Psalm 51
As I have mentioned before, the Bible says that David was a man after God's own heart. But he really made some tragic errors in his life. The worst was when he decided to have an adulterous affair with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. She became pregnant with David's child, so David devised a plan to have Uriah killed during the course of a battle. David then took Bathsheba as his wife.
David thought he had gotten away with the whole business. Then Nathan the prophet showed up. He confronted David with his sin, and he informed David of the consequences. Psalm 51 was composed as a penitential Psalm expressing David's sorrow for his sin and his desire to be right once again in his relationship with God. This Psalm tells us how we are to approach sin and repentance.
First of all, David makes a plea for God's mercy. David asks for his transgressions to be blotted out.
David acknowledged that he had done wrong. He in no way tried to justify his actions. That is how we should approach sin in our lives. We must admit to the Lord that we have done wrong. We must take responsibility for our actions.
David asked the Lord to create within him a clean heart. He wanted renewal of his spirit. David wanted to live a better life in the future. He did not have the idea in mind that he would receive God's forgiveness and go right back and do the same thing over again. He wanted sin rooted out of his life in order that he might have a close relationship with the Lord.
Sin separates us from God. When we sin, we need to confess it right away. I John tells us that if we confess our sins, God will forgive us and cleanse us from our sins and unrighteousness. Thanks be to God that we are eternally forgiven through Jesus' death on the cross.
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