Psalm 51, we'll be reading verses 18 and 19 this
morning. 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 young bulls will
be offered on your altar. As we continue to consider
Psalm 51, we've been making our way through David's
journey back to fellowship with God as a justified
man. David has been a backslidden saint. He spent
a great deal of time in sin. Willingly. And finally,
he was brought to the point of repentance through
the prophet Nathan. Here we come to the culminating
point, the final place where David is brought
back to fellowship with God. In verses 18 through
19. There's three things that I would like us
to consider this morning. in this text. We'll
begin with the first, David's renewed concern
for the people of God. Notice in verse 18, he
says, by your favor, do good to Zion. Then he
says in the second half of this, he says, build
the walls of Jerusalem. David's concern in verse
18 and in verse 19, his care, the priority of
David's heart in this verse is the covenant people
of God. It's Zion. It's Jerusalem. It's the people
of God whom God has covenanted with. Zion and
Jerusalem, their places and their terms that
can reference other things other than the people,
but the essential meaning of Zion and Jerusalem
is the people of God whom God has covenanted
with. David is concerned with the people of God
in this text. But what is the nature? of his
concern in verse 18. Well, it seems at first
that he simply appeared with national Israel
or the national people of God. That's obviously
why he says, build the walls of Jerusalem. And
in an appeal for God to build the walls, he's
saying, God... I'm interceding on behalf of the
people. I'm praying for the people that you would
protect them, that you would strengthen them,
and that you would preserve them by building
their walls. He's asking God to protect the people
of God from enemies. from dangers, from threats.
He's asking God to strengthen and fortify the
people of God that they might be strong in the
face of those enemies. And he's asking God to
preserve them, to continue to build the walls.
But it's not merely physical or national Israel
that David is concerned about. It's not just...
their national well -being that he's talking
about. He says, by your favor, by your grace,
do good to Zion. Then he parallels this doing
good with the building of the wall. So in some
way, God builds the walls of Jerusalem by, in
his grace, doing good to Jerusalem and doing
good to Zion. But we also see that this work
that David appeals to God for in verse 18 produces
righteous sacrifices in verse 19. It produces
true and right and acceptable worship. If he's
asking God merely to build the walls of physical
and natural and national Jerusalem, that does
not guarantee pure, holy. righteous, acceptable
worship. What David is interceding for, what
David is asking God for on behalf of the people
of God is something that produces faithful worship
unto God. He's asking God to do something in
the life of the people that brings about righteousness
and uprightness so that they're giving sacrifices
to God in truth and sincerity from faith. He's
saying that he wants God to do something more.
He wants God to treat them in another way. It's
not simply national Israel that he's concerned
about, but it's a spiritual well -being of the
people of God that David is concerned about.
Yes, he wants God to, according to his grace,
do good to the people of God. Yes, he wants God
to build the walls of Zion, to build the walls
of Jerusalem. But he wants God to protect the
people spiritually. He wants God to protect them
from dangers and threats in their hearts, in
their souls. He wants God to strengthen them
and fortify their souls so that they're strong
in the face of sin, so that they're strong in
the face of doubt, so that they're strong in
the face of enemies from the devil, from the
dangers outside of themselves, from their own
transgression, their own iniquity. David is concerned
about the spiritual well -being of the people
of God. He's concerned about the church of God.
That's what David's worried about, brothers and
sisters. This is only appropriate. That David
is concerned about the people of God and their
well -being, isn't it? After all, hasn't David
brought harm to the people of God through his
sin? Hasn't David disturbed and hurt? and brought
violence to the household of God? Isn't it only
appropriate that David be concerned for the people
he is king over? It is. But we have to remember
that David failed Israel. He sinned. He broke
his covenant with God. He failed the people of
God. King David failed Zion. King David failed
Jerusalem. He failed to protect them. He failed
to strengthen them. And he failed to preserve
them because he couldn't do it. But brothers
and sisters, we have to be reminded of something
in this text. In David's failure as king over
the people of God, we are pointed to our great
and mighty king. who never will fail us. The
Lord Jesus Christ has never done anything that
has brought harm to the people of God. The Lord
Jesus Christ always protects, always strengthens,
and always will preserve the people of God and
their souls and their salvation. Christ will
never fail us. His church. The Lord Jesus Christ.
