The Restoration of a Sinner

PSALM 51; 2 SAMUEL 22

THEMATIC BACKGROUND

In these studies, we have seen David commit some grievous sins, and we have witnessed the terrible results of those offenses. He committed adultery with Bathsheba; he murdered Uriah; he even tried to cover up those sins and continue on with his life as though he’d done nothing wrong. And yet God described David as “a man after My own heart” (Acts 13:22; see also 1 Samuel 13:14).

At first glance, this seems like a tremendous contradiction. How can a murderer and adulterer be a man after God’s own heart? In order to understand this, we must look at David’s whole life, not merely at a certain season of sin. We must also remember that all people sin—including Christians, who have the Holy Spirit living within them.

In this study, we will address this question, and we will let David speak for himself. We will look at two psalms that he wrote—one written soon after he was confronted by Nathan, the other composed in thanksgiving for God’s great salvation. We will discover that David’s heart was always turned toward the Lord, and that he was eager to restore his relationship with God after his sin. In this, we will learn that anyone can be a person after God’s own heart by keeping God first in all areas of our lives.

READING PSALM 51:1–19

A CRY FOR MERCY: David is confronted by Nathan concerning his sin with Bath-sheba, and he immediately throws himself at the feet of God.

HEADING TO PSALM 51: David wrote this psalm after he was challenged by Nathan over his sin with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of her husband (see Study 4). It is called a penitential psalm because the author is repentant for his sins. (Other penitential psalms include Psalms 6; 32; 38; 102; 130; and 143.)

1. HAVE MERCY UPON ME: In this cry, David was confessing that he was guilty as charged, and he offered no excuses. He recognized that he was entirely deserving of the Lord’s just anger, and all he could do was ask for mercy.

ACCORDING TO YOUR LOVINGKINDNESS: David acknowledged that God was under no obligation to extend mercy, and that any mercy he was shown would flow naturally out of God’s own kindness and generosity. It is significant to note that David was not asking God to be kind—he understood that God is kind and loving. There is a sense of expectation in this psalm, as David’s pleas for forgiveness were seasoned with the anticipation that his loving God would grant it.

BLOT OUT MY TRANSGRESSIONS: This image is of a written record of David’s deeds, which God completely expunged, erasing the sin so completely that it was as clean as if it had never been written in the first place. Elsewhere, David used a similar metaphor: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

2. WASH ME THOROUGHLY: David recognized that sin defiled him, making him filthy and unfit to approach God’s presence. He knew there was nothing he could do to cleanse himself; cleansing could only come from the hand of God. Yet again we get the sense of expectation that God will do it.

CONFESSING HIS SINS: David does not try to explain away his guilt; instead, he confesses openly that he has sinned.

3. I ACKNOWLEDGE MY TRANSGRESSIONS: When Nathan confronted David concerning his sin, David instantly acknowledged the truth of the accusation: “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13).

MY SIN IS ALWAYS BEFORE ME: This expresses beautifully the oppressive weight of guilt and remorse that a person experiences with unconfessed sin.

4. AGAINST YOU, YOU ONLY, HAVE I SINNED: This is an important concept to understand: all sin is ultimately committed against God. David’s sins damaged many people—indeed, the entire nation of Israel—but the final offense was to God. Joseph recognized the same principle when he was being tempted to commit adultery: “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” he asked the temptress (Genesis 39:9).

DONE THIS EVIL IN YOUR SIGHT: David had tried to pretend for many months that the Lord didn’t see his sin, but in his repentance he came to acknowledge that nothing is hidden from God.

5. IN SIN MY MOTHER CONCEIVED ME: David’s sin was not some rare occurrence that caught him by surprise. On the contrary, he realized that he was a sinner from birth, and that sin was part of his basic human nature. Everyone who has ever lived has sinned, because everyone is descended from Adam—everyone, that is, except Jesus. The apostle Paul confirmed this. He wrote, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

6. YOU DESIRE TRUTH IN THE INWARD PARTS: That is, in the inner man, the true nature of a person’s character—that which is hidden from others but visible to God. “Truth in the inward parts” can only be produced by staying in God’s Word. His truth searches a man’s inmost being, cutting through all pretense and self-deception and bringing light and life. “For the word of God is living and powerful,” wrote the author of Hebrews, “and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (4:12).

7. HYSSOP: An aromatic plant used by the priests to sprinkle blood or water on a person during ceremonial cleansing (Leviticus 14:6). David was yearning for a complete cleansing from the defilement of his sin.

A PRAYER FOR RESTORATION: David’s concern is not that he will suffer punishment, but that he is out of fellowship with God. His desire is to be restored.

8. MAKE ME HEAR JOY AND GLADNESS: Here is another beautiful description of the deadening effect sin has upon a person’s spirit. All joy goes out of life; things that once brought pleasure or satisfaction no longer do so.

THE BONES YOU HAVE BROKEN: David’s guilt was causing him extreme anguish, even to the point of physical symptoms. He also wrote of this experience, “When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer” (Psalm 32:3–4).

