that,
Nathan the prophet points his finger at David
and says, you're the man. Immediately, godly
sorrow sinks in. Immediately grief and brokenness
comes upon this man. And he says, I have sinned
against the Lord. It's at this point, it's at
this place, somewhere in this time frame that
David pens Psalm 51. It's a record of his restoration
with... sweet fellowship with the Lord. It's
a record of him returning to the Lord. It's a
record of him coming back to the Lord after concealing
his sin for so long and willfully and voluntarily
sinning against his God. So as we continue this,
we're going to look at five things in particular
in verses one through two. We're going to see
the place that David goes to make his plea. We're
going to see his understanding of his sin or
his view regarding his sin. We're going to see
David's confidence. We're going to see David's
plea that he makes with God, his petition, his
appeal that he actually makes to God. And we're
going to see David's prioritization of this plea.
meaning the priority he places on the plea for
the forgiveness of sins with God in the place
of his restoration with the Lord. Following this,
we'll make several applications to our own lives
today that we draw from this text and sex position.
Beginning with David's place of plea, we see
whenever David sinned, In 2 Samuel, whenever
he sinned, we see that, and he was found out
that Bathsheba was pregnant. He did not immediately
go to the Lord, but he resorts to the arm of
the flesh. He sins for his general. He seeks
to control and to manipulate the situation, to
exercise authority, which he had. To conceal
it, to hide it, to keep it, to cover it. But
finally we find, after godly sorrow sets in,
that he goes to the place where he ought to have
gone in the first place. That he finally goes
to the place where he should have gone immediately.
He goes to the Lord himself. Be gracious to me,
O God. He goes to God in prayer following the
realization of his sin. We find in Psalm chapter
32, which is another account of his sin. We see
David saying, therefore, let everyone who is
godly pray to you in a time when you may be found.
Surely in a flood of great waters, they will
not reach him. And listen to this, brothers and
sisters. You are my hiding place. You preserve
me from trouble. You surround me with songs of
deliverance. In Psalm 25, David says, To you,
O Lord, I lift up my soul. The Lord is the place
where David goes to make his plea. The Lord is
the place that David goes to find relief from
his sorrow. There's so many times and there's
so many temptations that when a person sins against
God, what's the temptation? To go somewhere else
other than God himself. The temptation is to
go to men. The temptation is to go to another
sin. The temptation is to do something to get
my mind off of it. The temptation is to move
on. But that's not what David does here. He cries
out to God. He goes to the throne of grace. And
he pleads. With the Lord of glory, who is merciful
and compassionate, he comes to his throne in
prayer. Secondly, we see that David's understanding
of his sin as he comes to God. When David comes
to God, he's not coming with an attitude of privilege.
When David comes to God, He's not coming to God
in a manner that says, I deserve forgiveness.
No, David is coming to the Lord with an attitude
of brokenness, an attitude that he doesn't deserve.
He says, be gracious to me, God. The first thing
he says is, be gracious to me. He knows he doesn't
deserve any good thing from God. He knows he
doesn't deserve to be treated. as though he's
wanting. He needs grace. He needs mercy. He knows
because of the full weight of his sin in his
life that he doesn't deserve anything from God.
It's because he knows the multifaceted character
of his sin. In this text, we see that he uses
the word transgressions. He says, wash me thoroughly
of my iniquity. We see that he says, cleanse
me from my sin. Transgressions, iniquity, and
sin. David recognizes, brothers and sisters,
that his sin is not just one -sided. That it
wasn't just one thing that offended God. It wasn't
just one thing that was evil in the sight of
God. He also says the singular and the plural.