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ. He will
not fail you. He is a great king. And he will
protect your soul from the devil. He will protect
your soul from hell. He will protect your soul
from sin. He is a good king that does not fail.
He only wins and he only succeeds and he only
does what he sets out to accomplish. So in David's
failure, we're reminded of Christ's great and
mighty success. And not only is our king, the
Lord Jesus Christ, the king, but he is the prophet,
the priest, and the king. And it's not just in
his work as king that he has succeeded, brothers
and sisters. It's in his work as a prophet and
as a priest that he always succeeds. He never
fails his people. If we think about Adam, he
was tested. He was tempted. He failed. If we
think about David, he was tested. He was tempted.
He what? Failed. If we think about the Lord Jesus
Christ, he was tested. He was tempted. Yet he
succeeded. And he always will succeed. That's
what we must be reminded of. He overcame on the
cross. He overcame in his life. He overcomes
as king. That is our king. And in David's failure,
we must always remember that. In some way, shape,
or form, we see that David's sin caused him to
neglect his kingly duties. His sin with Bathsheba
weakened and diminished his sense of obligation
to the people. But here, in this text, amazingly
enough, we see a renewal of that sense of duty
to the people of God. He's caring for God's people
again. He's thinking about them. He's interceding
for them. And he's actually seeking out their
good by praying for them. What's happened? What's
changed in David's heart and David's soul? It's
almost like he's forgotten about his sin and
his guilt. And he's concerned about the people
of God and God himself. This leads us to the
second thing we must see in this text. David's
renewed concern for God himself. Why does David
need his concern for the people of God and his
concern for God himself to be renewed? Well,
think about it. He was concerned for God himself.
And he was concerned for his people before his
sin. Before his sin, he was a faithful king.
He wasn't perfect. But before his sin, he did
have great concern for the people of God. And
he did care for God himself. He did have concern
for God and his glory and his worship. And then
in came his sin and his unwillingness to repent,
his selfishness, his transgression, his concealment
of his iniquity. And because of that, now we
find his desires and his affections need reoriented.
They need change because of the sin he has been
in. What's in David's forefront at this moment?
Well, what's been in David's, the forefront and
prominence of David's mind up to this point?
His guilt. His need for forgiveness. His shame
and his sorrow, his brokenness. His need for
purification, the absence, the conscious absence
of the Spirit of God in his life and his gracious
influence. These have been the things that have
dominated his conscious life, his mind, his heart.
Because sin was so prominent and took such a
prioritized place in his heart and his mind and
his life for so long. And when that happens,
everything else is pushed to the side or pushed
to the back. When sin and the object of sin are
given prominence, God in Christ, his commands,
his law, his requirements, they are pushed down
and they are pushed out, away. From us. So David
needs. To have his concern for God. Renewed.
Enlivened again. And here we see that it has
in fact. Been. Enlivened again. We see his concern
for God. Himself. In a few ways in this text.
First we see it in that it is God's. Work. That
he's appealing for. He's crying out that God
himself, by his favor, would do good to Zion.
He wants God's work in the life of God's people.
He's concerned that God would build the walls
of Jerusalem, that God would protect and strengthen
and preserve the people of God. The work of God
is prominent in his thinking, is prominent in
his heart at this moment in his prayer. It is
taking the lead. But it's not just the work of
God that's prominent and exalted in his mind
and his heart and his thoughts. But it's the
worship of God. We see this in verse 19. Then
you will delight in righteous sacrifices and
burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then
young bulls will be offered on your altar. He's
speaking of true. Faithful worship to God. And
David is concerned about this. Yes, he's concerned
about the people of God. But what is his great
concern? God himself. He wants the people of
God to give righteous sacrifices. But who are
those righteous sacrifices to be pleasing to?
God himself. He wants the people of God to offer.
Burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Who
is the smoke to ascend to, to be a pleasing aroma
to? God himself. He wants the people of God to
give sacrifices and worship to God as tokens
of their faith and true obedience. And who is
it that they would be believing in? God himself.
Who is it that they would be obedient? And whose
commands would they be in compliance with and
they'd be obedient to? God himself. Do you see
how David has a renewed concern for God and his
people in this text? God and his work, God and
his people has returned to the rightful place.
in David's heart, in David's mind, in David's
thinking. It's almost like he's been cleansed
of his corruption. It's almost like he's been
cleansed of the active pollution from his sin.
It's almost like the guilt has been washed away
from his conscience. It's almost like his sins.
have been forgiven. It's almost like he has in
fact been restored by God. This leads us to the
third thing in this text. David's restoration
that renewed these concerns. When we think about
this text, we look at it and we read it. We recognize
that it's a vastly different character. than
what came before it. We look at this text and
it almost seems totally out of place. I mean,
David's not praying that this will come about.
He's actually praying for the people of God now.
He's actually seeking their good by seeking the
face of God on their behalf. His longings and
his affections are set on the people of God and
on... God, why is he so different? What has changed
within him that now he's freely and in an unhindered
manner praying on behalf of the people of God,
wishing and desiring and longing good from God
to them? Well, he's praying differently because
he is different. He's praying like a restored
man. He's praying like a man who's in good and
right fellowship with God. So all of this time
we've been referencing David's restoration, David's
appeals, David's request, but what is restoration?
We've thrown brief definitions here and there,
but here we find that David is in fact restored,
I believe. Restoration is where God receives
the true repentance of the saint and restores
them back to good fellowship with himself. This
would include the forgiveness of sins. This would
include cleansing from corruption and pollution.
This would include... God's pardoning grace and
his purifying grace. This would include the restoration
of joy, the renewal of a steadfast spirit, the
return of a willing spirit. This would include
David's concern for the people of God and for
God himself. We have to conclude. From this text.
That his restoration results in a change in his
affections with regards to God and his people.
So we must look at this and we must examine David's
life. We must think this is a final fruit of
true repentance. But also, we must also recognize
that this is the ultimate result of restoration
with God. What would it be? That true repentance
leads to concern for God and others, particularly
his people. And that restoration always results
in love for God. and love for neighbor, particularly
the people of God. I want to offer a few applications
for this text. Just a few things for us to consider
as we think about restoration and think about
God's restoration of David upon David's true
and genuine repentance. Let me offer us a couple
of lessons with regards to the nature of sin.
And then let me offer us a couple of lessons
with regards to the nature of restoration. We
have to take away from this text that sin is
detrimental to others. That sin is not just harmful
to ourselves, but it's harmful. to other people
in our life. Yes, this was in a much larger extent
to David because he was king over the people
of God and he had a covenant with God with regards
to that. And then it affected and influenced
those underneath him. The sword would never leave
his household is what the Bible says. But the
same is true for us. When we sin, when you sin,
It's never in isolation from other people. It
always affects those closest to you. It always
affects those around you. And it always affects
the church of the living God. So you're not just
sinning yourself. It affects your wife. It affects
your husband. It affects your children negatively.
It strips you of your vital and godly influence
in their life. It strips you of your desire and
your longing to do good to them with the gospel
because of sin. It's detrimental to others. We
never sin without there being ripple effects
in the life of other people. When undealt with,
sin remains in our life. How does that affect
the people of God? What happens when you come
to the worship of God on the Lord's Day and you
have undealt with sin in your life? Do you worship
as you ought to? Do you fellowship as you ought
to? Do you edify and build up and encourage as
you ought to? No. It's detrimental to... Those
around you. It's selfish. That's what sin is.
It's being selfish. And it takes our eyes off
of others. It takes our eyes off of God himself.
