Last week we looked at Psalm 55, where David expresses his anger over being betrayed by a close friend. He asks for God to take action and avenge what had happened.
Psalm 51 takes a very different tone – a tone of repentance. If Psalm 55 is written by David the betrayed, Psalm 51 is written by David the betrayer. Psalm 51 was written after David was confronted about committing adultery with Bathsheba and killing her husband Uriah.
In this Psalm, David admits his wrongdoing and asks God to cleanse him. If we can give David credit for anything in this event, it’s that he accepts responsibility when Nathan confronts him and immediately repents. He doesn’t shift blame, and he doesn’t rebuke Nathan. We can learn a lot from how David responds here. How do you respond when you’re confronted with your sin?
Our view of God will be directly impacted by our view of our own sin.
Some adopt a perspective that’s largely about God’s goodness and kindness, but devoid of sin and repentance. That perspective of God is true, but shortsighted.
For others, their perspective is largely about guilt and condemnation of sin, but devoid of God’s goodness and kindness. That perspective of sin is true, but lacks hope and mercy.
The gospel is not simply the balance of the two ends of a spectrum – it encapsulates them both. In the gospel, we are confronted with the depth of our own sin AND overwhelmed by the mercy of God to forgive us. And Romans 2:4 tell us that God’s goodness leads us to repentance.
David had always been a religious man in a very religious culture, but his acknowledgement and repentance of his sin actually helped him worship God more deeply.
In Romans 3:20-26, Paul explains that we can’t be justified by the law, but that the law makes us aware of the sins from which we should repent. When we realize this, we realize we need a savior – we can’t do it ourselves. Righteousness instead comes by faith in Christ, who fulfilled the law on our behalf.
In the gospel, we find that our accomplishments don’t save us, and our sin doesn’t condemn us. We can repent freely, because our God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
Let us be a people who confess and repent of our sin when needed. Let us be a people who rejoice in and enjoy the pardon Jesus purchased for us. And let us praise him for it all.
