Psalm 51:1-12
King David was a big time sinner. Taken by Bathsheba’s beauty, he wanted her for himself, so he had her husband Uriah sent to the front lines of battle where he would likely be killed. He was, and David took Bathsheba as his own. To Nathan, the house prophet, it was pretty clear what happened here. He told David a story that sent David into a righteous rage at the character in the story who took advantage of a vulnerable person. Nathan confronted David with his own sin: “You are the man!” He had David dead to rights. There were no more excuses or rationalizations for what he had done. It’s thought that this Psalm may be connected to that event. If not, it certainly applies.
Now David had to deal with himself. For starters, there was nothing he could do but pray and ask for mercy: Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love. It comes with an admission that God has every right not to do so: I know my transgressions, and my sin is every before me . . . thou art justified in thy sentence and blameless in thy judgment. From there David’s prayer poured forth. He needed an entire makeover – a clean heart, and a new and right spirit. All of this was required if he was to be restored to the joy of thy salvation.
Repentance is a lot more than feeling sorry for getting caught at something. It’s about a cleansing within, and a change of direction without. Bringing ourselves to the seat of mercy requires honesty on our part, and we can count on the steadfast love of God to meet us there. Then the work of restoration begins, but with the burden of guilt and shame lifted, it is joyful work.
King David was a big time sinner. Taken by Bathsheba’s beauty, he wanted her for himself, so he had her husband Uriah sent to the front lines of battle where he would likely be killed. He was, and David took Bathsheba as his own. To Nathan, the house prophet, it was pretty clear what happened here. He told David a story that sent David into a righteous rage at the character in the story who took advantage of a vulnerable person. Nathan confronted David with his own sin: “You are the man!” He had David dead to rights. There were no more excuses or rationalizations for what he had done. It’s thought that this Psalm may be connected to that event. If not, it certainly applies.
Now David had to deal with himself. For starters, there was nothing he could do but pray and ask for mercy: Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love. It comes with an admission that God has every right not to do so: I know my transgressions, and my sin is every before me . . . thou art justified in thy sentence and blameless in thy judgment. From there David’s prayer poured forth. He needed an entire makeover – a clean heart, and a new and right spirit. All of this was required if he was to be restored to the joy of thy salvation.
Repentance is a lot more than feeling sorry for getting caught at something. It’s about a cleansing within, and a change of direction without. Bringing ourselves to the seat of mercy requires honesty on our part, and we can count on the steadfast love of God to meet us there. Then the work of restoration begins, but with the burden of guilt and shame lifted, it is joyful work.
RSS Feed