Meaning my sins, my transgressions, my iniquity,
singular. So whenever he says transgressions,
he's talking about the volitional and willful
outward rebellion against God. When he says iniquities,
he's referring to the perverting or the twisting
of that which is good and that God has given
him. When he says sins, he's talking about the
reality that he has erred so far from the mark
of his life that his aim ought to be for God
and his law. But he's fallen short of it. He's
sorely missed the mark. He recognizes. That he
is a desperate sinner coming to God. And notice
the depth of his sin. Whenever he says, wash
me, he doesn't say, wash me of my iniquity. He
says, wash me thoroughly of my iniquity. Why
is that? Because he recognizes the depth. By
which sin has penetrated his person. He recognizes
that sin is deep in him. That he is stained with
it. That he is marred deep in his soul with this
evil. The depth of sin goes to the inner core
and inner fibers of our being, brothers and sisters.
It's not just outward acts. It's not just the
twisting and the perversion of good things that
God has given us. It's not just missing the mark,
but sin has to do with the fact that we have
a sinful nature that springs forth out of us.
We are depraved. We are sinners by nature, by
birth. So there's a wellspring of iniquity from
our very person. And David recognizes this. He
recognizes the invasive nature of his sin within
him. Now, what about its severity? How severe
was David's sin? David's sin was utterly severe.
This is why he says, according to the greatness
of your compassion. He knows the depth of his
depravity. He knows the depth of his iniquity.
He knows the depth of his sin. And he knows that
only the great compassion of God is adequate
and abundant enough to forgive him of his sins.
His sin runs deep. And his sin is severe. But
brothers and sisters, in the severity of his
sin, in the depth of his sin, in the grievous
nature of his sin, it gives every one of us hope
who know the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know why?
Because if God allows David to be received by
his grace and God forgives him of his sins and
the grievous sin which he brings to his throne,
then he'll forgive you and I of our sins. No
matter the size, no matter the severity, no matter
the amount. If you go to him in prayer and you
go to his throne and you appeal to his grace
and his mercy and compassion, you will be forgiven.
There's hope for all of us because we know there
was hope for David. We know that David did not
despair, so we mustn't despair. There's hope,
there's confidence to be had. Now, what about
the effects of this sin, of these sins in David's
life? What did it do to him? What were the effects
of his sin, of his iniquity, of his transgression
on his own life? Well, what does he say? He needs
washed. Why does he need washed? Because he's
impure, he's unholy, he's dirty. He needs cleansed.
Why? Because he's unclean in the sight of God.
Sin has ruinous effects in our soul. Sin brings
about the sense and the reality of impurity and
unholiness and uncleanliness in our life. It
brings about the inner reality of those realities
which the Mosaic law proclaimed outwardly in
symbols of being unclean, of being leprous, of
being dirty and unholy and unconsecrated and
unsanctified. That's what sin brings about in
our lives. And David knows it from firsthand
experience. He wallowed in it for a year. He
wallowed in his wickedness for a whole year,
and now he's reaping the effects of that sin
in his soul. The effects of sin are that it will
make us unclean in our inner man. impure and
unholy, it will bring us to a place where we
have this weight and burden in our very souls.
And Lord willing, it will drive us to the throne
of grace to seek for mercy. Now one might be
tempted under such weight of sin to throw off
responsibility. To avoid it. To say, I'm not,
I don't have any part in this. What about Bathsheba?
She was bathing in the open. She didn't have
to do that. I didn't need to see her. David says
three times, my sin. My sin. My sin. Do you know
why? Because he is recognizing and acknowledging
his fault in the matter. He is taking absolute
responsibility for his own actions at the throne
of God. True repentance. True repentance always
involves taking. full responsibility for your
own sins. Every single time. If you are unwilling
to recognize your iniquities, if you are unwilling
to recognize your transgressions, if you are
unwilling to own up to your own sin in the matter,
then brothers and sisters, it is not true repentance.
David does own up. To his own sin, he takes responsibility
for it. And sin's ultimate error is not that
we sin against ourselves. And sin's ultimate
error is not that we sin against our brothers.
Sin's ultimate error is that it is an offense
against a thrice holy God. That it is an affront
to God himself. And that when we sin, we sin
in his sight. And we perform that evil in his
sight. David knows that. That's why he comes
to God in prayer. And what does he do with the
sins? What's he doing? He's bringing them to
the throne, isn't he? He's bringing his transgression.
