Psalms 51:1-5 NIV For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 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. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
The background of this Psalm is when David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Many of us quote verses 10, 12 and 17 at various times. I want you to think about the Psalm in the light of what David had done. The story is found in 2 Samuel chapter 11. The power of sin is mighty over our lives especially when we least expect it. Sin at any moment can knock on your door and present us with a temptation that is hard to resist. This is also shows us just how crafty the devil is in trying to get us to sin, David probably had no intentions of committing adultery that night, after all he had wives that he could have slept with any time. But this particular time something got his attention, it was a beautiful women bathing and it stirred up something in him. Listen to what James 1:13-15 NLT says And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong and He never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
Just about the time you think you got it all under control, something comes up and grabs your attention and gets you to thinking about it and then all of sudden we find ourselves doing or saying something we shouldn’t and all along we know it was wrong. It is obvious from the Bible that David knew what he did was wrong because he was doing everything he could to cover it up and get the guilt off of himself. The result of David’s sin was that an innocent man died and also the offspring of their union. The last part of James 1:15 says that if sin is not dealt with it will eventually give birth to death. How many times have we given in to temptation and knowing committed sin before God and then had all the consequences to deal with no matter how repentant we are. Sometimes one moment’s quick decision to do something leads to a life time of consequences to be dealt with. It is very painful sometimes.
David didn’t repent just because he got caught, he repented because he knew he was guilty (2 Samuel 12:13). He didn’t try to make excuses and try to blame someone else, he said “I am guilty and whatever punishment you give I deserve.” (Psalm 51:4). David felt that he was very dirty and defiled after this so he ask the Lord not to cover up his sin, but he ask for God to “blot” it out and to “wash” him and to “cleanse” him from this sin. David realized how awful sin was before God and that he needed to be totally cleansed of this.
The temptation of sin is always present before us and is waiting for the opportune moment to lure us into committing sin. God is full of compassion and mercy and loving-kindness and He is more than willing to forgive and cleanse us from our sins. But the question we need to ask ourselves the next time we are faced with a temptation is, “Am I willing to live with the consequences of what I am about to do, knowing that I may be going to not only harm myself but others also? And am I willing to accept that I am not just sinning against myself or someone else, but I am sinning against God himself.
God is always ready and willing to forgive and cleanse us from our sins, but David seem to realize that wasn’t the end of the matter, he realized that even though God would forgive him and restore him; he was going to have a hard time forgiving himself. (Psalm 51:3) Also he realized that something was lost during all this and it was the fact that he knew he was weak and venerable. In Psalm 51:10 he ask the Lord to create in him a pure heart or a clean heart and one that will be steadfast and loyal to God. Then in verse 12 he asks God to restore the joy of God’s salvation to him. The New International Reader’s Version of verse 12 says Give me back the joy that comes from being saved by you. David had lost something that was priceless to him and that was his joy of being saved.
Sin is not something we want to mess around with in our lives, because every time we do, we are faced with issues that we weren’t counting on. Sometimes it takes time for us to get over our choice to sin, God forgives but our lives can be scared for a long time especially when we can’t forgive ourselves. Sin is not worth the price it cost us!!
I am convinced that David was forgiven and the joy of God’s salvation was restored to him and I believe God’s mercy and forgiveness made David a stronger person in the Lord, but I am also convinced that David probably never forget the child that died because of his sin.
So consider the high price of sin when it knocks on your heart’s door and be assured that God is there by the Holy Spirit in you to help you overcome sin.