9. HIDE YOUR FACE FROM MY SINS: God cannot tolerate the presence of sin, as we have seen throughout these studies. To hide His face is to turn His back on sin, and David wanted his sin to be so utterly eradicated that even God would never look upon it again. The opposite of this—when God turns His face away from the unrepentant sinner who refuses His offer of forgiveness—is horrible. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1–2, emphasis added). The Lord is always working to bring sinners to repentance, and He will never turn His face away from the one who confesses sin—but the day will come when He will turn His back forever on those who have rejected Him.

10. CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART: The word translated create is the same word used in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” David recognized that a pure heart was something that only God could create; he could not produce it himself. Man’s heart is indelibly defiled with sin, and humanity is powerless to change that. A pure heart does not naturally evolve in any man or woman; neither can anyone create it. Such a transformation can only come from God.

11. DO NOT CAST ME AWAY FROM YOUR PRESENCE: The Lord gave Israel’s leaders His Spirit, empowering them to deliver His people from their enemies. But when God’s kings or judges rejected His leadership, He took His Spirit away from them. The Lord had rejected Saul as king and had removed His Spirit from him (1 Samuel 16:14). The same fate befell Samson ( Judges 16:20). But Christians will never experience either God’s rejection or the removal of the Holy Spirit. We are permanently sealed in Christ, and the Holy Spirit is our guarantee of eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:21–22).

13. I WILL TEACH TRANSGRESSORS YOUR WAYS: David was learning from personal experience about the character of God and the nature of sin. His sin could not be hidden from God, and it separated him from His presence—yet the Lord was eager and quick to forgive that sin the moment it was confessed. This glorious news brought joy and restoration to David, and it was only natural that he would want to share it with others.

14. DELIVER ME FROM THE GUILT OF BLOODSHED: The Lord did this the moment David confessed his sin (2 Samuel 12:13).

17. THE SACRIFICES OF GOD ARE A BROKEN SPIRIT: God did accept men’s sacrifices in the Old Testament, but only when they were accompanied by genuine repentance.God delights in the restored sinner rather than in the sacrificial offering; it is the result of the sacrifice—the restored relationship with His people—that brings God pleasure.

READING 2 SAMUEL 22:1–51

GOD MY DELIVERER: David praises the Lord for His protection and deliverance, time and time again. He places his security in the fortress of God’s love.

1. THE LORD HAD DELIVERED HIM FROM THE HAND OF ALL HIS ENEMIES: David may have written this psalm toward the end of his life, after the Lord had given him victory over the Philistines and other enemies of Israel, although some scholars date it earlier in his reign. It is very similar to Psalm 18.

2. THE LORD IS MY ROCK: The rock is used as a metaphor of the Lord throughout Scripture. It depicts something solid, immovable, and unchanging, a stable anchor amid life’s storms. Jesus is also pictured as the cornerstone on which the kingdom of God is built (1 Peter 2:6), as well as a stone of stumbling (1 Peter 2:8).

MY FORTRESS AND MY DELIVERER: The major theme of this psalm is David’s praise to God for delivering him repeatedly from his enemies. God had been a consistent defender, a safe place of refuge throughout David’s tumultuous life.

4. I WILL CALL UPON THE LORD: This was a characteristic of David’s life, calling upon the Lord in all circumstances. He called upon God after he sinned, as we saw in the previous psalm, and he called upon Him in praise and adoration, as we see here.

7. IN MY DISTRESS I CALLED UPON THE LORD: David also called upon the Lord when he needed help and strength.

HE HEARD MY VOICE: In all his calling to the Lord, David was always confident that he was heard—and he was never disappointed.

8. HE WAS ANGRY: This picture of God’s wrath is both terrifying and accurate (Revelation 19:11–21). But David also recognized that he would not face that fury, and Christians can rest in the assurance that we, too, will never face the wrathful judgment of God.

THE CHARACTER OF GOD: David praises God for who He is, rejoicing in His perfect character.

17. HE SENT FROM ABOVE: Jesus literally fulfilled this picture when He descended from heaven and took on human form in order to redeem His people from death—the strongest of man’s enemies.

20. HE DELIVERED ME BECAUSE HE DELIGHTED IN ME: David was not suggesting that he was worthy of God’s favor, but that God delivered him simply because He chose to, and He delighted in him because He is a God of love.

21. THE LORD REWARDED ME ACCORDING TO MY RIGHTEOUSNESS: David was not claiming that he was inherently righteous or free from sin; indeed, if he wrote this psalm later in his life, he was well aware of his sinful nature, as we saw in Psalm 51. The righteousness of which he was speaking was his basic desire to obey God’s Word. He had a heart to please God, and the Lord was faithful to bless him.

22. I HAVE KEPT THE WAYS OF THE LORD: Here is another element of being a man after God’s own heart: obedience. David certainly committed sin, but his life overall was characterized by faithfulness to God’s directions.

23. ALL HIS JUDGMENTS WERE BEFORE ME: The man after God’s own heart will spend time on a regular basis studying God’s Word.

24. I WAS ALSO BLAMELESS BEFORE HIM: This does not mean that David never sinned—it means that his sins were forgiven and removed from the record, blotted out.When we confess our sins, God always forgives them—blots them out and eliminates them from His mind. Christians still miss the mark, but our sins are completely covered by the blood of Christ, and God sees us through that blood as righteous before Him.

