Psalm 51: Repentance Before the Lord
1.
Description and Prescription
a.
Description of David’s repentance
b.
Prescription of how we should repent
i. Show
us what repentance looks and sounds like
ii. Psalm
51 is not everything to be said about repentance—we need the full Bible for
this!
2.
Why we need Psalm 51—the pervasive reality of
sin in our lives means we will need to repent often!
“When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ he
willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” – Martin
Luther, the first of the 95 Theses
3.
Historical context leading up to Psalm 51 in the
life of David
a.
2 Samuel 11 narrates the sins of David for which
he repents in Psalm 51
i. Adultery
with Bathsheba
ii. Murder
of Uriah the Hittite
iii. Deceitful
cover-up
iv. “But
the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord.” 2 Samuel
11.27
b.
2 Samuel 12 narrates Nathan coming to David to
expose and rebuke the sin
i. There
is the threat of judgment
ii. David
responds, “I have sinned against the Lord.” 2 Samuel 12.13
iii. Nathan
responds: “The Lord also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have
given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is
born to you shall surely die.” 2 Samuel 12.13-14
4.
Structural division: the reality of repentance and the results
of repentance
|
Verses 1-12
|
Verses 13-19
|
|
Reality of Repentance
|
Results of Repentance
|
5.
Watch where David begins in Psalm 51—the
character of God (verse 1)
a.
David appeals to the character of God—his
lovingkindness and compassion.
b.
If God is not this way—full of lovingkindness
and compassionate—all is lost (see Psalm 130.3-4
c.
Foundational pieces of God’s character revealed
to Moses in Exodus 34.6-7[1]
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 lovingkindness
and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for
thousands, who forgives iniquity,
transgression and sin; yet he will by no
means leave the guilty unpunished,
visiting the iniquity of fathers on the
children and on the grandchildren
to the third and fourth generations.”
d.
Trusting in God’s gracious character allows
David to plead for God’s pardon.
6.
Key elements of repentance:
a.
Repentance longs for pardon.
b.
Repentance longs for a new heart and steadfast
obedience.
c.
Repentance longs for the presence of God.
7.
Repentance longs for pardon. (Verses 2-9)
a.
Pardon: the desire to be cleansed from the sin
and to have it taken away (vv. 2, 7, 9)
b.
Sin does not sit well in the heart of the child
of God!
c.
Repentance longs for pardon because it…
i. Recognizes
the reality of sin and guilt (vv.
3-4)—true moral guilt; not merely guilty feelings
ii. Recognizes
the radical pervasiveness of sin
1.
In birth (v. 5)—sinning from the beginning; not
an excuse for sin
2.
In all of me (v. 6)
d.
Longing for pardon also includes the desire to
be relieved from sin’s consequences
(v. 8)
i. Sin
is antithetical to joy and gladness
ii. Sin
can produce physical reactions and sickness (Psalms 32.1-5; 38.1-8; James
5.14-15; 1 Corinthians 11.30)[2]
e.
Repentance longs for pardon—to be out of the
realm of sin
i. Sin’s
guilt
ii. Sin’s
consequences
8.
Repentance longs for a new heart and steadfast
obedience. (Verse 10)
a.
Repentance is not only a desire to get away from
that which is wrong but also a desire to pursue that which is right.
b.
The call to live a life consistent with
repentance
Therefore bear fruit in keeping with
repentance.
John the Baptist (Matthew 3.8)
declaring “to the Gentiles, that they should
repent and turn to God
performing deeds appropriate to repentance.”
Apostle Paul (Acts 26.20)
c.
This longing desire for a new heart and
steadfast spirit is one antidote against pseudo-repentance.
i. Some
people are not interested in getting rid of guilt—just guilty feelings. They will engage in ritualistic motions
(whether corporately or individually) to get rid of guilt feelings. They like the mechanism by which they
can be self-served to ease their conscience. They are not longing for restoration with the living and
holy God. The elements of religion—even
true religion—become a masquerade to hide their sinful hearts.
ii. Jeremiah
7.1-11
9.
Repentance longs for the presence of God. (Verses 11-12)
a.
The gracious presence of God is the great
covenantal blessing for his people.
b.
Consider Moses’ response to God’s word that he
(God) would not go up with Israel to the Promised Land (Exodus 33.1-5—esp. v.
3).
And He said, “My presence shall go with you,
and I will give you rest.”
