A Change of Heart (Psalm 51 outline, study questions)

Sin will take me further than I want to go.

Sin will keep me longer than I want to stay.

Sin will cost me more than I want to pay.

The evidence of true repentance is a clean heart (Ps 51:10), willingness and wholeheartedness (Ps 51:12, 19), confidence (Ps 51:13, 15), brokenness (Ps 51:17) and joy (Ps 51:8, 12).

1. David's confession shows the efficacy of repentance (1-6).
2. David's cleansing shows the evidence of repentance (7-12).
3. David's confidence shows the effect of repentance (13-19).

Psalm 51 is the OT's central text on repentance. It begins on the individual level (1-6) and ends (16-19) by moving to the national level -- the renewed city. The clue to understanding this is to accept the heading: David is the author and the occasion is that of his great sin (2 Samuel 11). The king's sin imperiled the welfare of his kingdom -- and his restoration restored the city's vitality.

Repentance

1. Efficacy (1-6)
2. Evidence (7-15)
3. Effect (16-19)

David's:

1. Plea (1-12)
2. Promise (13-17)
3. Prayer (18-19)

A Change of Heart:

1. Confession (1-6)
2. Cleansing/Consecration (7-12)
3. Conviction/Confidence (13-19)

 [Create in Me a Clean Pure Heart; The Marvel of Repentance; A Prayer of Repentance; The Penitent's Prayer; The Way to Confess Sins; The Art of Confessing Our Sins]

"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1:15)

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord" (Acts 3:19).

"First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalemand in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds" (Acts 26:20).

"This great song, pulsating with the agony of a sin-stricken soul, helps us to understand the stupendous wonder of the everlasting mercy of our God." G. Campbell Morgan.

William Carey, the great pioneer missionary to India, asked that Psalm 51 might be the text of his funeral sermon.

1. The efficacy/wonder of repentance (1-6)
1. Sin, grace and cleansing (1-2). Appeal to God's love and mercy.
2. Sin and conscience (3). Confession of sinful conduct.
3. Sin and God (4). God is just and blameless in judging him.
4. Sin and human nature (5-6). Acknowledging (personal sin and) God's desire
2. The evidence/dimensions of true repentance (7-15)
1. Longing to be right with God (7-9)
2. Commitment to newness of life (10-12)
3. Sharing the truth (13-15)
3. The effect/fruit of repentance (16-19): The community of penitents

When Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, his first thesis says, "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said "Repent," he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance." All of Christian life should be repentance. Turning from sin and trusting in the good news that Jesus saves sinners is not merely a one-time inaugural experience but a daily occurrence of a Christian. The gospel is for every day and every moment. Repentance is to be the Christian's continual posture.

It is not David's terrible sins that entitled him to be called "A Man After God's Own Heart," but his confession, his repentance, and his prayers that justly entitled him to such an accolade. King David was definitely not one of the habitually wicked who refuse to repent. The saint is the sinner who repents; the wicked man is the sinner who refuses, either to acknowledge his sins or cast himself upon the mercy of God in prayers for pardon.

Ps 51:1-2. Three words describing God.  "Mercy denotes God's loving assistance to the pitiful. Unfailing love [lovingkindness] points to the continuing operation of this mercy. Compassion [tender mercies] teaches that God feels for our infirmities." (Boice)

1. Grace (mercy). The unmerited, undeserved goodness of God.
2. Committed (unfailing) love [cheesedh]: Love as a decision of the unchangeable will of God.
3. Compassion: Emotional passionate love.

Three words describing what God does with our sin.  "The plea, blot out, means 'wipe away', like the writing from a book (cf. Exodus 32:32; Numbers 5:23)." (Kidner) "Out of thy debt-book; cross out the black lines of my sins with the red lines of Christ's blood; cancel the bond, though written in black and bloody characters." (Trapp)

"Wash me thoroughly, Hebrew multiply to wash me; by which phrase he implies the greatness of his guilt, and the insufficiency of all legal washings, and the absolute necessity of some other and better thing to wash him." (Poole) "The word employed is significant, in that it probably means washing by kneading or beating, not by simple rinsing." (Maclaren) "To be cleansed not only from outward defilements, but from his swinish nature; for though a swine be washed never so clean, if she retain her nature, she will be ready to wallow in the next guzzle." (Trapp)

1. Wipe away (blot out) [machah]. Sin leaves a mark which God can see and which he can erase.
2. Launder (wash away) [kabas]. The infection and stain of sin gets right down into the fibers of our nature. God alone knows a detergent which can reach and cleanse away.
3. Purify (cleanse) [tahar]. Mostly used in Leviticus of purifying from some offense that excluded them from the congregation of God's people, i.e. removal of that which separates from God.

