The Joy of Forgiveness
Psalm 51
The spark that started the fire of the first great awakening was a sermon delivered by Jonathan Edwards called, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” When the Jonathan Edwards preached this sermon, you could almost not call it preaching. He read a manuscript holding it close to his face.
They could not even see his face because he held the manuscript so close as he read it. People in the church were moved, almost beyond control. People sprang up, ran down the aisle and cried out, “Mr. Edwards have mercy.” Some there held on to their pews afraid they would slip into hell. Others thought the day of judgement had come.
I can’t imagine someone holding on to a pew afraid they would slip into hell. How could they think that it was the judgement day? I had long felt like it was a great and powerful meeting, but since the time of delivery, July 8, 1741, the impact had become exaggerated.
That is until I experienced a great day of conviction of my own sin. From that day on not only did I believe that the experience as retold really happened, but I felt I had a similar experience to the people who heard Edwards preach on that day.
With outpouring of the Holy Spirit comes personal recognition of sin. J Edwin Orr preached a sermon called Revival is like judgement day and he recounts the Shantung revival being like a judgement day. What a fearful thing when anyone comes to grips with the reality and tragedy of sin. The prophet Isaiah came to grips with his own sin.
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:5)
Psalm 51 is the great Psalm of forgiveness and mercy. There is in this Psalm the tragic reality of sin and the realization of how sin separates us from God. This is the Psalm that David comes face to face with his sin. Like David, any of us who become aware of our sin can go only to God for forgiveness.
David becomes conscious, not just of being a sinner, but a heinous sinner in a specific way. The background is recorded in 2 Samuel 11:1-26. It began when King David walked on his roof and saw a beautiful woman bathing. Yep, you guessed it, the woman on the roof was Bathsheba.
David sent for this woman, Bathsheba who was married to his faithful general Uriah, and had sexual relations with her and sent her home. She became pregnant. To cover up his sin David put Uriah on the battlefield so he would be killed.
It would have been the perfect cover up, except for one thing. There is no perfect cover up. We are deeply mistaken when we think we can hide and cover up our sin. Be sure your sin will find you out. (Numbers 32:23)
The Lord sent Nathan to David to tell the story of two men. One was rich and one was poor. The rich man with many sheep killed the poor mans one little lamb. David is outraged. That man must be punished. Nathan confronted David, that man is you.
Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." (2 Samuel 12:13)
This Psalm records the inner anguish of David over his sin against the Lord. We see on Psalm 51 the need of forgiveness.
Psalm 51:1-6
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
David saw his own sin. His heart was crushed with guilt. He had broken multiple commandments of the ten commandments; covetousness, adultery and murder.
The great revivals were marked by costly confessions. When suffering and anguish is the consequence of sin, what shall we do? We must repent and seek God’s mercy.
Now David must throw himself completely on the grace of God. The realization of sin it terrible, but God’s grace goes beyond our guilt. Without repentance fellowship with God is blocked.
There were others involved in David’s sin, like Bathsheba and Uriah. Ultimately whatever the sin it is against God.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; (Psalm 51:4)
David was aware of his personal responsibilities. He made no effort to make excuses or shift the blame. It was his first step in genuine repentance. He realized his own need for forgiveness.
David’s quest for purity.
Psalm 51:7-12
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
In the Old Testament there was an emphasis on ceremonial cleansing. When someone became unclean, they followed a procedure for cleaning. For instance, of one touched a dead body then hyssop was used to cleanse ceremoniously. There was no ceremonial cleansing for deliberate, willful sin.
David knew he needed more than a ceremonial rite. He needed inward spiritual transformation. He needed inward renewal. He is crying to God. You cleanse me and I will be clean. You wash me Lord and I will be whiter than snow. Only God can remove the scarlet stain of sin.
David believed God could forgive him. He believed God could make him pure, whiter than snow. Clothes may look white until snow comes and then they look dingy. The Lord will wash away the filth. True spiritual purity.
David says, let the bones you have crushed rejoice (Psalm 51:8). It is an idiom for deep sorrow and pain of soul. But now he rejoices.
After what David did, the sin he committed and the anguish he felt he asks God to blot out all my iniquity (Psalm 51:9). Erase every thought of the deed from your book of remembrance.
When David askes, create in me a pure heart, O God, (Psalm 51:10) He is using the word for creation, when God creates something out of nothing. He is asking for a miraculous work. Only God can put purity and white into the sin-stained heart. The miracle of forgiveness is found only in God.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. (John 3:3)
David understood his need. Only when you understand the awful tragedy of sin like David understood do you truly comprehend the joy of forgiveness in salvation. David was a man after God’s own heart. Here is a child of God who needs forgiveness to restore the relationship with God.
For David the joy of salvation is restored. When you experience the joy of salvation you will tell others about forgiveness.
Psalm 51:13-19
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Savior,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
18 May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
David is going to become an evangelist telling transgressors to turn to God (Psalm 51:13). Evangelists and preachers are forgiven sinners. The angels announced the good news of great joy a savior is born the first Christmas morning. They were messengers of good news. Now David will tell sinners the joy unspeakable that comes with forgiveness.
Now David sings and declares the praises to the Lord. He makes the truth known. What a great testimony for getting right with God than to share with others and praise and worship the Lord.
God is not going to accept ritual as a substitute (Psalm 51:16). The act of worship is the sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17). Inward stains require more than outward acts. Sinners need to do more than come to church. We need to come with a humble heart repenting before God.
This is not condemning Old Testament sacrifices. It is David seeing the need to go beyond these sacrifices. We see ourselves in view of who God is. We see ourselves in the light of God’s holiness. What brings forgiveness for David and for us is true repentance. For us it is turning from sin and turning to faith in Jesus Christ.
Only God offers forgiveness of sins. We need to turn humbly before him. See the intensity of David’s inward spirit when we understand why someone would stand up and shout, Mr. Edwards have mercy. The Isaiah woe is me experience is devastating.
It is fearful to, like David, know the tragedy of our sin. To come to the realization that our sin is against God and causes offence to the Holy, almighty God. The most fearful judgement of all is eternal separation from God. Are you a Christian? You must have a salvation experience being born again.
Come to God, seeing yourself as a sinner needing forgiveness. Are you a believer living just as an unbeliever. Is there unconfessed sin blocking your relationship with God? Turn to God. Trust Jesus Christ to experience the joy of forgiveness.