He's bringing his iniquity. He's bringing his
sin where? To the throne. He is exposing his
wickedness to the holy presence of God. Now,
when a man or a woman exposes their wickedness
to a holy God, do you know what they want to
do? They want to get rid of the holiness. They
want to get rid of the wickedness, I'm sorry.
Because it will crush them. He brings his sins
to God's throne in order that he might forsake
them there, in order that he might abandon them
there and be restored with this God who's so
good and be restored with this God who is so
faithful. He deals with his sin by bringing them
to God's throne and allowing God to deal with
them. It's hard and difficult, brothers and sisters,
to take responsibility for our actions at times.
It's hard and it's difficult to own up to our
sins against a holy God. It's a difficult thing
to fight and battle against sin for all our days
on this earth. But brothers and sisters, cast
them at his feet because he cares for you. Bring
them to the throne that you might be renewed
in his grace. Bring them to his throne that you
might know holiness and godliness again, that
you might experience joy and hope and confidence
and assurance in your faith. Restoration with
the Lord, restoration to a sweet, unbroken fellowship
begins with us dealing with our sins before God
in prayer. We must begin there. We must take
them to the throne. Thirdly, we see David's plea
with God. He asks initially three things of God.
Three things which we've already seen in this
text. He says, blot out my transgressions. When
David appeals to the grace of God, the mercy
of God, the compassion of God, that he would
blot out his transgressions, he's saying, Lord,
forgive me of my sins. Pardon me of my sins.
We see throughout Scripture that God blots out
many things. Remember in the book of Genesis,
when the great flood came, what did God do and
what did God determine to do to humanity? To
blot them out. David cries that his sins would
be wiped, That God would remove them from his
eternal record book. Turn with me to Numbers
chapter 5. This term is used in Numbers 5. Interesting
enough, it's with regards to the adultery test
for faithful or unfaithful women. We read in
Numbers chapter 5. Then the priest shall bring
her near and have her stand before the Lord.
And the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware
vessel. Now he shall take some of the dust that
is in the floor of the tabernacle and put it
into the water. The priest shall then have the
woman stand before the Lord and let the hair
of the woman's head go loose and place the grain
offering of immoral in her hands. which is the
grain offering of jealousy and in the hand of
the priest, is to be the water of bitterness
that brings a curse. A curse. Then we jump down
to verse 21. Then the priest shall have the woman
swear with the oath of the curse, and the priest
shall say to the woman, The Lord make you a curse
and an oath among your people by the Lord's making
your thigh waste away and your abdomen swell.
Then in verse 23, listen to these words, brothers
and sisters. The priest shall then write these
curses on a scroll, and he shall wash them off
in the water of bitterness. He shall blot them
out. He shall forgive them. He shall erase them.
What is David crying out for? What is David crying
to God for? That he would remove the curse from
his life. That he would remove judgment from
him, even though there's bitterness in his soul.
God, remove the curse that I might be proclaimed
clean and innocent. Then we see in Isaiah chapter
44. Verses 22 through 23. I have wiped out your
transgressions. Listen to this. Like a thick
cloud. And your sins like a heavy mist. Return
to me for I have redeemed you. Shout for joy,
O heavens, for the Lord has done it. Shout joyfully,
you lower parts of the earth. Break forth into
a shout of joy, you mountains, O forest, and
every tree in it for the Lord. has redeemed Jacob
and Israel. He shows forth his glory. Forgiveness
leads to return and joy. But first, the Lord
must wipe away your sins. The Lord must blot
out your iniquities. David cries to God. That
he would not remember his sin. That he would
not hold it against him. Then we see that David
pleased with God that he would wash him thoroughly
of his iniquities. This word goes back to the
book of Numbers and the book of Leviticus. And
it has to do with someone becoming impure and
unholy and unclean. as a result of their garments
and their clothing becoming contaminated. And
what was required for them to be declared clean,
for them to be made right, for them to enter
into the camp again? They had to be washed. Their
garments, their clothing, what they wore had
to be cleansed. It had to be washed in order
for them to return to the camp and to be declared
in good standing. for them to be in the presence
of God and to be in the midst of God's people.
