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Psalm 51, Fifth Sunday in Lent
 
This is the 5th Sunday in Lent - the heart of the penitential season. We want to look at Psalm 51, a model of repentance given to us in the worship book of Israel. We want to think, on this day, of those sins which continually come between us and our obedience to God. Generally we hate the sin that we repeatedly struggle with - we often fear that it is pushing us away from God. We want to be done with recurring sins and we want them to go away. We want to get out from under the pressure of our guilty feelings. But this morning, I want us to think about how God has allowed us to struggle with sin as a way of teaching us the humility and honesty of confession, and as a way of bringing about change and renewal and even worship in our lives. To this end, we want to see that David’s confession is not an act of self loathing and self battering, but a Psalm of worship. What can we learn about confession from this model given to us through David - the man after God’s own heart? Our Struggle with Sin is Forcing Us to See Our Sin Honestly. Begin By Looking at the Gracious Character of God- Vs.1-2: David begins his confession not by speaking about himself, but by addressing God and recognizing his “unfailing love” and “great compassion” . In other words, David begins his confession with worship - recognition of the good character of God and reliance on that character. Confession should begin this way - and where it does not, it is likely to become wallowing in guilt, or self-absorbed, or just a way of making ourselves feel better. But let confession be an act of worship - focused not only on our sin but on the gracious and compassionate character of God - on the Cross of Jesus. Proper Confession Admits the Willfulness of Our Sin - Vs.3-6: This is where many of us have problems - because of the way we confess our sin. There are many ways in which we hide while confessing our sins... 1) We wallow in the feelings of guilt and turn confession into an emotional experience. 2) We psychologize our sin, tell God why we did it and try to figure out how to stop. 3) We blame other people and circumstances and generally make excuses to God. In all of these ways we never honestly deal with and look at our sin and what it has done in and to our lives. David is a model of honesty in confession. ~ We Sin Against Conscience: “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me” Isn’t that the point of our sin? We know better! This is what David says - a simple statement - he doesn’t work up his feelings he just says - I know I have sinned and I can’t stop thinking about it. He doesn’t mention the situation to excuse himself. He doesn’t tell God that he just hasn’t been happy with his other wives. None of this is the point. SIn is painful to look at because we know better and yet we have sinned willfully. We have violated our conscience. We knew what was right and we felt God’s Spirit pulling at our conscience, yet in the light of God’s urging, in the face of God’s goodness, we have sinned. We must confess this first! We must begin here! IF there is not grace and forgiveness for such willfulness then we all are lost. Unless we confess our willfulness we will never deal with our sin. ~ We Sin Against God and Deserve Judgment: “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, So that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge”. Often, what underlies dishonest confession is the belief that our sin is excusable, reasonable. We do not believe that God is proved right when he judges - we have reasons for our sin. But true confession is agreement with God about our sin. And one of the reasons that there is recurring sin in our lives is that we have never admitted to ourselves, or believed that a particular recurring sin was worthy of judgment. We see sin as an embarrassment, a problem, but we have not agreed with God that our sin deserves judgment. ~ We Have a Sinful Nature: “Surely I was sinful at birth... Surely you desire truth in the inner parts...” Thirdly, we must confess the truth that, (1) Our sin is not just an isolated incident but a pattern in our lives, and (2) The corruption of our sin comes from within us - not from situations, not from our past, not because of others. Our sin is not just a matter of outward behavior, but of the attitudes and desires of the heart. We are Responsible! We have chosen to act, to think, to speak! Until we take this kind of responsibility we have not confessed our sin and are only justifying ourselves. Without confession and recognition of our guilt, we shortchange ourselves. What are we asking forgiveness for? The inconvenience of the embarrassment of our sin? Are we asking forgiveness because someone else caused us to stumble? Without honest confession the blood payment of the cross makes no sense. Until I face up to my rebellion - my guilt and my judgment - the cross of Jesus will be pointless. The cross is a symbol of condemnation and death for guilty criminals - and until and unless I am a guilty criminal under the penalty of death the cross does not apply to me - it is an inappropriate symbol for those who only deserve a slap on the wrist! Our Struggle with Sin is Producing the Humility