DAY FORTY-TWO: 

Have Mercy On Me 

Psalm 51:1-19 

Today we look at Psalm 51. Let's begin with the introduction to the Psalm: "To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba." We discussed David's sin with Bathsheba and all the consequences that followed last week. If you didn't get a chance to read it or would like to refresh your memory, click here to read that post. Suffice it to say that this was a very shameful chapter of David's life, one I'm sure he would have preferred not to discuss. But the first words we read are, "To the choirmaster." David wrote this Psalm intending that it be used in worship! His sin is going to be rehashed every time someone reads or sings this Psalm. Why would he do that? The only answer I can think of is that God told him to. The thing that makes the Bible stand out above all other religious texts is that it shows its heroes' negative side. We read earlier of Abraham's cowardice in passing his wife off as his sister, of Jacob's conniving treachery and now we read about David's adultery and murder. There's an old saying: "The Bible is a book that no man could write if he would, or would write if he could." The Holy Spirit inspired the human writers so that what we have in Scripture is exactly what God wants us to have.

David begins with a plea for mercy. The word mercy could also be translated as grace. David is asking for something he knows he doesn't deserve. He's asking anyway, because he knows God. He asks for mercy because of HIs "steadfast love." This is the same word we saw in Psalm 23- "Surely goodness and MERCY shall follow me all of my days." The Hebrew word chesed is one of the most beautiful and meaningful words in the Bible. It describes the very heart of God and His disposition toward us. Psalm 63:3 says that God's lovingkindness (mercy, grace and love rolled into one) is better than life itself. David is asking God, in His mercy and love, to blot out his sins.

David offers no excuses for his sin. Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent, but David blames only himself. He knows what he has done. He violated another man's wife. He used the enemy to murder her husband and several other innocent men who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. He let down the entire nation of Israel. But in verse four he says, "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight." What about all of the people he hurt? Those sins, as heinous as they are, pale in comparison to what David has done to God. His sin is an offense against God, a violation of His Law. David goes on to admit that God's judgment of his sins is entirely just.

"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." I read an article in which the author claimed that the doctrine of original sin (that we're born with a sinful nature) was an invention of the Apostle Paul, that it is not found in the Old Testament or in Jesus' teaching. What about this verse? David is admitting that he was born a sinner, and that his parents before him were sinners. We read a few weeks ago in Genesis 8:21 that God said, "I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth." While most of what Job's friends told him was twisted, these words from Eliphaz ring true: "What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?" (Job 15:14) This means that we cannot please God with our own efforts and earn our salvation by our works. We are sinners from birth, in need of God's grace even to realize that we ARE sinners. Ephesians 2:1-2 says, "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience" Our only hope is God's grace, which He freely bestows to any who will receive it.

God delights in truth in our inward beings. That is the part of me that only He sees, the real me. Our bent to sin makes hypocrites of us all, yet God graciously works within us to instill His truth in our very core. The Holy Spirit lives within us. Jesus said in John 14:16-17, "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you."

David asks God to cleanse him, to make him whiter than snow. In those days it was extremely difficult to make white cloth, and even harder to keep it white. The Roman gentlemen who wore togas had to brighten them with white chalk. Snow was just about the only thing that was pure white. Many years later Isaiah relayed these words from the Lord: "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." (Isaiah 1:18) There's an old chorus: "Oh, the blood of Jesus- it washes white as snow!"

David first asked to be forgiven of his sins. Then he asked to be cleansed of them. Now he is asking God to restore him to right relationship with Him. David misses the joy that he experienced while composing songs of praise as he watched his father's sheep. He asks God to create in him a clean heart and renew a right spirit within him, like he had before. This means more to David than anything else. He knows that he will have to live with the consequences of what he's done. Nathan told him what would happen. But David is asking that God not cast him away or take the Holy Spirit from him.

David asked for forgiveness, cleansing and restoration. After this he pledges himself to renewed service to the Lord. He is in a position to teach his fellow-sinners about just what it means to sin against God. He has a testimony of how God forgave, cleansed and restored him, and how they can have the same if they will repent. David also has even more reason to worship and praise God than before. In the midst of the worst moral failure he has experienced God's amazing grace.

He concluded with a prayer for God to bless Zion, that is, Jerusalem (the Temple would be built on Mount Zion, a hill in David's city). He knows he's damaged the nation, and he knows that Israel is full of sinners just like him. May God be gracious to us all and bless His people!

The biggest lesson from this passage is the meaning of repentance. Repentance is not the same as sorrow or regret. We can be sorry for or regret the consequences of our sin and wish we'd never committed them. We feel the pain that they've caused us and others. Repentance encompasses sorrow and regret but then goes much farther. Repentance is the recognition that above and beyond everything else you've offended God. Repentance is the deep desire to turn to God as David did and plead with Him to forgive, cleanse, restore and use us. Paul ripped into the Corinthians in his letters. They were so messed up! But then he wrote, "For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death." The Corinthians took Paul's message to heart. They were sorry for their sins with a godly grief. They felt God's displeasure and asked for His forgiveness with earnest hearts. We're sorry for many things. We regret many things. But are we truly repentant? It's a real struggle for me, and I'm sure for you as well. May God grant us the grace to truly repent from our sins and seek His face!

Another verse that really strikes me is verse 6, "Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart." This shows us just how important our inner lives are. We spend a lot of time taking care of outward things. We make ourselves presentable each day before we go out. We clean, repair and remodel our houses. We wash our cars. But how much attention do we pay to that part that only God can see? Just as there are things we must do for our outward lives, so we must also do certain things to grow our inward lives. The Bible is God's Word in our hands! Read it every day. God is always near, even within you. Draw near to Him in prayer. Meditate upon His Word. In this way God implants His truth in our innermost being, and there it will grow and teach us God's wisdom.

I'll leave you with an old classic hymn that asks an important question. I thought you might enjoy this recent rendition by the Statler Brothers.