Bernard of Clairvaux was a well-known monk who lived about a thousand years ago. Commenting on Psalm 42:7 he said: "The deep of my profound misery calls to the deep of Your infinite mercy." One of the reasons that appeals to me is because it is brutally honest. One of the risks of being a person of faith is that we can pretend to have more things figured out than we actually do; we can pretend to be more godly than we actually are. We are trying to follow Jesus. And yes, we are on that path. But sometimes we can think (and possibly even pretend) that we are further along the path than we actually are. We are in a series on the most famous psalms. Today we arrive at Psalm 51. This is most famous for the honesty and intimacy with which David speaks with God after being confronted with the horrors and consequences of his own sin. Perhaps the most famous verses from this psalm are these: 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. A part of the reason they are so beloved is because we can take them an apply them to our own experiences. After you’ve been preaching for a while like I have you start to notice how people tend to respond to different themes. People tend to respond well to sermons about compassion and community. Sermons on commitment are also well-liked, but they are more difficult; they require that we look closely at how we have (or haven’t) lived up to our commitments, whether they be to God or to other people. The same could be said for sermons about compassion or community. In contrast, sermons about sin and repentance are probably the least popular. We like things that are positive and nice and cheery. A Methodist pastor was once asked by some congregants to not talk so plainly about sin. He replied, “Would you like me to replace the label on a poison jar to say its peppermint?” (Graham, The Reason for My Hope, 36) His point was this. It’s not loving to lie. The key word today is repentance. Oh, and there’s this. Jesus talked about repentance. A lot. In fact, his first public declaration as a part of his adult ministry in the Gospel of Mark includes a word about repentance: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (1:15) Further, it is good for us to take both sin and repentance seriously. In Los Angeles there is a phone number you can call to make confessions. It’s called the “Apology Sound-Off Line.” It gets 200 calls every day. The most common confession is adultery. People confess everything from criminal activity to addictions to car accidents. One woman had just been in a car accident which killed five people. “I wish I could bring them back,” she sobbed. (cf Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace, 35). To me this speaks to the deep human need to confess and be honest about who we are and what we’ve done. In fact, I would argue that a part of the angst that we collectively experience as a modern society is that many people say everyone is nice and everything is fine in the world and with ourselves, but inside they know that just isn’t true. There’s an inner conflict that they just don’t know how to resolve. One psychology textbook (called Coping with Stress) says that people who don’t confess their sins to someone experience greater anxiety, depression, and bodily symptoms such as back pain and headaches! (cf Kyle Idleman, Aha, 95) But as God’s people, and from the specific perspective of Christian faith, we can be honest about sin and brokenness, being confident that God gives us guidance about how to repent and re-connect with his joy. Theologian John Piper explains: “both Old and New Testament teaching on godly regret and repentance is that it should lead to life and hope and freedom, not to lasting distress and bitterness and paralyzing self-hate.” (Piper, Providence, 425) But what does repentance even mean? The standard word for “repent” in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word “shuv,” which carries the sense of turning around from something. The standards word for “repent” in the New Testament is the Greek word “metanoeo,” which carries the sense of turning your mind toward God. Both imply a turning from something bad (sin) and toward God. Imagine yourself going down a road and realizing you’re going the wrong way. You take a quick look around (hopefully) and do a U-Turn. In a simplistic way, this is repentance. Today we are looking at an example of true repentance by King David. He did some very bad things! (as we will soon see) He was confronted by his sins, was truly sorry, and asked God to change him from the inside out. We’re going to look at his example and ask what we can learn from him as we strive to show true repentance for our own sin in our own lives and turn to God. As we do this I want to offer this understanding of true repentance. True repentance is wanting your heart to follow your tongue. This means that repentance (as we will see) is not just about asking God for forgiveness. That’s what you do with your tongue. It’s going that next step. It’s asking God to change your thoughts and behaviours. That’s what you do with your heart. True repentance (not just lip service) is wanting your heart to follow your tongue. Not only is it saying you want to take a U-Turn, but asking God to turn you around—and when he starts to do it, it’s cooperating with him. Our example is Psalm 51. The church has historically called this one of the seven ‘penitential psalms.’ Penitential means expressing repentance for sin. (Sorrow for sin and turning from sin.) The others are Psalm 6, 32, 38, (51), 102, 130, and 143. This is the most direct and intimate of the penitential psalms. Some people still pray through the penitential psalms, one a day, asking God for forgiveness with these words of Scripture (myself included). Of historical note. Some will know Sir Thomas More who was, for a time, the Lord High Chancellor of England when Henry the eighth was King. Not a calm time! More is remembered for his devotion to God and opposition to the King’s desire to divorce his wife and marry Anne Boleyn; he refused to sign the ‘Act of Supremacy’ which made Henry the supreme head of the church in England (and not the Pope). More refused (which was dangerous to him personally). He was imprisoned in the Tower of London and beheaded in 1535 for high treason. Just prior to his beheading (which was a public event!), an eyewitness later stated that he recited Psalm 51 just prior to his death. This shows the longstanding place this psalm holds as an example and pattern to follow of sincere desires for mercy and a commitment to repentance under God. Psalm 51 (ESV) Subtitle: To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. -The subtitle gives historical context: When David was King he sinned by committing adultery with Bathsheba. The prophet Nathan confronted him (David had thought that no one knew about it). The full story can be found in 2 Samuel 11-12. In short, David’s army is out fighting against the Ammonites; David stays behind; he sees Bathsheba bathing from a rooftop; he has sex with her (she becomes pregnant); she is already married to Uriah, one of David’s soldiers; he invites Uriah back home thinking he will sleep with his wife so people will think the baby came from him and not David; the plan doesn’t work because Uriah won’t go to his wife out of solidarity to his fellow soldiers on the front; David tries again by getting Uriah drunk; still doesn’t work; he orders Uriah to go to the front lines so that he will be killed; it works; Bathsheba goes through a period of mourning; David marries her. -To summarize his transgressions as they relate to the 10 Commandments: He broke the 10th commandment by coveting his neighbour’s wife; he broke the 8th commandment by stealing her (assuming that she felt she could not refuse the advances of the powerful King; he broke the 7th commandment by committing adultery with her; he broke the 9th (indirectly) by trying to fool/lie to Uriah, her husband. To these J.I. Packer adds that he also broke the 6th commandment by liquidating Uriah from long range. That’s a lot of sinning and law-breaking! Having been confronted by his sin, he is keenly aware that if his sins were not hidden from Nathan then they are surely not hidden from God. He needs to apologize and change directions. Let’s begin. 51 Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment. -v.1: sets the tone. It is a call for God’s mercy. “Steadfast love”=God’s unrelenting covenant love -blot out my transgressions. i.e. wipe them away from your memory or erase them from your record of wrongs. -v.4. David is speaking hyperbolically. He says that he has “only” sinned against God. But of course he has sinned against Bathsheba, Uriah, and also the people of Israel as a whole as their king! But here David is telling us that all sin is primarily against God. We need to remember that today. We can think that a certain thought or action is okay if ‘it’s not hurting anyone.’ Wrong. If someone steals from a rich person or swears or engages in sexual promiscuity between consenting adults or thinks hateful thoughts toward someone, or (the list goes on)… They are still doing wrong because all sin is primarily against God. And David here knows it. Tim Keller comments on this idea when he writes: “When I sin I don’t just break your laws but trample on your heart.” (Keller, Songs of Jesus, 108) 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. -v.5: David isn’t saying that his mother was sinful by conceiving him (i.e. having sex to make children in the bond of marriage isn’t sinful in and of itself) however, that is certainly a possible meaning—after all, David’s father Jesse went to his wife out of lust. What I think is more probable is that David is aware that he has been sinful from the very first moment of his existence. -v.6: since God delights ‘in truth in the inward being’ and teaches ‘wisdom in the secret heart’ (or inner places) the sense is that God is entering into relationship with his people and even providing moral formation prior to birth. God is in relationship with us and shaping us even as our very parts are taking shape in the womb. