Psalm 51 - A Prayer of Repentance - Confessing Your Sins Means that You Are Humble Before God

shalom and welcome to via israel a hebrew phrase  which means you shall love israel we hope you'll   stay with us for the next 30 minutes as our  teacher dr baruch shares his expository teaching   from the bible dr baruch is the senior lecturer  at the zara avraham institute based in israel   although all courses are taught in hebrew at  the institute dr baruch is pleased to share this   weekly address in english to find out more about  our work in israel please visit us on the web   at loveisreal.org that's one word love  israel.org now here's baruch with today's lesson   the title of this study is truly forgiven and how  marvelous it is when we are in need of forgiveness   because we wronged someone we've insulted that  person we've done or said something that we ought   not and we realize that and we truly genuinely  seek someone's forgiveness now that's a right   thing to do but how wonderful when that person  that we've offended will respond to us by saying   i forgive you when one forgives that is a  manifestation of love and love the bible says   covers a multitude of sins that means love is  powerful and therefore we see how to forgive   by by studying the character and the behavior  of god in his word and that's exactly what we're   going to do in this evening study so take out  your bible and look with me to the book of psalms   and psalm 51 now many of the psalms are  written by david we've studied many thus far   we've seen the last few were written  by others by the sons of qurach by asaf   and now in this psalm we're turning back  to a psalm that is authored by david   at a very significant time in his life when david  has failed and he's failed miserably he is guilty   there's no way that he can come up  with some some excuse some rationale   something that releases him from his guiltiness  and therefore david he seeks god's forgiveness   and let me just begin before we open up god's  word encourage you no matter what you have done   no matter how awful it may be it is always wise it  is always appropriate it's always a good thing to   do to seek forgiveness first and foremost from  god god is gracious he is merciful he is loving   he is compassionate and god his nature is to  work restoration to his people so that his people   and the living god can be one in unity forgiveness  is very powerful now we're going to see that   this psalm it has an inscription meaning it  tells us some circumstances in david's life   why david was led inspired to write  it down also we know the holy spirit   led him to write down these things in the ways  that he did for us so that the man of god the   woman of god might be thoroughly equipped so that  we can behave in this world in a righteous way   forgiveness restores us to god so that we can live  righteously do what is right in the eyes of god   well look with me and there's some differences  in the verse numbers between the hebrew texts   and the english and because this one is is more  different than some of the others just one verse   i'm simply going to read the verses in hebrew  and you will be responsible for finding them   in the language that that you're studying from  so let's begin psalm 51 and verse 1 where it says   to the chief musician or the  choir director the leader a psalm   of david so once more we know without  any shadow of a doubt that david   wrote this down next we find in this same verse we  find that that the scripture is going to tell us   what's going on in david's life what were the  circumstances that relate to him being led to   write down the things that he did we read word  says when came to him and that him would be   david when came to david natan the prophet  now literally it simply says when came to him   natan the prophet now we're going to see  that this deals with a very specific incident   in david's life one that is exceedingly well  known in fact most people there's two events   in david's life which which most people know of  one is his victory over goliath and the second is   a failure the first one victorious second utter  failure when he sinned with bat shafa and this   is what we see here we remember in second samuel  the event the circumstances of what took place   and how natan went to david and spoke to him  and it all had to do next part of the text when   he went this probably refers to when he had  relations with bhat shafa this married woman   whom in order to cover up this sin that he  created the circumstances eventually at the   end for her husband uriah the hittite for him  to be put to death and it's in light of these   horribly sinful events this low time in david's  life that david says haneni elohim which means be   gracious unto me o god according to your grace  now i think it's so significant so informative   that we're speaking about forgiveness and the  first thing that we're told that david does   having been convicted by the prophet natan in a  very visible way of his sins he seeks god's grace   he says be gracious to me this is the word ken  and then he asks for hesit so be gracious unto me   according to your grace two different  words in hebrew that points to that   same con same word that same idea in the  new testament with what we call grace so ken these two words speaking about the biblical  concept of grace now ken speaks of grace hessed   speaks of grace but also it manifests and rooted  in god's steadfast love hesed is also what must   be given for a covenant to be maintained for there  to be truly a restoration back to and don't miss   this back to the purposes of god so learn a very  important principle and this is true in the tanakh   the hebrew bible the old testament but especially  true for us from a new covenant a new testament   perspective and that is this when one seeks grace  which is foundational