to Receive Grace. We Need The Blood of Christ - Vs.7: “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” Hyssop was a plant used in Jewish ceremonial cleansing to sprinkle blood on a sinner. This was necessary before the sinner could approach God - his sins must be covered by blood - the death of an animal. Blood is necessary because, “The soul that sins must die”. A NT translation of this idea would be, Cover my sin and rebellion with the blood of Jesus. David makes a simple request. He does not promise not to do this anymore, he just says - God, wash me and I will be clean. This is the Gospel - that we do not need to bargain or promise or explain, but simply to ask forgiveness for our sin. Forgiveness is the gift of God. We Need the Gift of a Clean Conscience - Vs.8-9: “Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity” Willful sin has violated our consciences. David asks God to release him from the burden of what he had done - he asks for a joyful spirit and that God would no longer look on his sin. He wants forgiveness and he wants to be in right relationship with God - to enjoy the presence of God. This is a part of confession that we often miss. We ask forgiveness for our sins and then try to forget them. But we need grace for a clean conscience and joyful relation to God as much as we need grace to be forgiven. A clean conscience and joy in the presence of the Lord is a gift that God desires to give us. We Need the Gifts of Purity Renewal - Vs.10-12: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me...” Often after we confess we make guaranties of renewal and promises of purity to God. But David recognizes that these are the gifts of God. A pure heart is something that God must Create and a steadfast spirit something that God must renew. Our promises of purity are only a reflection of our desire to avoid the unpleasantness and embarrassment of guilt again. We can no more renew our own spirits and cleanse our own hearts than we can forgive our own sins. These things are the work and gift of God’s Spirit. Purity is not a matter of constraining outward actions, it is a matter of the state of our hearts. God must heal us. Our Struggle with Sin is Producing the Beauty of Brokenness. Our Struggle Should Produce Broken People who are Willing to Talk Abut Their Need for Grace - Vs.13: “Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.” Note that David does not stop at confession and receiving the gifts of repentance - there is more. Repentance is not only the desire to turn away from sin, but the desire to turn against sin. David is not content merely to confess his sin and seek new life, he desires to turn others away from sin as well. Who, better than david, now knows the heartbreaking effects and blindness of adultery - which led him to murder a friend? Who better to warn and pray for others who are in danger of falling into the same sin? The purpose of confession is not to “get forgiveness” so that we can hide our sin again. David does not want to get forgiveness and then hush up the matter - he is going public. He is going to turn his great failing into a gift - a ministry to the people of God. Imagine if the church were full of sinners (rather than respectable people), who were determined and willing to help other sinners turn from the sin which they themselves have struggled with. Why are there so many churches with no sinners in them? It is because we are too embarrassed to admit our sin to one another. The church has become so free of sinners that it has become sterile. Our Struggle Should Produce Broken People Who Worship Because God Has Shown them Mercy - Vs.14-17: “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in brunt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise”. Again, David’s concern is not to hide his sin from God or others - not to ignore his sin - not to pretend that he is over it. David says - let me worship - enable me to do it - I will praise you. And I will praise you not as David the King who has everything under control, who deserves to be here worshipping God. I will, instead praise you as David the sinner - whose spirit was broken - whose heart is contrite. Notice what David says here: It isn’t sacrifice that God wants - God does not want people who are coming in to do their duty - the good thing to do on a Sunday morning. The sacrifices of God are people with broken and contrite spirits, weak, redeemed sinners, who need God. God does not despise those who are broken. Our Struggle Should Produce a Church That Does Not Hide its Brokenness - Vs.18-19: “In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem”. Where a church does not insulate itself from sin, sinners are welcome. Where you have a church full of people who admit their struggle with sin, who worship in brokenness, who encourage one another, the church prospers - it grows. The Spirit of God is in a place like that and amazing things begin to happen. Ultimately, our honesty in confession - our transparency - our willingness to be broken before one another - effects the prosperity of the church. Where there is true confession the church is healthy - where there is hiding from sin, it is dead.
Mar 25, 2007
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us...
1 John 1:8