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities. -v.7: David is wanting to be cleansed. Hyssop branches were used in a ritual of purification from sin. They were dipped in the blood of a sacrificial animal (Leviticus 14) or water (Numbers 19) and sprinkled on an individual as a part of the process. The branches with their small leaves were good at retaining liquid (blood or water), so they were ideal. (Susie called around to some different stores to see if we could use a physical example as a prop but none of the stores had any hyssop—thanks for trying Susie!) -‘whiter than snow.’ A metaphor for purity and renewal. My family saw the production of ‘David’ at Sight and Sound theatres in Pennsylvania. It included his adultery with Bathsheba (well, a kid-friendly version anyway!) After Nathan had confronted him he is out alone praying the words to what would become Psalm 51. As he prayed to be washed ‘whiter than snow’ snow started to fall gently on him and also on everyone gathered in the entire theatre, hundreds and hundreds of us! It was a powerful and memorable moment. To simulate snow I think it was tiny bubbles, but as you looked around you just saw David praying and everyone being gently covered with white snow. -v.8: bones are a symbol of one’s strength; he may not be talking about physical bones, but his sense of strength being broken. In contrast, he wants a return to joy and gladness. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit. -vv.10-12 are the most well-known in the Psalm, and rightly so. We can apply them so easily to our own situations. -v.10: “Create.” David knows that lasting change can only come from the outside, from God. His own attempts always fall short. -“clean heart” means a heart free of sin. It used to be a custom to wash a child’s mouth out with soap when they said something they shouldn’t have said. As far as I know people don’t do that anymore! Here David wants his heart to be scrubbed clean. -“a right spirit,” i.e. a steadfast spirit, a firm and God-directed heart. -v.100: “Cast me not away.” Hebrew linguist Robert Alter says this carries the sense of not flinging him away in disgust, as someone might fling a dead mouse out of the house. This word choice tells me that David is aware of the vileness of his own sin; he’s not just giving lip service to it. Isaac Ambrose was a pastor from the 17th century. In one of his own prayers he wrote: “The memory of my pollution is a vomit to my soul…” (cf Chester, Into His Presence, 91). That is someone who has taken the depravity of their own sin seriously. -v.11. The Spirit of God is mentioned in various places in the Old Testament. This, however, is one of only three places where the exact phrase “Holy Spirit” is used. (The others are in Isaiah 63:10-11). In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit does various things, including inspire the words of the prophets. I get the sense here that (a) David is aware that God has anointed him as King and is thereby directed by the Holy Spirit, and (b) does not want God to remove his power and guiding presence in his leadership. -v.12: David wants the joy of his salvation restored, that joy he has when he knows he is right with God. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O God of my salvation,
    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise. -v.13: David wants to be forgiven and restored not only for his own save, but so that he can “teach transgressors your ways” and so that sinners might “return to you.” This is a good thing. He wants God to be glorified. -v.14: what is ‘bloodguiltiness.’ It’s guilt that results from spilling blood in murder. -v.15: another well-known verse. If God opens our mouths, we will praise him! 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. -v.16: There’s no point in going through the ritual of sacrifice if the heart of the worshiper isn’t in the right place. David specifically references a ‘burnt offering,’ which is something that could be offered to God for various purposes (one of which was a desire for atonement) -v.17: Here David gives himself as a kind of sacrifice. Instead of a slaughtered animal, it is his own spirit which is “broken”! Very poetic. His “broken and contrite (i.e. humble and repentant) heart” is what he offers up to God. 18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
    build up the walls of Jerusalem;
19 then will you delight in right sacrifices,
