Sunday
Morning Bible Study
November 23, 2003
Psalm 51 – Finding Forgiveness
In 2Samuel 11-12, we have the tragic story of the fall of a hero. It was
springtime, and the time when kings went out to war. But this year David stayed
home for some reason. It happened in the evening. David was up on his rooftop
when he spied a young gal taking a bath on her rooftop. It ended up with David
committing adultery with the wife of his friend Uriah.
When she got pregnant, he tried to cover it up by having Uriah come home,
and hopefully spend time with her. Uriah refused to spend time with his wife
out of loyalty to his friends still back on the battlefield. Out of
frustrations, David had Uriah sent back to the battlefield carrying secret
instructions to the general. The instructions were to have Uriah killed in the
battle.
David went on to marry Bathsheba and thought he had covered his tracks.
(2 Sam 12:1-7 KJV) And
the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There
were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. {2} The rich man
had exceeding many flocks and herds: {3} But the poor man had nothing, save one
little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together
with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his
own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. {4} And there
came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and
of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but
took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. {5}
And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan,
As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: {6} And
he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he
had no pity. {7} And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man…
Psalm 51 is the song that David wrote at this time.
Illustration
The Sunday School teacher had just finished a lesson on Christian behavior.
“Now, Billy,” she asked, “tell me what we must do before we can expect to be
forgiven for our sins.” Without hesitation, Billy replied, “First we gotta sin.”
:1-6 Confession
:1 …according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy
tender mercies
lovingkindness – checed – goodness, kindness,
faithfulness
tender mercies –racham – to love deeply, have mercy,
have tender affection
Lesson
Count on grace
David is counting on God’s “lovingkindness” and “tender mercies”. These
words speak of God’s grace, His unmerited kindness towards us.
These are the very character qualities that God considers primary as to who
He is. When Moses asked to know God better, this is what God told Moses:
(Exo 34:6 KJV) And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed,
The LORD, The LORD God, merciful (Heb.
for “tender mercies”) and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness (Heb. for “lovingkindness”)
and truth,
One of the most repeated phrases in the Bible describes these qualities of
God. We see it in a song sung at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple:
(2 Chr 5:13 KJV) It came even to pass, as the
trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising
and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets
and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For
he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was
filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;
This is all about God’s grace. God’s grace is when we receive good things
from God that we don’t deserve.
You may be in serious trouble with God today. But you can receive God’s
forgiveness, cleansing, and help for a new start because of God’s grace, not
because you deserve it.
Illustration
Several years ago, a businessman found out about an elderly widow who was
unable to pay her rent. Feeling pity for her, he went to some of his friends
and asked them if they would be kind enough to contribute something to help pay
her rent. They responded, and he got two months’ rent. He went to the widow’s
house that week to deliver the money.
Although he knew she was inside, when he knocked he got no answer. He
knocked a second time and still no answer. He knocked a third time, still no
answer. He knocked a fourth time. Not knowing what else to do, he returned to
his business.
A couple of days later, he saw her downtown on the sidewalk looking
destitute. He walked up to her and said, “Ma’am, some friends of mine and I
found out about your situation. We want to help. We got enough money together
to give you rent money for two months. I came to your house to give it to you
this week, but I knocked several times and got no answer.”
She took a gasp of breath and put her hand to her face. She said, “Oh, I
thought you were the landlord coming to evict me.”
-- R. Larry Moyer,
"Right Smack in the Middle of Sin,
God wants to be gracious.
:3 I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
It’s been about a year between the time that David sinned and when he
confessed his sin.
All he can think about is his sin. It’s become an all consuming passion.
We understand consuming passions.
Illustration
Forty years ago yesterday, November
22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Do you remember
where you were when you heard the news? Most people over the age of 45 or so
can. It was a horrible time in our country’s history, something that
overwhelmed us.
Two years ago we encountered another one of those times. On September 11,
our nation was forever changed by hatred of terrorism. I imagine any of us who
will still be alive in forty years will be saying to each other, “Do you
remember where you were on September
11, 2001?