David cries out that God would wash him thoroughly
of his iniquities. We also see that he cries
out and he appeals to God that he would cleanse
him from his sin. This word is used in the holiness
code, which is in Leviticus chapters 11 through
14. And it is a direct reference to leprosy.
And the impurity and the uncleanness that comes
with leprosy. The ostracization. The separation,
the isolation that comes from leprosy. Do you
know what happened to a person who was said to
have leprosy? With regards to the Levitical law?
Because of their impurity, their uncleanness?
and the danger they presented to the rest of
the nation, they were quarantined. They were
removed from the people. They were isolated.
And do you know what they needed in order to
be returned to the camp, in order to be returned
to God and His presence? They needed to be cleansed.
They needed to be declared clean and holy. In
the sight of God. Do you, brothers and sisters,
see how David is crying out that God would restore
him? That God would cause him to return? That
God would give him his presence back? He's using
terms and elements and categories and ideas from
the Mosaic Law. He's blotting out, washing, cleaning.
He's using these Old Testament, Mosaic terms,
which he was so intimately knowledgeable of,
which he knew so much about. But brothers and
sisters, he's not looking to those things for
the forgiveness of sins. He's not looking to
those things for washing. He's not looking to
those things for cleanses, is he? He's not trusting
in the ceremonial rites and rituals of the Mosaic
law for the forgiveness of sins. He knows that
if he's washed with water, it only washes his
skin. It won't touch his soul. It won't touch
his inner man. It won't deal with the issues.
Who is he looking to? For his sins to be forgiven.
Who is he looking to? To make provision for the
forgiveness of sins. Who is he looking to? To
be washed by. Who does he long to have cleanse
him? God himself. He's looking to the Lord for
these gospel realities. We learn something about
the Mosaic Law in this text. we learn that what
the ceremonial rites and rituals of the Mosaic
law proclaimed outwardly and symbolically, externally,
they were proclaiming certain realities associated
with the gospel. But they were inadequate and
insufficient and incapable of providing the substance
and the reality they were proclaiming. So David's
looking. for the substance and the reality. So
who is David looking to? What is David looking
to? He's looking to a greater sacrifice than
the ceremonial law could provide. He's looking
for a redemption that comes from God and not
from the ceremonial rites and rituals. He's looking
to the Messiah. He's looking to Christ and his
merciful work. He's looking to the cross, brothers
and sisters. for atonement and for the forgiveness
of sins. David's great concern is not his relation
to God. David's great concern is how God treats
him. David's great concern is how God sees him.
David's great concern is whether or not God receives
him or not. David's great concern is God's disposition
toward him. This is the essence of Christianity
to a degree. The ultimate question is not how
I relate to God. What I do with God. The ultimate
question is not how I respond to God, how I receive
or reject God. But brothers and sisters, friends,
the ultimate question is, does God receive you?
How does God view you? How does God treat you
and your sins? David knows. that his sins will
be forgiven. Do you know with confidence that
your sins are forgiven in the person and the
work of Jesus Christ? Do you know without a shadow
of a doubt that you are a child of the living
God? Do you know without a shadow of a doubt
that when you die, your soul will go to the throne
of God? Do you know without a shadow of a doubt
that you are in union with Jesus Christ by faith
and repentance? David did. He had faith. He was
not despairing. Do you know with certainty that
Jesus Christ is your Lord and your Savior? Has
God... graciously received you through Christ.
Has God forgiven your sins? That's the question
you need to consider. Not whether or not you
need to receive God or receive Christ. You need
to wonder, has God received me through Christ?
David knew and he understood. He was looking
to the Lord himself for these gospel realities.