Three words dealing with the offense.

1. Rebellion (transgressions). Willful, responsible refusal of God's way.
2. Iniquity. The twist or warp in human nature from whence sin springs.
3. Sin. The specific offence committed, "missing the mark."

Ps 51:3. "To know" is in the sense "to realize, acknowledge." "Knowledge in the typically biblical sense is not just an item in the mind, but a truth so grasped by the mind that it changes the life. Ps 32:3-4 (if it belongs as it could well do to this incident) suggests that for a time David lived by self-deception, and paid the price. "In front of" describes what is a constant in felt experience. Ps 51:3 is saying, "I acknowledge -- and I feel what I acknowledge."

Ps 51:4. The conjunction (that) expresses purpose and should not be weakened in any way. Divine purposeful working is so all embracing that, while God cannot at all be held responsible for man's sin, yet man's sin has its intended place in revealing the righteousness and justice of God. The sinner might cry out, "You can do all things. Why did you not stop me?" The Lord would reply, "Because I purposed that you should come to the place where you would recognise your sin, face the reality of my righteous juystice, stand judged before my holiness -- this is my choicest blessing for the sinner!"

Ps 51:5. David is just tracking sinfulness back to the earliest existence of a moral being. He traces the presence of sin first to the moment of birth, and then, beyond that, to the moment of conception. These verses are important evidences in any discussion of abortion: the infant at birth, and the fetus at conception, is a moral and personal being.

Ps 51:5, 6. The double "behold!" throws these two verses into contrast. The human reality is that sin is a constituent of human nature (5), and is contrary to divine desire (6).

Ps 51:7. David appeals directly to God to apply some hyssop-cleansing (Exo 12:22: Passover - the satisfying of God's wrath, the blessing of peace with God; Lev 14:6ff: the "cleansing" of the leper; dealing with personal defilement; Num 19:16-19: chance uncleanness, by touching a dead body. Hyssop was the means of application throughout.)

Ps 51:8. Sin debilitates the sinner (Ps 32:3).

Ps 51:9-12. Each verse refers to "spirit." Since the topic in v10 is God's creative work, the "spirit" is the new spirit God will create in David (2 Cor 5:17; Eze 36:26). V11 follows v10 in the same way that Eze 36:27 follows 36:26. The new-created human spirit is the work of the divine Spirit. The plea is for intimate personal union. David with God (11a) and God by his Sp[irit with David (11b).

Ps 51:13. The saving instrument is the communication of the truth. "To turn back" links to "bring back" (restore) in Ps 51:12. It is the returned sinner who can lead sinners back. Notice the balance between the desire expresses (13a) and the certainty of return (13b).

Ps 53:14. It is between two verses dealing with the opened mouth of testimony (10-12 and 15). It expresses the hugely important truth that it is precisely as sinners declared righteous ("blood-guiltiness" to "righteousness") that we testify to our salvation. We are living illustrations of the fact that God bothers with sinners only as such can we speak to others. He deals with our sins in his absolute righteousness.

Ps 53:15. Lips that shame would keep silent, the Sovereign Lord will "open" and use! Only he can save; only he can liberate into speech. The Sovereign One opening the lips creates personal responsibility to use the lips he has opened.

Ps 53:16-19. The whole section insists that only when 16-17 are true can 18-19 be true.

Ps 53:16-17. The ritual act of offering a sacrifice as such means nothing to God. What rebellious sinners need to know is God's insistence on a consenting and participating spirit. When sacrifice and burnt offering are mentioned together, sacrifice means the peace or fellowship offering -- they are the rituals specifically that pointed to living for and with God. The burnt offering symbolizes the sinner coming in full consecration to God; the peace offering, God coming in peace to the sinner. They were the sacrifices of getting back together. The life of consecration (burnt offering) and fellowship (peace offering) is not a matter of correct ritual but of getting right with God, knowing and teaching his way with sinners, singing of his righteousness.

Ps 53:18-19. It is not the restoring of walls, but the penitential return of sinners. Sacrifices here are representative of a spirit and heart right with God. "Whole burnt offering" is the single word (kaliyl) emphasizing totality.