Off of Christ and redemption. And it puts them
on us and our sin. Sin makes us more selfish
than we already are. It takes us down a dark,
dark rabbit hole. Sin is selfish, and it diminishes
our sense of duty to God and his people. Our
duty and our obligation to God and his church
remains even when we are in sin. However, when
we are in sin and we refuse to deal with sin
in our life, we have an unwillingness to fulfill
those obligations and those duties to God and
his people because the sin has stripped us. It's
diminished. It's decreased. It's taken away from
our desire, our sense of obligation and duty
to God. Have you ever experienced that in your
life, brothers and sisters? That when you refuse
to deal with your sin, you don't want to give
your duty and your service and your honor to
God and Christ. That's what it does. That's what
it did to David, and that's what it does to us.
It exalts all kinds of things into prominence
in your life. that ought not to be there. It
makes all kinds of things in this world to be
exalted and to be prominent and to take the forefront
of our mind, our heart, and our lives when God
and Christ and his word ought to be there. That's
what sin does. It exalts all kinds of things
right to the centerpiece of our lives. To such
an extent that we push everything out. Sin exalts
the world, the flesh, and the devil into a prominent
and a well -known place in our hearts. It takes
our priorities and it leads us all over the place,
all over the land, and it brings us to places
we don't want to go and we didn't want to be.
Sin exalts even good things to the place where
they shouldn't be. It exalts family members.
It exalts loved ones. It exalts children. It
exalts the world. It exalts the culture. It exalts
all kinds of activities and entertainment. Everything.
It can take anything and morph it and shape it
and place it right square in the middle of your
life and make you worship it. That's what sin
does. It exalts and gives prominence to all kinds
of things that ought not take priority in your
life. To where you take your affections and your
heart and your desires and your longings and
they're set squarely on that object. That's what
sin does. It dries up our love for others. That's
what sin does. It causes us to love ourselves
or something else, all the while we forget to
love our neighbor. We forget to love God. Because
our affections are tied up, with this thing we've
exalted and placed prominence on. We don't love
our fellow man and we don't love the church of
God when we are not dealing with sin in our lives.
It dries up our love for our wives, our children,
our husbands, our neighbors. our church, our
father, our mother. It makes us think about ourselves
and our sin to the extent that we don't love
others as we ought to. Brothers and sisters,
sin does all of these things. It's dangerous.
It's not to be held on to. It's not to be played
with. It's not something that you coddle and
you keep up with, that you just push to the side.
Sin is something that we repent of, and then
we ask for the forgiveness of our sins. Sin is
something we confess to God as unrighteous and
wicked, as deceitful. It's something we bring
to God as iniquity and evil, and we cry out to
Him, Father, forgive me for my sin. Sin does
all of these things in our hearts, and we let
it. We allow it to do these things. But thank
God it doesn't stop there. We can be restored
by God through Jesus Christ. Let me offer us
a few lessons or thoughts on the nature of restoration.
Restoration is always available and always effective
for those who will repent of their sin. As I've
said in previous messages on this text, God is
willing and ready to forgive you and me of my
sins if we'll just go to him and forsake our
sin. It's always there and it's always effective
in our life. He will forgive your sins. He will
cleanse your conscience of guilt. He will purge
you of your iniquity, your pollution, your corruption.
He will take away your shame and your sorrow.
He will pardon your sins if you'll go to him
and confess them. If you'll go to him and ask
him to forgive you. He's always willing. He's
always ready. Nothing's keeping him back except
the absence of true and genuine repentance, which
comes from us, brothers and sisters. It's always
there, it's always available, and it's always
effective. And when we truly repent, restoration
is always effective in our lives as well. Meaning
God always brings us back into fellowship with
him because of the Lord Jesus Christ, because
of our faith in him, because of a sacrifice.
And when we are restored because of Christ. Just
as our sin was detrimental to the people of God
and detrimental to those around us, our restoration
results in positive influence and impact through
vital godliness and holiness in the lives of
those around us once again. So it's not just,
brothers and sisters, that our sin affects people
around us, but your return to God affects those
around you as well. Impact on your family. Your
holiness and your godliness actually impacts
the people around you. When the Spirit of God
is graciously influencing you and working in
your heart, that impacts people. That affects
people in your life. So don't just turn from
your sin and be restored for yourself, but turn
from your sin and be restored with God and in
good fellowship with Him. For the sake of your
family. For the sake of those around you. For
the sake of your church. For the sake of God.