When we finally realize what we’ve done, the guilt of our sin can be all consuming.
Just as it should be.
Illustration
In the late 1980’s, televangelist Jim Bakker was convicted of fraud and
conspiracy. Part of the downfall of his ministry involved an affair he had with
a gal named Jessica Hahn. In his book I
Was Wrong (Nelson, 1996, p. 21), Jim writes,
“I knew that what I was doing went directly against everything I believed
as a Christian. I had never cheated on my wife in all our years of marriage. Jessica
Hahn, however, seemed quite comfortable with the situation. I simply abandoned
myself to the moment. We did not make love; we had sex. When it was over, I
quickly left the room, and in a daze, hurried to the elevator and pressed the
button marking the eighth floor. The winter afternoon sun was already beginning
to slide down on the horizon as I stepped inside my room. I was horrified. Oh,
God! What have I done? I had not considered the consequences of my absurd
attempt to make Tammy Faye jealous. I had not even paused to think of the
potential ramifications of my actions while I was giving in to the temptation
of having sex with a woman other than my wife. I had simply reacted. I had
opened the door to attack on the ministry I headed, my family, and me
personally. Worse yet, the devil had not made me do any of it; I had done it of
my own stubborn will. I disrobed and immediately stepped into the shower,
turning the water on as hot as I could stand it. I never felt so dirty in all
my life. Maybe if I make the water hotter, it will wash it all away, I
thought.”
:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned
Lesson
Confess
David is asking for forgiveness, but forgiveness doesn’t come until a
person acknowledges and confesses their sin before God. David is agreeing that God
is correct in His condemnation of David’s sin.
Ultimately, sin is against God, so we need to confess our sin to Him.
When we confess our sin, God will forgive us.
(Psa 32:5 KJV) I acknowledged my sin unto thee,
and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto
the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
Though Jesus paid for our sins by dying on the cross in our place, it’s the
act of confession, admitting our sin before God, that brings about the
receiving of forgiveness.
(1 John 1:9 KJV) If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
David found this to be true. When confronted with his sin, David admitted
it.
(2 Sam 12:13 KJV) And David said unto Nathan, I have
sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put
away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
God is not out to punish. God is out to pardon. But we need to open the
door when He knocks. We need to admit our need to Him. We need to confess our sin
to Him.
:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
David is not saying that giving birth or the act of conceiving a child is
sinful. He’s talking about what we would call “original sin”. He’s stating the
fact that’s true for all of us. We are sinners from conception. We have
inherited a sin nature from Adam. We sin because we are sinners.
(Ps 51:5 The Message) I’ve been out of step with you for a long
time, in the wrong since before I was born.
We are all born sinners. Blame it on Adam.
:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts…
Lesson
Live in reality
God doesn’t want us living in a fantasy land. He wants us to face the facts
of our sin.
I grow when I learn to live in the truth. God teaches me wisdom when I
learn to live in the truth.
(Eph 4:15
KJV) But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which
is the head, even Christ:
Illustration
Friends, if we be honest with ourselves, we shall be honest with each
other.
-- George MacDonald,
Scottish writer, 19th century.
Living in reality is like living in the “light”. When you’ve lived your
whole life in a dark room and someone finally turns on the light and you look
in the mirror – that’s reality.
Illustration
FACING THE MUSIC
Everyone has heard the expression, “face the music.” There is an
interesting story about how this expression began years ago in Japan.
According to the story, a man of great influence and wealth demanded that he be
given a place in the imperial orchestra because he wanted to “perform” before
the Emperor. The conductor agreed to let him sit in the second row of the
orchestra, even though he could not read music. He was given a flute, and when
a concert would begin, the man would raise his instrument, pucker his lips, and
move his fingers. He would go through all the motions of playing, but he never
made a sound. This deception continued for two years. Then a new conductor took
over. He told the orchestra that he wanted to audition each player personally.