Then he [Moses] said to Him, “If your
presence does not go with us,
do not lead us up from here. For how then can it be known that I
have
found favor in your sight, I and your
people? Is it not by your going
with
us, so we, I and your people, may be
distinguished from all the other
peoples who are upon the face of the earth?”
Exodus 33.14-16
c.
Repeated emphasis in the Psalms for God’s
presence:
i. Psalm
42.1-5
ii. Psalm
63.1-8
iii. Psalm
73.21-28
d.
Consider that Jesus Christ is called Emmanuel—God
with us (Matthew 1.23)
10. Repentance
longing for: (i) pardon, (ii) a new heart and steadfast obedience, and (iii)
the presence of God
a.
Not steps in repentance
b.
Manifestations of repentance—these longings in
the heart and in language express the true nature of repentance.
11. Results
of Repentance (verses 13-19): Consider the following areas…
a.
Ministry
b.
Praise
c.
Liturgy
12. Ministry
(v. 13)
a.
Repentance moves toward God for cleansing,
a new heart, and God’s presence; then it moves out toward others in
ministry.
b.
Ministry is not just “ordained ministry”
i. Fathers/mothers to their families
ii. Older
men to younger men (Titus 2)
iii. Older
women to younger women (Titus 2)
iv. All
the “one anothers” of the New Testament
1.
Love one another
2.
Encourage one another
3.
Pray for one another
4.
Rebuke one another
c.
Sin short-circuits ministry!
i. Sin
makes us selfish—we don’t care to help others.
ii. Sin
makes us weak—we can’t help others.
d.
Repentance must precede ministry.
i. Galatians
6.1—“Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual,
restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so
that you too will not be tempted.”
ii. 2
Timothy 2.21—“Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will
be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every
good work.”
e.
Repentance leads
to ministry. (v. 13)
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan
has demanded permission to sift you like wheat;
but I have prayed for you,
that your faith may not fail;
and you, when once you
have turned again,
strengthen your brothers.”
Luke 22.31-32
f.
Repentance preceding and leading to ministry:
example of Isaiah in Isaiah 6.1-8
13. Praise
(verses 14-15)
a.
Repentance precedes
praise.
“This
people honors me with their lips,
but
their heart is far away from me”
Mark
7.6
i. If
our hearts our full of the filth of sin we cannot praise God rightly.
ii. Our
lips may move and pronounce words of praise but God does not accept it as
praise.
b.
Repentance leads
to praise (vv. 14-15)
i. One
of the first fruits of repentance is praising God!
ii. We’ve
been delivered from sin and we long to praise the Deliverer!
iii. Praise
is preceded by God’s grace.
1.
God’s grace empowers praise
2.
We should ask for this grace-filled empowerment
to praise (v. 15)
14. Liturgy
a.
Liturgy is the structural approach to
worshipping God
b.
Verses 16 and 19
i. “you
do not delight in sacrifice” (v. 16)
ii. “you
will delight in righteous sacrifice” (v. 19)
iii. Q:
What accounts for the change?
c.
Verses 17-18
i. Our
humility and God’s favor
ii. Our
broken spirited repentance and God’s grace
d.
Important to remember…
i. Sacrificial
system of the Old Testament was ordained by God; this was the system he desired
to be in place under the old covenant.
ii. It
was through the blood sacrifices that God had designed that his people approach
him.
iii. Yet,
the presence of un-confessed and rampant sin could render this liturgy
“worthless”
“What
are your multiplied sacrifices to me?” says the Lord.
“I
have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle;
and
I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.
When
you come to appear before me, who requires of you this
trampling
of my courts? Bring your worthless
offerings no longer,
incense
is an abomination to me. New moon
and Sabbath, the calling
of
assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.”
Isaiah
1.11-13
iv. God-approved
liturgy must be pursued in a God-approved manner—namely, humble obedience.
1.
Isaiah 1.10-20
2.
Jeremiah 7.1-11
3.
Amos 5.21-24
4.
1 Corinthians 11.20-22, 27-34
[1]
The importance of this revelation of God’s character is found in its continued
repetition throughout the Old Testament: Numbers 14.18; 2 Chronicles 30.9;
Nehemiah 9.17, 31; Psalms 86.15; 103.8; 145.8; Joel 2.13; Jonah 4.3; Nahum
1.3. If the individual attributes
are counted the numbers grow sharply.
For example, “lovingkindness,” by itself, appears around 125 times in
the Psalms.
