A Truly Repentant Heart: How David Dealt With Sin (Part 1)
Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.
Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. Psalm 51:1 (NLT)
In a rather unsettling way, David, the "man after God’s own heart" had sinned against God.
He had committed adultery and senselessly ordered the husband of the woman to be killed both as a cover-up and to pave the way to marry the dead man's wife. David had abused his power as king. All of David's imperfections were on display. The man after God's own heart had some real issues of sin to deal with. So, how was David going to deal with this condition? How was he going to deal with his guilt? Psalm 51 takes us deep into the heart of King David and shows us how contrite he was. David had a truly repentant heart.
First: David appealed to God for mercy. His appeal for mercy was based on the fact that God’s love was boundless and could never fail. We see this appeal lining up with the words of the Prophet Jeremiah in Lamentations, "the faithful love of the LORD never ends!
His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning." (Lamentations 3:22-23).
As horrible and destructive as sin is, we must always remember that God's love never fails and His mercies can never be exhausted by our sins. Will we reap consequences for sinning? Yes! But is God willing to forgive us? Yes! God forgives because He is ever merciful and boundlessly loving. Never allow your sins to drive a wedge between you and God because of unrepentance.
God has fresh mercies for you this morning. Take hold of it today.
Second: David recognized that his sin had left a stain on him. Whenever he came into the presence of God with unconfessed sin and an unrepentant heart, his hypocrisy could not be missed. He was like a man wearing a white shirt on which was a huge stain of blood which could not be missed. That stain of blood represented his sin. He could not in good conscience continue to worship God and pretend that there was no stain on him.
David needed God to wash out that glaring stain just like one would take a stained shirt to the cleaners to be lifted out with a special cleaning solution and thoroughly laundered. God’s laundering agent is His compassion. God does not delight in watching His children walk around in stained clothing. He does not want our sins to mark and blemish us because we have not truly repented and asked for forgiveness.
Is God’s heart broken when we sin against Him? Yes! But God's greatest delight is to see His children receive His forgiveness. His promise in Isaiah still stands: ‘’Come now, let us settle the matter,’’ says the LORD. ‘’Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’’ (Isaiah 1:18).
David knew the promises of God. Because of his close relationship with God, He knew this in his heart even before the Prophet Isaiah wrote those words. He was a man after God’s own heart.
Question: Is there some sin that is weighing you down? Are you truly sorry?
Then come with repentance before our merciful and loving God. He will wash off your stains and restore you to newness of life and joy. Don’t continue in guilt and stain. God is merciful.
He had committed adultery and senselessly ordered the husband of the woman to be killed both as a cover-up and to pave the way to marry the dead man's wife. David had abused his power as king. All of David's imperfections were on display. The man after God's own heart had some real issues of sin to deal with. So, how was David going to deal with this condition? How was he going to deal with his guilt? Psalm 51 takes us deep into the heart of King David and shows us how contrite he was. David had a truly repentant heart.
First: David appealed to God for mercy. His appeal for mercy was based on the fact that God’s love was boundless and could never fail. We see this appeal lining up with the words of the Prophet Jeremiah in Lamentations, "the faithful love of the LORD never ends!
His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning." (Lamentations 3:22-23).
As horrible and destructive as sin is, we must always remember that God's love never fails and His mercies can never be exhausted by our sins. Will we reap consequences for sinning? Yes! But is God willing to forgive us? Yes! God forgives because He is ever merciful and boundlessly loving. Never allow your sins to drive a wedge between you and God because of unrepentance.
God has fresh mercies for you this morning. Take hold of it today.
Second: David recognized that his sin had left a stain on him. Whenever he came into the presence of God with unconfessed sin and an unrepentant heart, his hypocrisy could not be missed. He was like a man wearing a white shirt on which was a huge stain of blood which could not be missed. That stain of blood represented his sin. He could not in good conscience continue to worship God and pretend that there was no stain on him.
David needed God to wash out that glaring stain just like one would take a stained shirt to the cleaners to be lifted out with a special cleaning solution and thoroughly laundered. God’s laundering agent is His compassion. God does not delight in watching His children walk around in stained clothing. He does not want our sins to mark and blemish us because we have not truly repented and asked for forgiveness.
Is God’s heart broken when we sin against Him? Yes! But God's greatest delight is to see His children receive His forgiveness. His promise in Isaiah still stands: ‘’Come now, let us settle the matter,’’ says the LORD. ‘’Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’’ (Isaiah 1:18).
David knew the promises of God. Because of his close relationship with God, He knew this in his heart even before the Prophet Isaiah wrote those words. He was a man after God’s own heart.
Question: Is there some sin that is weighing you down? Are you truly sorry?
Then come with repentance before our merciful and loving God. He will wash off your stains and restore you to newness of life and joy. Don’t continue in guilt and stain. God is merciful.
Prayer: Father, I thank you for your daily newness of love, mercy, and compassion. I repent of my sins and ask that you wash me white as snow. Amen.