    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar. -v.18: Zion is technically the main hill in Jerusalem, but came to be a synonym for the whole city. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. What can we take from this Psalm? God sees everything All sin is primarily against God No sin is too great to be forgiven God restores us to his joy and gives us a “willing spirit” There are times when all we have to offer to God is a broken spirit Our main focus is on this Psalm as an example of true repentance. True repentance is wanting your heart to follow your tongue. In this psalm, David demonstrates more than lip service. He desires that God change him from the inside out. He wants his heart to follow his tongue. The emphasis in verse 10 is on “Create…” He wants God to create in him a clean heart. In response, David will try to cooperate. Before I offer some suggestions based on Psalm 51, I need to be clear about something. Two of the major emphases in the Christian life are salvation and sanctification. We can’t get them mixed up. Salvation is how we are saved (or made right with God, both in this life and the next). This happens by trusting in Christ—in who he is and what he has done for us on the cross. God saves us by his grace and we respond in faith. It is a wonderful, free gift. We are made right with him (saved) not based on what we have done, but on what Christ has done for us. The second emphasis is sanctification. It’s a fancy word that means ‘being made holy.’ It’s becoming more like Jesus. It’s being his hands and feet. When we trust in him, God’s Spirit starts to live within us and work through us. We start to grow in Christlikeness and do his work in the world. The reason this distinction is important to know, especially when talking about sin and repentance, is because we are here talking about the sin we struggle with in the process of sanctification. If you continue to struggle with sin, that does not put your salvation in question. God has a firm grip on his people! I’m here speaking to those who have already put their trust in Jesus and who, as life unfolds, continue to struggle with sin as they seek to be more like Jesus. Yes, Jesus has paid the price for our sin on the cross, but we continue to wrestle in the process of spiritual growth. Let me offer an example. Let’s say I have an anger management problem. (I don’t, but let’s use that as an example.) My continual struggle with anger does not put my salvation in question. I belong to God; I am assured of his promises and of eternity. But I ask God to continue to change me as I seek to be more like Jesus and continue his work in the world. It’s a question of sanctification not salvation. With that in mind, four points: First, take sin seriously. Perhaps because we live in a time which tries to minimize sin or dismiss sin, it’s easy to think it isn’t a big deal. But it is. Douglas Wilson has said, “Sin never gets better when we wink at it.” (Wilson, The Covenant Household, 101). In other words, when we have a casual or flirtatious attitude toward sin, that doesn’t make it better, it invites it to play a more prominent role in your life. In his book Rediscovering Holiness, J.I. Packer wrote: “Unless and until it is re-established that the Christian life for everyone is a life of self-scrutiny, self-humbling, and daily repentance for daily sins, Satan will continue to score.” (Packer, RH, 174). Second, be honest before God. Look at how honest David was. Are we that honest? C.S. Lewis is a well-known atheist-turned-Christian who was also a world-class literary critic. Speaking about this kind of honesty he said: “lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us.” (Lewis, cf. Foster, Prayer, 12). That’s a helpful word. How often do we pray to God as if he doesn’t know what we know? Or as if we can trick him with our fancy words or skirting around certain issues. Remember that scene in the movie A Few Good Men where there is a dramatic conversation between Tom Cruise and Jack Nickolson: “You can’t handle the truth!” Well, my friends, God can. Third, ask God to create a clean heart in you. That’s what David did. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Tim Day described how at an AA meeting (Alcoholics Anonymous) it began with everyone writing down things they had tried to do to quit drinking. After a while the leader said, ‘Can we all agree that none of this works?’ (Day, God Enters Stage Left, 67) It was a moment of honesty. When it comes to our own sin—whatever that sin might be—and when we think about the things we do by ourselves to stop sinning, can we all agree that none of this works if we are trying to do it apart from God? Actual transformation always comes first from God. “Create in me…” Fourth, cooperate with what God wants to do in you. God will act. Rosaria Butterfield wrote a book which was very personal to her called The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert. In it she talks about repentance. “repentance requires greater intimacy with God than with our sin.” (Butterfield, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, 21). Her meaning is this. For holiness—for ‘sanctification,’ for growing to be more like Jesus—requires that we desire to be closer to God than to our sin. Start to notice how he is changing you. How he is moving you love his Word; how he is moving you to be captivated by Jesus; how he is putting new opportunities or decisions in your life which will honour him; and how he is opening doors for different behaviours. And cooperate. True repentance is wanting your heart to follow your tongue. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. David was both broken and beloved. The same is true for you. Amen.