Psalms by the Day, a new devotional translation, Alec Motyer

1 Grant me your grace (have mercy, be gracious), O God,
according to your committed love (loving kindness; unfailing love; faithful love);
according to the abundance (greatness) of your compassion
wipe away (blot out) my rebellions (the stain of my sins);
2 abundantly launder (wash) me from my iniquity,
and purify (cleanse) me from my sin,
3 because personally I know my rebellions,
and my sin is in front of (always before) me all the time.
4 Against you--only you (you alone)--I sinned,
and what is evil in your eyes (sight) I have done,
in order that you may be in the right (justified) when you speak,
in the clear (blameless) when you judge.
5 Behold! In iniquity (sin, guilt) I was brought to birth
and in sin when my mother conceived me,
6 Behold! It is truth (faithfulness, honesty, integrity) gives you please in what is concealed (inner self, inward being),
and in what is covered over you (secret place, deep within, hidden part) will make me know wisdom.
7 Deal with (clease, purify, purge) my sin by hyssop so that I may be purified (clean);
launder (wash) me, and I will be whiter even than snow!
8 Make (let) me hear (give me back) gladness and joy.
Let the bones you have crushed exult (rejoice).
9 Hide (turn) your face from (don't keep looking at) my sins,
and wipe away (blot out, remove) all my iniquities (the stain of my guilt).
10 A purified (clean, pure) heart create for me, O God,
and within me make a new and steadfast (right, loyal) spirit.
11 Do not cast me away from your face (presence),
and the Spirit of your holiness (your Holy Spirit) do not take from me.
12 Oh, bring back (restore) to me the gladness of your salvation,
and with a willing Spirit sustain (uphold) me (make me willing to obey you).
13 Oh, I would teach rebels (transgressors, the rebellious) your ways,
and sinners will turn back (return, converted) to you.
14 Deliver me from blood-guiltiness (the guilt of bloodshed),
O God, God of my salvation (God my Savior, God who saves):
My tongue will shout out aloud (sing) of your righteousness (forgiveness).
15 Sovereign One, do open (unseal) even my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise (praise you).
16 Because you are not pleased with (do not delight in, want a, desire a) sacrifice --
I really would give (bring, offer) it!
Burnt offering you do not accept with favor (take pleasure in, are not pleased with).
17 God's sacrifices (the sacrifice pleasing to God, the sacrifice you desire) are a broken spirit;
a broken and crushed (contrite, repentant) heart (a broken spirit),
O God, you will not treat with contempt (despise, reject).
18 In your favorable acceptance (good pleasure, may it please you to), do good to (prosper) Zion;
do build (up, rebuild) the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will accept with favor (delight in the, right) sacrifices of righteousness (the righteous),
burnt offering and whole burnt offering (burnt offerings offered whole);

Then you will offer bulls on your altar.

OUTLINE    I. DAVID'S PLEA (51:1-12)       A. HIS APPEAL TO GOD'S LOVE AND MERCY (1-2)        1. He pleads mercy according to God's loving kindness        2. He implores forgiveness according to God's tender mercies        3. He begs washing and cleansing from his sin       B. HIS CONFESSION OF SINFUL CONDUCT (3-4)        1. He admits his sin which is ever before him        2. He confesses that he has sinned against God, and done evil in           His sight        3. God is just and blameless in judging him       C. HIS ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF GOD'S DESIRE (5-6)        1. His expression of sinfulness           a. He was brought forth in iniquity           b. In sin his mother conceived him        2. His awareness of what God's desire           a. God wants truth in the inward parts           b. God wills to make him know wisdom in the hidden part       D. HIS PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS AND RESTORATION (7-12)        1. He prays for forgiveness, for God to...           a. Purge him with hyssop, that he might be clean           b. Wash him, that he might be whiter than snow           c. Hide His face from his sins           d. Blot out all his iniquities        2. He prays for restoration, for God to...           a. Make him hear joy and gladness           b. Make his broken bones rejoice           c. Create in him a clean heart           d. Renew a steadfast spirit in him           e. Not cast him away from His presence           f. Not take His Holy Spirit from him           g. Restore to him the joy of His salvation           h. Uphold him with His generous Spirit    II. DAVID'S PROMISE (51:13-17)       A. TO TEACH OTHERS (13)        1. He will teach transgressors the ways of God        2. Sinners will be converted to God       B. TO OFFER PRAISE (14-17)        1. If the God of his salvation will deliver him from           bloodguiltiness and open his lips...           a. He will sing aloud of God's righteousness           b. His mouth will show forth His praise        2. For he knows in what God delights           a. Not sacrifice or burnt offering, or he would have offered it           b. But a broken spirit and a contrite heart, God will not              despise    III. DAVID'S PRAYER (51:18-19)       A. FOR ZION AND JERUSALEM (18)        1. That God do His good pleasure to Zion        2. That God build the walls of Jerusalem

Questions:

• Do you agree with this?