One by one they performed in the conductor’s presence. Then came the flutist’s
turn. He was frantic with worry, so he pretended to be sick. However, the
doctor who had been ordered to examine him declared that he was perfectly well.
The conductor insisted that the man appear and demonstrate his skill.
Shamefacedly, he had to confess that he was a fake. He could not “face the
music.”
:7-13 Cleansing
:7 Purge me with hyssop, …wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
hyssop – ‘ezowb – hyssop,
a plant we think might be related to a type of oregano, used for medicinal and
religious purposes. The plant was gathered in bunches and used either as a
brush or sprinkler in rituals.
In the Old Testament, the word is found in a couple of places:
The Passover (Ex. 12:21-22) –
where a bunch of hyssop was used as a brush the doorposts of the houses with
lamb’s blood.
The Cleansing the Leper (Lev. 14:4-6) – a special ritual for a miraculous
event, where a person with leprosy was actually cured. The ritual involved
sprinkling blood on a bird, a picture of cleansing.
Lesson
Be Cleansed
Hyssop seems to have a link with blood. The cleansing comes through the
blood.
Illustration
THE BARBER
After twenty years of shaving himself every morning, a man in a small
Southern town decided he had enough. He told his wife that he intended to let
the local barber shave him each day. He put on his hat and coat and went to the
barber shop, which was owned by the pastor of the town’s Baptist
Church. The barber’s wife, Grace,
was working that day, so she performed the task. Grace shaved him and sprayed
him with lilac water, and said, “That will be $20.” The man thought the price
was a bit high, but he paid the bill and went to work. The next morning the man
looked in the mirror, and his face was as smooth as it had been when he left
the barber shop the day before. Not bad, he thought. At least I don’t need to
get a shave every day. The next morning, the man’s face was still smooth. Two
weeks later, the man was still unable to find any trace of whiskers on his
face. It was more than he could take, so he returned to the barber shop. “I
thought $20 was high for a shave”, he told the barber’s wife, “but you must
have done a great job. It’s been two weeks and my whiskers still haven’t
started growing back.” The expression on her face didn’t even change, expecting
his comment. She responded, “You were shaved by Grace. Once shaved, always
shaved.”
When we confess our sins to God, the blood of Jesus cleanses us, and we don’t
have to worry about any “stubble” growing back from that sin ever again!
The prophet Isaiah wrote,
(Isa 1:18
KJV) Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be
as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool.
Illustration
Scientists have discovered that every snowflake has a tiny
piece of dust at its core. Yes, every snowflake has a “dirty heart”. In the
spiritual realm, when the blood of Christ is applied to the heart of an
unbeliever, it cleanses him from all sin. Not a speck of defilement remains,
for God removes every stain and washes him even whiter than snow.
Our cleansing comes from the blood of Jesus.
(1 John 1:7 KJV) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his
Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Receive His cleansing.
:8 that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Sometimes God has to do things to get my attention, like breaking bones.
(Lam 3:31-33 KJV) For the
Lord will not cast off for ever: {32} But though he cause grief, yet will he
have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. {33} For he doth not
afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.
God isn’t looking for opportunities to make us miserable. But sometimes He has to resort to drastic
measures to get our attention.
:13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways
Lesson
Teach others
Sometimes we feel that because we’ve sinned, that God could never use us
again. But in reality, when you’ve learned to turn from your sin, acknowledge
and confess your sin, and receive God’s cleansing, then God can use you to
teach others not to go down the roads you’ve gone down.
But you can’t teach others until you’ve learned it yourself.
Illustration
John R. W. Stott, writes, “It’s quite futile saying to people, “Go to the
cross.” We’ve got to be able to say “Come to the cross.” There are only two
voices that can issue that invitation. One is the voice of the sinless
Redeemer, with which we cannot speak, and the other is the voice of the
forgiven sinner who knows himself forgiven. And that is our part.”
Illustration
It begins with you, then you teach others.