For his glory and his worship and his goodness
and his honor. You are keeping back your vital
godliness and your holy influence in the lives
of people because you won't give up your sin.
Because I won't give up my sin. So our... affects
those around us as well, just like our sin did.
Sin leads us. Restoration leads us beyond ourselves.
Where does it lead us? It leads us not to selfishness,
but being restored with God because of Christ
and his glorious sacrifice, actually leads us
to be unselfish. It leads us to sacrificial love.
It leads us to self -denial in loving others.
It doesn't take, it doesn't take away from people.
It doesn't get consumed with itself. It places
God in the place he ought to be. And then we
love others as we ought to because we're restored
through Jesus Christ and in good fellowship with
God. It leads us beyond ourselves to God and
his people. Now, The restored man, the restored
woman, the restored young person can rightly
edify, encourage, exhort, and worship God because
they're free from the hindrance of sin and corruption
and pollution and guilt in their life. You can
come to worship on the Lord's Day and you can
love those people you're sitting next to as you
ought to. That's the glorious reality associated
with restoration, and it's always available.
God will always restore you. He will always cleanse
your corruption, your conscience of guilt. It
will go to him. It leads us beyond ourselves,
and it leads us to impact others. It strengthens
our duty. to God and his church. Just as David's
sin weakened and diminished his kingly duties
and obligation to care for the people of God,
what did David's restoration produce and do with
regards to his kingly duties and his obligation
to God? It strengthened it. So if you want...
To be more obedient and more faithful to God
and the church. As a member of his kingdom and
unto him. What does that mean? It means asking
for the forgiveness of your sins and being restored.
That your sense of duty to the people of God
and to God himself. can be strengthened and edified
and built up by the Spirit of God at work in
our lives. Most importantly, I think, in all
of these, restoration results in giving Christ
in redemption, God himself, that place of prominence.
and exaltation in our thinking, in our heart,
and in our lives. It leads us to push other things
to the wayside, other things out, other things
down, and where does Christ and redemption go
with regards to our heart? Right smack in the
middle. That's what repentance brings in our
life. That's what... Restoration results in giving
Christ the rightful place in our hearts and in
our lives. To where our thoughts circulate around
him. To where our lives are involved with God
and Christ in everything we do. We see the people
of God, but it's always in light of God himself.
We see our activities and we see our job and
we see our work and we see our focus for the
day, but it's always with a view to our greater
concern, which is Jesus Christ. He's not diminished
or weakened or set aside. He's exalted and lifted
up because of restoration through Jesus Christ.
That's the reality. And just as sin dries up
our love, For our fellow man, restoration leads
us to care for the souls of others. If we think
about David, think about what he has experienced
in his restoration. And this glorious path back
to fellowship with God in repentance. He has
experienced the grace of God at work in his soul.
He has experienced the forgiveness of sins. He's
experienced pardoning grace and he's experienced
purifying grace. Now somebody who's experienced
the grace of God to such a degree, to somebody
who God has been so gracious and so merciful
and so compassionate and so kind to, how can
that person not want others to experience that
same? To know that same God who is so gracious
and so kind and so merciful. Restoration leads
us to love other people so that we're concerned
for their soul. Being right with God with regards
to fellowship leads us to wanting others. to
know God as we know him. We want them to be in
possession of the experiential religion in our
own heart, in their hearts, that we have in our
hearts. We want them to experience his work in
their life as we have. Really, somebody who's
been truly repentant and truly restored. They
can't help but be concerned for others because
of the grace that they themselves have been shown
through Jesus Christ. So we've seen that David
has a renewed concern for the people of God.
We've seen that David has a renewed concern for
God himself. And we see why. We see the basis
for this. the fact that he's been restored to
fellowship with God. The same can be true for
all of us. The same is true for those who turn
from their sin, trust in Christ, and look to
him for life.