King David's Prayer of Repentance when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
“Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight- That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise. For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart- These, O God, You will not despise. Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem. Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, With burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.” (Psalm 51:1-19)
In Psalm 51:4,King David sinned by committing adultery with Uriah’s wife and plotting his murder ( 2 Samuel 11 ). He made an adulteress of Bathsheba and dishonored his people, Israel. Yet all sin is ultimately against God and requires His forgiveness first and foremost.
In Psalm 51:11-12, although we can never lose our salvation once we genuinely come to Christ by faith, we can lose the joy of our salvation through our sin. Only through confession and reliance on His Spirit can we return to peace with the Lord and contentment in our souls.
In Psalm 51:17, we don’t have to be perfect when we go to the Lord. We just have to be willing to submit to Him and acknowledge that He knows what is best for us.
The Sin of King David (2 Samuel 11)
2 Samuel 12:13 “So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”
As we saw yesterday, the New Testament is filled with the call to repent. However, long before the Messiah came to earth, the Holy Spirit was pleased to inspire Psalm 51 as a model prayer of repentance. Before we turn to that important chapter in the Old Testament, we will spend our time today looking at the life of King David, the man who wrote this psalm.
David was the greatest king in ancient Israel, a leader who presided over a golden age for the people of God. As a poet, musician, and warrior, he was truly what we have come to call a “Renaissance Man.” He was even “a man after God’s own heart” (see 1 Sam. 13:14) because of his extraordinary devotion to the Lord.
Despite David’s fidelity, he is also remembered as one of history’s greatest sinners. Today’s passage tells the famous story of David’s adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah. We might say it all started “innocently.” David was strolling about on the roof of his palace (though he should have been in battle, 2 Sam. 11:1) when he saw Bathsheba bathing (vv. 2–3). The king could have turned his gaze away, but he found himself drawn to this other man’s wife. Consumed by his lust, he used his authority to bring her into his house and ended up fathering a child by her (vv. 4–5).
We may not be cheating on our spouses, but is this episode not a fitting illustration of what happens whenever we sin? How often do we mull over our lusts, fueling the fire of wickedness as David did? From there it is easy to disregard the effect our evil will have on others if we sin against them. David did just that when he violated the trust of the very man who was out defending his throne (vv. 6–7)! Of course, once we have transgressed, we then also attempt to cover our tracks like David even if we are not guilty of murder (vv. 8–27).
The progression in David’s sin reveals a callousing of his heart, a hardening that would make him unable to return to Yahweh without the work of the Spirit through the Word of God (John 3:5; Hebrews 4:12). Like David, we too must repent when the Lord pierces our hearts (2 Samuel 12:1–15a) so that we may manifest that we are truly His.
God mercifully forgave David when he acknowledged his sin, but this does not mean his transgression had no consequences. David also worshiped the Lord even after these consequences were brought to pass (2 Samuel 12:15b–23), showing that He acknowledged his guilt and the justice of God’s verdict. Do you harbor lingering bitterness toward the Lord over the consequences you suffer from your sin? Worship Him today and declare to Him that He is just.
How can we effectively guard against temptation?
2 Samuel 11:2–4 “Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house.”
All temptation begins with a single thought. We have the ability to choose to ignore it or to allow it to remain in our minds. If it remains, more than likely it will gain a foothold within us. Temptation in and of itself is not sinful. It entices us to sin and to disobey God. If not checked, it leads to disappointment, failure, rejection, isolation, and a host of other consequences. The apostle Paul instructed the Corinthians to bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5 “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”).
Through the presence of the Holy Spirit, we have the ability to screen, select, admit, and cultivate what goes into our minds. By His power, we can prevent our minds from taking a wrong turn and wandering into evil, but we must choose to focus on what is godly and good (Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”).
Through Christ, we also have the ability to choose how we will think about what we perceive with our senses. While we have no control over some things that come into our field of vision or within our range of hearing, we do control how we will think about what we perceive or sense and how we will act on that information.
For example, David saw Bathsheba. One night he was out walking on his balcony, and while surveying the city below, he saw a beautiful woman bathing. That could have been the end of the story. But it turned out quite differently for David. Without question, he could have turned and walked back into his palace and thought nothing more about what he had seen.
Instead, he began to think about Bathsheba. He allowed his heart to be tempted, and he dismissed the Lord’s command to avoid adultery. Instead, he rushed to sin and “inquired about the woman” (2 Samuel 11:3). More than likely, he imagined what it would be like to get closer to her and what it might be like to be with her physically. Eventually, he sent for her and sinned against God. David suffered serious consequences as a result of his decision. This one act of disobedience followed him the rest of his life. While he sought God’s forgiveness and received it, the shadow of his sin never vanished from his life or the lives of his family members who followed him.
When things come into our range of sensation or perception, we must immediately evaluate them through the “filter” of God’s Word. If we find ourselves dwelling on a thought, we must ask ourselves, “Why am I thinking this? What is at the root of my thought? What will happen if I continue to think this way? Is that really the direction I want my life to go?” Never act on ungodly impulses, desires, and lusts. You can choose to think godly thoughts, act according to His will, and “do all [things] to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”).