“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!” Psalm 51:1-2
King David was not a young man when he committed adultery with Bathsheba then conspired to have her husband killed. He was probably in his early fifties – an experienced king, a passionate worshiper who had written many Psalms, a parent many times over, a committed follower of the Lord. There is an ominous tone in the opening verse of this account:
“In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.” 2 Samuel 11:1
Instead of leading the army into battle as he had for decades and as was the custom of the day, David chose to stay home and let others fight his battles for him. Was he tired? Was he discouraged? Was he looking for some kind of distraction? Was he experiencing a mid-life crisis?
Whatever the reasons, David left himself vulnerable to temptation and, as you read the passage, made very little effort to resist it. He saw a beautiful woman and sent for her. Learning that she was married to one of his most faithful friends and “mighty men,” did not put a damper on his desire.
To compound the evil of his sin, David then sought to cover it up. Someone recently shared with me the likelihood that Uriah knew what had happened. No doubt the servants in the palace and the many wives and concubines of David knew what he had done and word got around. If this was so, Uriah had the wisdom to not allow the king and his own wife to cover up their adulterous affair – even though it cost him his life.
Even after Uriah was dead, even after he had married Bathsheba and she gave birth to a son, David still did not repent. He was the king. In his mind he must have felt that kings have the right to do things that other people cannot. Somehow the man with a sincere heart for the Lord had allowed his heart to grow hard in this area of sexual desire.
Only when the prophet Nathan confronted him directly, using a clever misdirection tool about sheep and theft did David finally see and admit the evil of what he had done.
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. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.” 2 Samuel 12:13-14
David experienced the consequences of this set of sins for the rest of his life, but he also experienced the mercy and grace of God to “put away” his sin. The main reason for this forgiveness was God’s unconditional covenant with David – to build a house for him through which salvation would come to the world. But the means by which David came under this grace was confession and repentance – the same steps you and I must take when we sin against the Lord.
Psalm 32 shows us the effects of refusing to repent:
“For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.” Psalm 32:3-4
The rest of that Psalm and Psalm 51 show the power of true and deep confession. Both King David and King Saul were confronted for their sins. David’s sins were more flagrant and egregious (adultery and murder) while Saul’s were more subtle (timing and personnel to offer sacrifices), but the contrast comes more in their responses to confrontation. When Nathan called David out, the king fell to his knees in true contrition and repentance. When Samuel called Saul out, the king was really just concerned with how the incident would play out in the press.
Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.” So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the Lord. 1 Samuel 15:30-31
Paul writes about the difference between godly sorrow (like David) and worldly sorrow (like Saul):
As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.
“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.” 2 Corinthians 7:10-11
Use Psalm 51 this weekend as a tool to invite the Lord to speak to your heart and show you if there are issues you have been ignoring or denying, as David did before he was confronted. Let’s open ourselves up to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and invite Him to break up the hard ground in our hearts. Brokenness and true confession are the doorway to revival.