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I believe very assuredly that we've all been caught out in wrong-doing at some point in our lives... whether it was by a parent, teacher, friend, or spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend. I know I have!! (more than once, tbh) The most memorable catching-out of my childhood would have to be the time my friend and I walked up-street without supervision or permission. I was probably 9 and my friend would have been 7.* We were seen by my father and grounded from each other for a week. As an adult, I've run up against situations like the one David faced in today's scripture. (As some of you know, I'm very transparent on here)
Pastor Matt's side story yesterday involved "dirt-bombs" and a brand new, yet-to-be-occupied house next door with aluminum siding!! Yikes!! The level of "BUSTED" may have yet to be rivaled in anyone's childhood!! LOL
Psalm 51 finds David broken, contrite, and asking God's forgiveness for his tryst with Bathsheba.* (cf. 2 Samuel 11) We can take this chapter to our own Prayer Closets or Quiet Times as needed. David was kind enough to be vague in his confession so it could be used by others. Let's read together --
Psalm 51[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1 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 you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. 14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 15 Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
18 May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Most of these sermon's you'll notice, don't really have titles, but this one would definitely be this -- The Gift of Confession -- Confession and repentance dig deep into our personal desires. They reorient us to God's Will. Sometimes, things will be removed for our protection. Our human response to our own sins may show up in a variety of ways --
Hiding -- we may try to run away or hide ourselves.*
Denial -- this only results in the problem rooting itself deeper
Cover -- we may try to push the emotions down and pretend like it's no big deal
Explain it away -- no explanation is going to make sense to the true issue
There are 3 basic "movements" in the process of confession --
Verses 1-3 show us the first --The only path to freedom is through confession and repentance to God. Only His mercy, love, and compassion can truly bring us peace. His character vs our ideas of anger and vengeance. When Adam and Eve tried to hide, what did God do?? He sought them out in compassion. Yes, they still had to pay for their sin, but their relationship with God was gently restored with no resentment or vengeance from God's direction.*
Verses 4-6 bring the second to light -- "I have sinned", David's statement takes ownership of his wrong-doing. In this simple phrase, David is not only confessing his own sin, but providing an example for all of us to follow. We also note that David's recognition of his sinful nature, "from the womb", is a possible exaggeration. However, it is an example of the poetic hyperbole that the Psalms were generally written in. (Grammar Geeks, unite!!) :D -- Theologian Thomas Merton made an astute, possibly divinely-inspired observation on sin -- "All sin is rooted in the failure of love. All sin is a withdrawal of love from God, in order to love something else." I'd call that accurate. Looking at Jesus' life, we see God's mercy, love, and compassion extended to the Disciples. In Matthew 20:20-28 we see James and John edging for leadership positions in the Kingdom of God. They were seeking power in human terms, and Jesus saw right through them. We all know the response, "the first shall be last..." God's gifts of confession and repentance digs deeper than basic "behavior modification". It literally gets to the "heart of the matter". (great song, btw) ... sorry... actually, no, that's a great connection, actually... "... it's about forgiveness..." Yeah.... perfect segue --
Verse 7 speaks of hyssop for ritual cleansing. In David's words, "whiter than snow". We New Englanders know that pure, clean snowfall that covers so beautifully before any footprints, plows, or dogs disturb it. (Southerners will just have to take our word for it) lol One of the best references for forgiveness of believers is found in 1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (didn't even have to look it up) ;) The truth is, confession anchors us to and activates in us, the work of the Cross.
And finally, we have the peace and joy of restoration in verse 12 -- our relationship with our Father is restored.* Confession and repentance work to literally change our desires, even good things, if wrongly prioritized, can be sinful. David's gratitude and joy are so great in verse 13 that he speaks of helping to teach/mentor others in the ways of God and that His praise will be forever on his lips. This is the mark of a sincere, contrite, softened heart. David isn't just "going through the motions"*. He means what he says and fully intends to hold himself to it. David's heart is transformed to that of God's. Soft, loving, merciful, and compassionate. His humility and shame brought him a full, vibrant life now that his desires were renewed to God's Will. A hard heart will be cynical and questioning. They will blame others and be angry and bitter.
What will you choose to do in your moments of weakness?? I like the idea David had, personally... God Bless!!
Footnotes --
I grew up in Henniker, NH. (the only one on earth!!) Our house was literally the ONLY private property within the New England College campus. My friend's father was Athletic Director, so they had staff housing. Their property abutted ours side-to. She was the only other kid near my age in the neighborhood. We're still friends although I don't see her much anymore.
"Bathsheba" was more likely the town she was from rather than her actual name. (I don't know about you, but I'd like to know who she really was!! ammiright??)
"Hiding ourselves" -- another childhood story of mine involves my hiding amongst bookcases upstairs because I was tired of snapping green beans with my mother. A search was made (unsuccessfully at first), the police were called... I was found and "marched" up to the Police Station to apologize. LOL
Too many people view the God of the Old Testament as "mean and vengeful", but they're missing the bigger picture of what He was doing. He was only acting in the Israelites' best interest for establishing themselves as a new Nation on Earth by which He planned to bless the World. He held people responsible for their actions and directed them toward defeat of those who stood in the way of the Promised Land. Of course, there's no clear image (as far as I know) of how Adam and Eve felt toward God after leaving the Garden, but God's heart is always pure and loving. Even when we don't see it that way.
Restored relationship -- maybe a better way to phrase it would be "restored fellowship". It's not that the connection is ever gone, it's the amiable feeling that "wavers" on our part.
Once again with the full-disclosure, transparency from me. There was a period of my life from approximately New Year's of 2013-April of 2016 when I was pretty much "going through the motions" of my spiritual walk. I had been divorced since January of 2011, and I was "done" with being alone. My relationships with men during this time left, shall we say, "considerable room for improvement." But since then, and more intentionally since October of 2018 or really January 2019, when I had sufficiently grieved over the departure of my latest BF at that time (we're still friends, btw); I've tried very hard to "get life right". I've still "misstepped" on occasion, but far improved from where I used to be. And now, with my latest relationship, I think I may be pretty well done with the whole "messing up" thing... here's hoping!! :D
Worship songs -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DioI2k4IIjs
And just for the "hey" of it -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNGMwbA2-iA
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