HOW TO FIND MERCY WHEN YOU SIN

 (Psalm 51)

…Joseph passed the strong test of temptation.  He fled from Mrs. P to avoid the sin of adultery.  What an

  excellent model for us to copy. 

…However, at times we do not pass this test.  We fall, choosing to rebel against God.  Instead of running away

  from sin, we find ourselves running to it, embracing it, and sinning.   WHAT ARE WE THEN TO DO?

…David provides us with the answer.  He was beloved by God, yet committed sin with Bathsheba.  Furthermore, he

  attempted “to cover-up” his sin.  (2 Samuel 11)  One year later, David finally deals with his sin, confessing it to

  the Lord in the greatest confessional Psalm in the Bible.  This Psalm provides us with great help in this matter.

TWO STANZAS OF THIS CONFESSIONAL PSALM DIRECTING US WHEN WE FALL INTO SIN.  For you as a Christian must not remain “in your sin!”

I.      Like David, We Too Must Cry Out To The Lord For Forgiveness. (vv 1-9)

                …for you must seek and ask the Lord to forgive you.  

                A.            David begins this prayer by crying out to God for His MERCY.  (vv 1-2)

                                1.             His prayer is not mechanical, but almost a desperate clinging to God’s mercy.

                                2.             MERCY is the only basis for our forgiveness.  Sinners deserve death…

                                                …How do we know that God is merciful?  He has revealed Himself to be…(Ex 33)

                                3.             David is profoundly aware of his sin and its true nature:  (three-fold description)

                                                a.             It is a “transgression.”  It is crossing a known boundary.  Rebellious!!!!

                                                b.             It is called “iniquity.”  This means perversion.  Refers to our sinful nature…

                                                c.             It is called “sin.”  Refers to falling short of the mark, like an arrow…

                                4.             Like David, we need to plead with the Lord to:

                                                a.             “blot out” our sin.  It means to rub out writing on a papyrus sheet…

                                                b.             “wash,”  our hearts as if to wash a filthy piece of clothing. 

                                                c.             “cleanse me,” make us utterly clean in your sight.

                B.             David CONFESSES his sin.  (vv 3-6)   We must do the same!

                                1.             “I am aware of my sin.”  (v. 3) To confess is to agree with God…often we do not

                                                confess our sins because we do not believe we are sinners.

                                2.             “I know it is sin.”  It is against God, because rebellion lies at the root of it. (v. 4)

                                3.             David confesses that his sin sprang from his thoroughly evil sin nature.  (v.5)  It was

                                                not some rare aberration.  He was a sinner from birth, and so are we. (v.5)

                C.             David asks the LORD for cleansing.  (vv 7-9) 

                                1.             “cleanse me” means “to un-sin” me… to purge it from me.  (1 John 1:9)

                                2.             “Hyssop,” (Exodus 12:22) was the brush that was dipped into the blood and applied…

                                                …David means, cleanse me, forgive me on the basis of the innocent victim that died.

II.     Like David, We Too Must Ask The Lord To Give Us A New Heart. (vv.10-19)

                …For the source of our problem is our sinful hearts.  The redirection of desires is God’s work in us…

                A.            David expresses his desire for a pure heart.  (vv 10-12)  “Create in me a clean heart…” 

                                …forgiveness to David was not enough, for he did not trust himself.   He would fall again…

                                1.             “create a pure heart.”  “Bara”  (Gen 1:1)  This describes only what God can do…

                                2.             “Do not cast me away.”  God must sustain him, or he would certainly fall again.

                                3.             “restore the JOY of your salvation.”  (v.12) Not, “salvation,” but its “joy.”

                                                …as long as we choose to live in sin, joy will be absent from our lives.  No fellowship…

                                                …how practical for our day which thinks godliness is DULL, and that the way to a good

                                                  time is by sinning it up.  Remember:  “Sin always brings sorrow, always.”   Joy comes…

                                4.             Allowed to continue, sin will remove every good thing from our lives: our joy, health,

                                                wealth, and at last even life itself.

                B.             David, having been restored through forgiveness, now wants to help others find mercy.

                                …He desires to teach others what he has learned.  This is that God is merciful and forgives all

                                  who come to Him in humility, with a “broken and contrite heart.”  (v. 17) A yielded spirit…

                C.             Our restoration from sin leads to blessing for those near us.  (vv. 18-19)   David’s Zion…