Sin will take me further than I want to go.

Sin will keep me longer than I want to stay.

Sin will cost me more than I want to pay.

• Consider the reason(s) why you may be unhappy. What do you usually do to resolve your unhappiness?

• What are the costs and benefits of keeping secret something you have done wrong versus admitting it?

• Identify a recurring sin that you have not yet eradicated from your life. If so inclined, what plans will you make to rid yourself of that sin?

• Describe David's sin in 2 Samuel 11.

• How did Nathan confront his sin in 2 Samuel 12:1-12? 2 Samuel 12:13 is David's response and Nathan's reply. Why do you think David found it necessary to compose Psalm 51 (David's reaction to Nathan's confrontation)?

• Read Psalm 51 slowly and thoughtfully in at least two translations. How would you describe David's reaction? What are some words or phrases that are meaningful to you? What is a verse that you would like to remember?

• What three things does David ask God to do (Ps 51:1-2)? Why did David dare to ask for these things (51:1)?

• What terms does David use to describe himself and his wrongdoing (51:1-5)? What is David's attitude toward his sin (51:3-5)?

• How do you feel about unconfessed sin in your life?

• How honest are you about your sin? Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10.

• As Christians, we know we are sinful. Why then, is it still so painful to be confronted with a specific sin?

• ♥ What role does honesty play in our receiving forgiveness and what part does denial play in our remaining guilty (Ps 32:3)?

• ♥ Are you ever tempted to rationalize your sin? How should you view your sin?

• ♥ Why did David verbalize his sorrow and confession so specifically? What can we learn from his example?  

• Why do you think sin has become an unpopular and little-used word today?

• Why is sin that involves another person chiefly a sin against God (Ps 51:4)? Does this make our sin against another person less serious?

• If we are born as sinners (51:5), sin must be something more than doing wrong things. What else is it?

• What does David infer to be the opposite of sin and guilt (51:6)? Can sin and truth coexist in the heart (your inner being)? Why or why not?

• ♥ How would you answer the person who says, "I've never done anything as bad as what David did. Psalm 51 doesn't really apply to me."?

• How does David ask to be restored (51:7-12)? What does David seems to most desire (51:1, 2, 7, 9)? How confident is David that God can do this for him (51:7)? Why do you think David places so much value on being clean, not just forgiven?

• Where does God desire the work of cleansing to begin (51:6, 10)? What is the significance of this? [In Biblical terms, create means to "make something out of nothing" and in Scripture, only God creates (Gen 1:1). In light of these facts, what is the significance of David's request (51:10)?]

• What positive things did David expect God to bring out of his whole ordeal (51:13-15)? Is this a by-product of a forgiven life? [What experience have you had with forgiven sin that could help someone else?]

• What are some ways that won't work in dealing with guilt and sin (Ps 51:16)?

• What characteristic is God looking for in us (Ps 51:17)? Why do you think this is important?

• ♥ What do you consider a broken and contrite heart to be (51:17)? What is your experience with this condition? When are you likely to come to God with an "offering" for sin (51:16) instead of a broken and contrite heart? Why?

• First David says that God does not delight in sacrifices (51:16) and then he says that sacrifices do delight God (51:19). What makes the difference?

• Does forgiveness and cleansing mean we will not suffer the consequences of our sin?

• What, specifically, does Psalm 51 have in common with 1 John 1:9? Why do you think we are sometimes hesitant to confess our sin, even when we know God will forgive and cleanse us?
• ♥ How often do we need to make good on God's offer in 1 John 1:9?
• ♥ Have you ever struggled with a sense that your sin was so great that you could never be fully forgiven? What hope do you find in David's prayer?
• ♥ On what basis can you plead and claim God's mercy and forgiveness for your sin?