Psalm
51 reminds me of the recent phenomenon of accidents caused by people
following GPS driving instructions. There are countless stories of
people going the wrong way on one-way streets, making u-turns and
driving into ditches “because their GPS told them to”. Rather
than follow the road or a map or written directions, people follow
the blue line on the 3-inch screen. It seems GPS routes are often
wrong and can lead to dumb decisions. The psalm follows perhaps the
greatest example of the cascading effect of sin as told in 2 Samuel
chapter 11. King David, saw a woman bathing in the moonlight; he
took her for himself, and then to cover his adultery, he sent her
husband into a military trap in which he was killed. This psalm of
David expresses his confidence in God’s mercy. He begins, “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“.
David saw the tragic results of his actions, “my
sin is always before me“.
Then David makes a statement to God that we cannot comprehend,
“Against
You, You only, have I sinned“.
David recognized the original cause was ignoring God. Understand
that God has given us His written Word as a roadmap to eternity. We
foolishly trust our emotions, our feelings or our desires and swerve
into wrong turns. Sometimes those turns result in life-changing
accidents. Who do we then blame for our fender-benders?
Next
we see the key to David’s success as a man of God and as a leader
of the nation. He humbly turned to God and asked to be restored.
“You
teach me wisdom in the inmost place… wash me, and I will be whiter
than snow… Let me hear joy and gladness“.
People that know classic cars easily recognize when a car has been
carefully restored to original condition. There are no patches or
cheap paint jobs. Parts are found, attached by hand and lovingly
reassembled. You cannot slap a Band-Aid on a sorrowful heart and
think it will fix things. Only God, our Creator can make us new
again. David asks God to “blot
out all my iniquity“.
Perhaps your life is in need of repair?
The
psalm ends with David giving us the key to the new start that He
received. “Create
in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me…
Do
not… take Your Holy Spirit from me“.
David adds, “Restore
to me
the
joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me“.
After restoration, life is different. David now trusts God’s Word
and directs everyone to it, “Then
I will teach
transgressors
Your ways… and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness“.
Did you know that the Spirit of God can live in you too? Like
David, we must simply ask in faith. It is critical to understand
that God does not just forget our sin. Hebrews 9:22 reminds us,
“without
the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness“.
The Bible teaches that on the cross of Christ our debt was paid by
the shedding of the blood of the sinless Savior. The work for your
restoration is already done. All that is required now is to believe
His promise. In John 5:24 Jesus Himself taught, “I
tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent
Me has eternal life and will not be condemned“.
David concludes his psalm, “The
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit…
and
contrite heart“.
Are you tired of pushing that junker up hill? This is the
experience of my life, “Therefore,
if anyone is
in Christ, he
is
a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have
become new”
(2
Corinthians 5:17).
Trust in the written Word of God.