Psalm 51|David’s Lament
A Contrite Sinner’s Prayer for Pardon.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan then came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
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.
7. 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.
13. 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.
King David, the second King of Israel, began as the outsider shepherd boy who claimed to have killed both a bear and a lion with his bare hands. He brought a rock to a sword fight and beat a giant. People danced and treated him like a celebrity, even writing a popular song about him. He committed adultery and then attempted to cover up his mistake by having a man intentionally killed in battle. How is it that God considered this seemingly pretentious man to be one after his own heart? This Psalm is the true revelation of the depth of God’s grace.
History
The year is 980 BC and Israel has been unified under King David for nearly twenty years. Numerous victories and God’s blessing have given this weary-warrior a reprieve from battle as David takes a literal sick day off of work. He is distracted. He has no doubt seen this beautiful woman before but this time she is bathing within view of his palace. His inquiry and invitation leads to intercourse and injustice as now he has to hide the results of infidelity from her husband, Uriah. It’s a spider’s web of deceit and lies as King David assigns Uriah to take the front ranks in battle so as to make it appear he was a forged hero. Now confronted by the Prophet Nathan, David is rendered a liar and a murderer. It is the pouring out of this lament that causes David to pen the words of this Psalm.
The poetic structure of this lament is symmetrical (concentric) parallelism and its theological basis leads to the appeal of the Divine towards forgiveness through grace and mercy.
The use of this Psalm in worship is its development as a model for congregants who are caught in the revolving door of sin and guilt, always entering but never fully able to escape the shadow of their transgression.
Appeal
Our appeal for mercy is not a central tenet to be taken lightly, regardless of how merciful our maker appears. The caveat in our zeal for forgiveness requires a contrite heart. We cannot enter into worship with a spirit of entitlement — that God will forgive me no matter how great my transgression. We are revealed, as the intercessor already has placement of our need before we whisper a single word (Romans 8:26).
Confession
Confession is the alignment of our body, commencing with our mind, revealing from our heart, the movement of our soul. This plea for compassion is our face-down surrender, the waiving of our white flag. We have to recognize our sin as the embodiment of our rebellion against all things good and pure and renounce it with change, an about face, so to speak, so that it doesn’t become a ritual of repentance. The writer of Hebrews says it with greater clarity: “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.” (Hebrews 6:4–6)
Prayer for forgiveness and renewed joy
The prayer for forgiveness is the acceptance of God’s grace calling us to rise up off our knees and move in the light of his love that shines on the path before us. This is our sin being cast into the sea of forgetfulness, “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”(Hebrews 10:17) This is the point of completed contemplation that has its reward as a soul set free. This is the point of joy and exuberance as we have broken free from the bonds of our guilt and shame. This is the place where we remove our shackles and stand with our heart clean and our head held in honor of the one who has given us redemption. It is reminiscent of the immortal words from the pen of John Newton in 1772 in the Hymn, Amazing Grace:
I once was lost, but now I’m found; Was blind but now I see.
Prayer for Purity and renewed joy
The prayer for purity is the line that we draw in the sand that states our intent to never look back, to never be drawn offside, to look neither to the right nor to the left but to look straight ahead. It is our prayer for righteous living and strength to overcome, with a glad heart, renewed and overflowing with unspeakable joy.
Personal profession of consecration
At some point and time we have to get back into the game of our existence. We will be challenged. We will be exercised. We may be beaten down, stoned, shipwrecked, jailed, or…worse. Our consecration is our tether to God’s abundant mercy and provision. We are not alone. God has provided his Holy Spirit to give us strength when our strength is less than perfect.
Appeal for God’s communal blessing upon Zion
Our consecration affects more than just our well being, it affects our community at large, including our family. In the book of 1 Samuel, we read the story of Eli, a Priest for the temple, and his two sons, Hophnie and Phineas, whose behavior is so outrageous and contemptuous in the sight of the Lord that God wanted them put to death. Eli, in an attempt to deflect the judgement God was intending to impose, steps in to mediate.
“No, my sons; the report I hear spreading among the Lord’s people is not good. If one person sins against another, God may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who will intercede for them?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.(I Samuel 1:24–25)
“For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them. Therefore I swore to the house of Eli, ‘The guilt of Eli’s house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’” (I Samuel 3:13–14)
Our worship must be deeply sincere. Our repentance, sustained and unrelenting. Our lives must reflect a living testimony to the grace and mercy that Jesus demonstrated on the cross if we are ever going to call him Savior and Lord.
David’s sin was great, his cover up denied. God held him accountable. However, God did not allow David to remain unforgiven. God’s plan is solvent regardless of our scrutiny, or our mutiny. He will be God and we adore him.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”(Romans 5:8)
