David in Psalms 51 gives us an understanding of four essential truths about God. Our Church mission statement,
We desire to give every individual in our community an accurate picture of God. We also want to help those who believe to become fully committed followers of Jesus Christ
1. God Is Holy
First, God is holy.David declared, “Behold, Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part Thou wilt make me know wisdom” (v. 6). David knew that because God is holy, He is never satisfied with mere external behavior. He is entirely separated from moral evil and sin. God is pure; He has no relationship with sin. Remember how he despised the Pharisees with their external righteousness.
Habakkuk 1:13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
The word “holy” simply means “set apart” from His creatures and exalted above them and is without a peer. He is cut above us, infinitely transcendent (magnificent), above and beyond His creation. The prophet Isaiah
Isaiah 40:18 To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare him to? Isaiah 57:15 For this is what the high and lofty One says--he who lives forever, whose name is holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Moses giving a testimony of God’s uniqueness:
Exodus 15:11 "Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you-- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? 1 Sam 5:1-4 After the
Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. [2] Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. [3] When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. [4] But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained.
God’s holiness is the greatest and most basic attribute of God and because God is holy He called Christians to be a holy people (set apart for God). God has called us to be hatred of sin.
1 Peter 1:15-16 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; [16] for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." Matthew 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
2. God Is Powerful
Second, God is powerful. David prayed, “Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness” (vv. 7–8). David believed God had the power to change him from the inside out—unlike some who think their sinful habits are too strong for Him to overcome. In Acts 8 we see God changed a Christian-killer to the greatest Christian, evangelist, pastor, church planter who ever lived after Jesus Christ.
Many skeptics challenge Christians with question: Is there anything God can’t do? No He can do everything. Can God create a rock so big that He can’t move it? Scripture tells us that there are things that God cannot do. He cannot act against his own nature:
=He cannot lie Hebrews 6:18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged.
=He cannot associate with sin Habakkuk 1:13 (see above)
=He can’t go back on His word 2 Tim. 2:13 if we are faithless, he will remain faithful,for he cannot disown himself.
J.B. Phillips wrote a book titled “Your God is too Small,” in which he exposed people’s picture of God. Many people have a God of their own making, but it is not the Biblical God. God can do anything He pleases that is harmony with his nature. In short nothing can hinder God’s plan and purpose. Whatever He decides to do will come to pass. Nothing is too difficult for God. He can anything effortlessly
Psalm 115:3 Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.
The word “Almighty” is a word that describes God’s power. The Hebrew word “El Shaddai” describes that God is all powerful. If He could make a 99 year old Abram to be a father, and one day those who refuses to come to him for their salvation will experience His power in the great tribulation. Read: Isaiah 40:21-31
3. God will Discipline
Third, God will discipline believers for their sins. David pleaded with God, “Let the bones which Thou hast broken rejoice” (v. 8). He alluded to the way shepherds sometimes dealt with wayward sheep. They would take such troublesome sheep and break one of their legs. Then they would set the leg and carry the sheep while the leg healed. Afterwards the sheep would remain close to the shepherd.
Hebrews 12:5-13 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, [6] because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." [7] Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? [8] If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. [9] Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! [10] Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. [11] No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Sometimes God’s children undergo corrective judgment that comes directly from God’s love. King David is a prime exhibit here. His adultery and resulting homicide brought down stiff judgment. The son of his illicit union died, and violence attended his home
2 Samuel 12:10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ Since Uriah was killed by violence – so his sons will also be killed by sword.
Psalm 119:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word. 71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.
Psalm 32:3-4 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. [4] For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
Likewise, in New Testament times the Corinthian church underwent God’s corrective discipline when some of its believers suffered illness and even death because they were profaning the Lord’s Supper through their greedy, self-centered indulgence and, in
some cases, outright drunkenness.
Paul explained, “When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world” (1 Cor. 11:32)..Believers are kept from being consigned to hell, not only by divine decree, but by divine intervention. The Lord chastens to drive His people back to righteous behavior and even sends death to some in the church v. 30) to remove them before they could be condemned cf. Jude 24). Harsh correctives, but they come from a heart of fatherly love
4. God Is A Forgiving God
Fourth, God is a forgiving God. “Hide Thy face from my sins,” pleaded David, “and blot out all my iniquities…. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, Thou God of my salvation” (vv. 9, 14). David obviously believed God would forgive his sin or he would never have asked Him for forgiveness.
In Isaiah 43:25 God Himself affirmed that He is a forgiving God: “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not or remember your sins.” Jeremiah 31:34 "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
Confession of sin characterizes genuine Christians, and God continually cleanses those who are confessing. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. But God’s people have always recognized the necessity of confession. Faced with a vision of the awesome majesty and holiness of God,
Isaiah declared, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips” (Isa. 6:5). Daniel was a man of unparalleled integrity, yet part of his prayer life involved confessing his sin (Dan. 9:20).
Peter, the acknowledged leader of the apostles, said to Jesus, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5:8).
Apostle Paul, the godliest man who ever lived (except for Jesus Christ), wrote this about himself: “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ. Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all” (1 Tim. 1:15).