26. WITH THE MERCIFUL YOU WILL SHOW YOURSELF MERCIFUL: The righteousness of man does not earn God’s favor. Rather, He is always working to lead men into righteousness. He encourages mercy and humility, because those are His own characteristics, and He resists ungodly behavior in an attempt to move sinners toward Himself.

28. YOUR EYES ARE ON THE HAUGHTY: God seeks to “bring them down” not because He is looking for an excuse to judge, but because He wants the proud man to humble himself before God.

36. THE SHIELD OF YOUR SALVATION: This description summarizes all that God is to His people, saving us from eternal judgment and protecting us from the enemy of our souls.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

1. On what basis did David hope to find mercy from God? Why was he so confident of receiving it?

2. What did David mean when he said, “In sin my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5)? What does this teach about human nature? about God’s nature?

3. What did David mean when he said that God “desire[s] truth in the inward parts” (Psalm 51:6)? What does this teach about the character of God?

4. According to the passage from 2 Samuel, why did God deliver David from his enemies? Why did God show His wrath to those people?

SOME KEY PRINCIPLES

When we confess our sins, God utterly blots them out.

David’s sins against God were dreadful, ordering the murder of an innocent man (after sleeping with the man’s wife), and then trying to hide it from God and others. These offenses brought judgment upon his entire household, and they further resulted in sowing discord and rebellion within his kingdom. God’s law demanded the death penalty for both adultery and murder, and David was condemned twice over. Yet God did not put him to death; instead, He “put away” David’s sin and blotted it out of existence. David still faced temporal consequences of those sins, but he was set completely free from the judgment and wrath of God.

But God did not show David such grace and mercy until he repented of his sins. David thought he could hide his sin, and for many months he went about his life as though he had done nothing wrong. During that time, however, he was not at peace. “When I kept silent,” he wrote, “my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer” (Psalm 32:3–4). Yet the moment he confessed his sin and repented, he found peace and restoration with God.

The Lord, speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, said of His people, “I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” ( Jeremiah 31:34). God desires unbroken fellowship with all people, and He is quick to forget our trespasses. The important element in this, however, is that God’s people should also be quick to confess their sins. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Christians may face discipline, but we will never
face God’s angry judgment.

The wrathful judgment of God refers to His ultimate sentence of eternal separation from Himself. This sentence falls upon any who die in their sin, because God cannot tolerate sin in His presence. The Bible teaches that all people have sinned, and that no one can eradicate the sin nature. We are all descended from Adam, and therefore we all share Adam’s sinful nature—there is nothing we can do to remove that likeness.

The good news, however, is that what we cannot do, God can! He sent His Son to become a man, born of the Spirit of God. He was not subject to death because He had never sinned, yet He willingly died on the cross in order to pay the penalty for our sins.

When we accept Christ’s atonement for our sins, we are born again into the family of God—and nothing can ever remove us from that family.

The Lord does discipline us in order to produce godly character in our lives, but this is not the same as facing eternal judgment. Once we have been born again into Jesus Christ, nothing can ever separate us from Him. “For God did not appoint us to wrath,”wrote the apostle Paul, “but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him” (1 Thessalonians 5:9–10). In another letter, he confidently declared, “I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39).

God is always working to draw people to Himself.

God’s wrath is a terrible thing to contemplate, as we see in the vivid pictures that David drew. The Lord is angered by injustice and unrighteousness; He resists the proud and turns deviousness back upon itself. His voice thunders and His breath blazes forth, consuming all the wicked deeds of men.

But God takes no delight in pouring out His wrath, and His goal is always to bring the sinner to repentance. His “eyes are on the haughty,” David wrote, that He “may bring them down” (2 Samuel 22:28)—that is, that the proud might become humble. God does not look for excuses to destroy people; He looks to draw His children to Himself and make them more like Christ. This does not discount the fact that God’s wrath will fall upon those who die apart from Christ but while a person is alive, God’s grace and salvation are always available—and the Lord uses every means to draw the sinner to Himself. Once saved, the Christian is permanently saved from God’s wrath. Thus, for Christians, God’s anger toward sin is always expressed as discipline, intended to make us more like His Son, not to castigate us. The difference between Saul and David is the difference between judgment and discipline. If we will submit to His discipline, we will be conformed to Christ’s image: “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).

DIGGING DEEPER

5. What character traits did David describe in these two psalms? What pictures did he use to describe God’s wrath? God’s grace and mercy?

6. What does it mean to “blot out” one’s transgressions? Why does God do this? What is required of us?

7. Why did David say that he had sinned against God alone? Why did he not include Uriah and Bathsheba in the list? What does this teach about the nature of sin?

8. Why did David say, “I was also blameless before Him” (2 Samuel 22:24)? What did he mean?What does this teach about God’s view of His people?

TAKING IT PERSONALLY

9. Are you a person after God’s own heart? What is entailed in that? How can you strengthen that quality this week?

10. Is there any unconfessed sin in your life? Take time right now to confess it before the Lord.