And he knew that God would make provision for
the forgiveness of sins that he had. But he comes
to the throne and he knows and he has confidence,
but how does he have confidence? How does David
have hope when he comes to the throne for the
forgiveness of sins? How is it possible? That
David's sins are forgiven. Is it David? Is it
because David is king and he's been a godly man
for many years and he just fell off for a year
and he had a bad year? That's not it. That's
not where he finds his hope. We find, fourthly,
David's confidence concerning the forgiveness
of sins. David's singular hope and confidence
in the forgiveness of sins is the character of
God himself. According to the greatness of your
compassion, blot out my transgressions. According
to your loving kindness, his confidence, his
hope. was not in himself or his sin. His confidence
and his hope and the provision of forgiveness
of sins was the very character of God. The good
and faithful, compassionate and merciful character
of God. David knew Exodus 34. When Moses goes
to the mountain, then the Lord passed by in front
of him and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord God,
compassionate, and gracious, slow to anger, and
abounding in loving kindness and truth, who keeps
loving kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity,
transgressions, and sin. Yet he will by no means
leave the guilty unpunished. David knew the good
character of God. And he knew that God would
act in accordance with him. his character, and
because he believed it and because he trusted
it, then God would indeed forgive his sins. He
knew that God was a God of redemption. He knew
that God provided redemptive means for him to
be restored. And that's why he looked to the
Lord. That's why he looks to his mercy and his
compassion, and he doesn't look to the ceremonial
law or himself. He was looking to the great sacrifice
of Christ to come, the fulfillment of the law.
He was looking to the substance of what the law
proclaimed, and he knew it was there and there
alone, that he had hope. It was there and there
alone that he would find forgiveness of sins.
And he knew that he could come back to that place.
That he could find confidence and hope in that.
Where else, brothers and sisters, can you go
in this world to rid yourself of shame, sorrow,
grief, and mourning? Where can you go in this
world, in this life, to have your guilt removed?
Brothers and sisters, there's a lot of places
you can go to mask it, to put a band -aid over
it. There's a lot of places you can go to cover
it up and hide it. But you must go to God in
His great compassion and His mercy in Christ
Jesus if it is to be removed, if it is to be
taken, if you are to find relief from your sin.
Lastly, we see David's priority in all of this.
This is the very beginning of Psalm 51. The first
two verses. And the very first thing that David
does is he pleads for the forgiveness of sins.
He knows the importance of it. And he knows that
all restoration and renewal in his own life must
be built on the forgiveness of sins. It must
be built on the provision of God for the redemption.
Of sinners. So he places a high priority on it.
That's the first thing he does. Grace is the
first thing he looks to. God's compassion. Is
the initial thing he cries out for. Because he
knows. He must start there. If he is to build
upwards. Or if he is to be built upwards. If
he is to grow. If he is to return. It must be
built on the forgiveness of sins. So we've seen
that David comes to God in prayer. We've seen
that he goes to God himself. He understands and
he views his sin in a very serious way, with
a serious view of it. And we see that he pleads
with God that he would forgive his sins, that
he would wash him, that he would cleanse him.
We see that David has great confidence because
of the compassionate and merciful character of
God. In this plea, he places great priority because
he knows that renewal and restoration are built
on it. Knowing these things, let's apply this
briefly to our lives. Knowing that this is where
David starts, with restoration to fellowship
and communion with God. We must recognize that
it begins with going to God in prayer. Brothers
and sisters, there's a lot of things in Christianity
that have fallen to the wayside, and one of them
is prayer. There's a lot of things that we can
overlook. But we mustn't let prayer be one of
those things. If we are to be forgiven, if we
are to find relief from our sorrow, our shame,
our difficulties in life, it must be through
prayer at the throne of God. Many people... remain
in their sin because they won't take time to
pray. They won't take time to go to the throne.
