In looking through possible subjects for this writing I read Psalm 51. The header in your Bible may be different, but in mine it reads: "For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba." For some background on Bathsheba and David we look to 2 Samuel 11. David had seen Bathsheba from the roof of the palace and sent one of his servants to get her. Now Bathsheba was married to Uriah, a soldier in David's army. Even so, David slept with Bathsheba and she conceived a child. When David learned of this he sent for Uriah, Bathsheba's husband, and attempted to have him go to Bathsheba in order to make it seem as though Bathsheba was pregnant with Uriah's child rather than David's. When this did not work, David sent Uriah back to the other soldiers, who were at war, with instructions to the field commander that Uriah be put on the front line. In doing so David knew that Uriah would be killed and David could take Bathsheba as his wife. David had done these things in secret but the Lord sent a prophet, Nathan, to essentially call David out for his sin.
You may be saying to yourself, this is David? This is the man after God's heart? This is the great king of Israel? Sure is. Before you begin to judge though, let's look into Psalm 51. In Psalm 51 you see David's plea to the Lord. It can be broken down into different parts. In the first 12 verses David is confessing his sin to the Lord. Psalm 51: 3-5 says; "For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." Here David is humbling himself before the Lord. He is openly admitting his sin, his trangressions, and his history of sin, even from his conception in the womb. David, the great king. David, who could have whatever he wanted. David, who was hand-picked by God to lead the Jews on earth. He knew his place, and knew where his blessings came from. Also in these first twelve verses we can see another part of David's plea, his requests from God. Psalm 51: 1-2 reads "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin." Then in Psalm 51: 6-12 we read further "Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. David here is asking for forgiveness. He is pleading with the Lord to look away from David's transgressions and renew him in spirit.
After admitting his sin to the Lord, and asking for forgiveness, David does something that I find the most interesting of all. Psalm 51: 13-15 reads "Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise." Sound familiar? It does to me. David, from my point of view, is essentially making a deal. Get me out of this mess and I'll do this, this, and this. You may continue to think that if you didn't continue reading, because the next four verses are what I was talking about earlier when I said I find the most interesting of all. Psalm 51: 16-19 reads; "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the wall of Jerusalem. Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar." The reason I find this so interesting is, that David is showing us his true feelings. He is not just trying to get himself out of a mess. He is saying to the Lord, I know offerings mean nothing if they are not given with a truthful, sincere heart.
This all brings me to my conclusion. Today, we don't bring a bull or a ram or a sheep to be sacrificed on the altar as atonement. That ultimate sacrifice was made by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. His death on the cross and resurection paid the price for all of us and for all of our sins. We need to learn something here from David though. David came to the Lord with a humble heart. With a sincere heart and a yearning to be close to God. This is how we should approach our relationship to Christ, with a sincere heart, and a yearning to be close to God. God wants a close personal relationship with each and everyone of us, he wants not a single one of us to die and be seperated from him. He sent His Son to earth to die on the cross and rise again so that we could have that close and personal relationship.
Make that humble, and sincere commitment. God is calling you, be willing to listen and accept His offer.
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