The Joy Of Forgiveness Series

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.