They won't take time to cry out and plead with
God. Brothers and sisters, you can go to His
throne regardless of where you're at or what
you're doing. But you must pray. It's not in
our thoughts. That we're forgiven. It's not in
our considerations that bounce around in our
head. It's in prayer. It's going to the throne
of grace to be forgiven. So it starts with going
to God in prayer, but it continues by recognizing
and taking responsibility for our sins. We must
be willing to take a good, hard look at ourselves,
our own actions, our longings, our desires, our
wants, if we are to be restored after we have
sinned. We must be willing to accept responsibility.
for our own willing participation in our iniquity,
in our sin. It's hard. But if you're going to
constantly cast off the chains of your own actions,
don't expect to have a great deal of joy in your
life. If you're constantly unwilling to take
responsibility for your sin and your breaking
of God's law, don't expect a lot of... a lot
of the Spirit's presence in your life. Because
you're choosing sin over grace. We must be willing
to take a hard look at our own souls to recognize
our sin and take ownership of it. and not try
to get around it or to get out from under it,
but to own it and bring it to the throne and
leave it there and forsake it and expose it to
God's holy presence. True repentance for our
sin always involves taking responsibility for
our sins. Everything else is false repentance.
If you won't own up to your sin, that's not true
repentance. And don't expect restoration. If
you're going to hold on to that sin with a white
knuckled grip, it continues by asking for forgiveness.
It's easy. To get in the habit of saying sorry.
I have to say that a lot to my wife. And I'm
being sincere and genuine. I really do. But,
you know, a lot of times you can say it, and
it's kind of empty. There's not really any substance
there. It's just words that are hollow. It's
not meaningful. The words are present. but the
intent, the meaning, and the substance of what
you're saying are absent. God has so designed
it that we are forgiven, we are justified in
Christ when we come to Christ in faith, when
we repent of our sins, but he has so designed
it because we have a remnant of sin within us
that that forgiveness, that justification needs
to constantly be appropriated to our own souls.
Brothers and sisters, God has graciously worked
in our lives. He has graciously given us His
Spirit. He has graciously caused us to be born
again to a living hope. But if we continue to
pile up those graces, if we continue to pile
up sin on top of them, on top of them, over them,
covering them with unrepentant sin, they're still
there. But they're not going to be sensed. Felt,
experienced, or they're not even going to be
experiencing our soul. They're still there. But
we've covered them up with this pile of iniquity
because we don't ask for forgiveness of our sins.
It's as though asking for forgiveness regularly
is what removes that pile of sin, that pile of
iniquity. To keep those graces exposed to our
souls. To keep those merciful works of God through
the Spirit of Christ active in our life and felt
and sensed within our souls. Don't go long without
asking for forgiveness. We must ask. Jesus himself
taught us this as we saw in the catechism. Finally,
restoration begins with resting in the sacrifice
of Christ. We see David seeking out these gospel
realities. We see David seeking out the sacrifice
of Christ and is crying to God for mercy and
compassion and is trusting God himself for the
forgiveness of sins. And brothers and sisters,
if we are to be restored with the living God
in fellowship and communion with him, we must
rest on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
why David didn't despair. That's why he didn't
give up hope. The story in Zechariah of the high
priest Joshua. You remember that Joshua is standing
before God and Satan, the accuser, is standing
next to him making accusations. Why? Because
his clothes are all dirty. His clothes are filthy.
And the angel of the Lord says, well, is this
not a firebrand that's swept out of the fire?
Meaning he's rescued from the ash and the dust.
Of course he's going to be dirty. Of course he's
going to be filthy because there's remnants of
the ash, the dust, the fire on him. And then
the Lord provides a new turban and new garments
for him. Brothers and sisters, we must constantly
go to the throne of God. Lay hold of Christ's
sacrifice. Lay hold of his life, his death, his
resurrection. Lay hold of the atonement. If we
are to be restored. True repentance always involves
laying hold of Christ by faith. It's not just
recognizing our sin. It's not just taking responsibility
for our sin, our transgression, our iniquity.
It's looking to Jesus Christ and trusting in
him for our salvation again. It's looking to
him for our hope. The difference between the
devil's accusations and godly sorrow in our lives
is that the devil's accusations lead to hopelessness
and despair, but godly sorrow. And conviction
of sin. Leads. To restoration. And renewal. It
leads us back to Christ. So look to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Run back to him. Over and over
and over. Continually by faith. Laying hold of
his word. This is what true. Repentance is.