in that gospel message   it is so that we can be restored to the purposes  of god if you're not interested in god's will   then you are not a candidate for god's  grace it's very important that you hear this   because the gospel message is to those who do not  want to continue in sin but rather turn away from   sin and when we turn away from sin we're embracing  god and that means the will of god so david here   the fact that he seeks khesit it reveals to us  that david wants grace in order that he could be   restored back to the will of god in other words  david is truly repentant and then we continue on to abundance the abundance of your  mercy and then he says blot out my   transgression now he's not seeking atonement he's  seeking something better many times i pointed out   that atonement is simply a covering it hides it  conceals but the the sin burden is still there   it only only delays god's wrath but david is not  seeking this he wants god to blot out to erase   his sin so that there's no longer any effects  of that between his relationship with himself   and god he wants no bearers nothing that hinders  this full restoration to a covenantal relationship   with god and then he speaks about the word harbai  some corrected meaning some manuscripts have   a different different uh origin of this word  written differently they have the word herrev   and what's the difference well the word  harbai means much and this word could   could also imply in the the correction i simply  mean correction other manuscripts have this   perhaps a a significant percent of manuscripts  and this would lead us to not think about the word   much or many but perhaps thoroughly  to do something abundantly so it says   thoroughly wash me from my iniquity now  we're going to see that david is going to use   three different concepts three  different words for sin the word is usually translated sin pasha is a transgression  and avon iniquity now for our purposes we're not   going to really talk about the subtle differences  perhaps between these words but we're just   going to focus in on a concept of sinfulness  missing god's mark transgressing his purpose   being in a position that is not accordance to his  will so david uses these three words repeatedly   look again at the text thoroughly wash me  from my iniquity and from my sin purify me   now this word for purity it's the word tahor  and being in that state of purity has to do   with being in a spiritual condition where god  will bless when we are impure when we're unclean   god is not going to bless us we are going to find  ourselves in an adverse situation where the the   prayers that we make are going to be hindered the  the illumination the revelation from god we're not   going to be recipients of we're going to be in  a condition whereby it's virtually impossible   to hear god to walk with god to experience god  to be blessed by god this is where david is and   he doesn't want to remain in it one of the great  things about david is david when he was outside   of god's will he felt it he was exceedingly  sensitive to being removed or being in a condition   that was not appropriate before god and david  was quick to repent quick to acknowledge quit   to confess his sins and then he says let's move on  to the next verse he writes for my transgression   i will know that's literally what it says most  bible would say acknowledge or recognize it   probably has a meaning of confessing it public  publicly i will acknowledge i will make known   my my transgression david isn't trying to conceal  he's not trying to justify he's not making excuses   he's coming clean he's acknowledging what  he has done and how he has failed god and   have has harmed others death has been the  outcome both the death of his child and   the death of uriah the the husband of  batsheva and david has been for the most   part up until the time that natan convicted  him of that sin publicly telling him this   david was was was quiet now we don't know how he  felt inwardly what he was going through but when   natan and i say publicly meaning natan knew  it he came and he stated not before a crowd   but before david your sin is known god is  aware of it god has moved me to come and speak   to you about it and therefore david says keep  reading my sin is before me always meaning this   until david can can experience forgiveness he  is not going to know anything other than that   guiltiness that feeling that sin is weighing  heavily upon him continuously day in and day out   and throughout the day he thinks about what he has  done and he knows the only way that this is not   going to [ __ ] him and render him useless to god  is if he experiences forgiveness so a person and   this has most serious implications a person who  is not a believer in messiah yeshua jesus christ   they are in their sin and that sin is going to  not just hinder but make impossible for them to   serve god now can god use anyone for his purposes  he can god is suffering and that one of the best   examples of that is nebuchadnezzar nebuchadnezzar  was not a faithful man when he came and waged war   against judah and destroyed jerusalem and the  temple we see many times in the bible god uses   individuals that are in sin in disobedience  like judas the one who delivered yeshua over   but we're not talking about that type of being  used by god we're talking about one who wants to   submit one who wants to be blessed by god having  obeyed for the purpose of being being blessed   by by the living god for faithfulness one  who is in sin can never ever find himself   in that position so david comprehends this david  understands this and he wants change in his life   next verse he says something and this  is is oftentimes misunderstood in fact   in judaism they they use this verse  to say technically david didn't sin   well this is not the right understanding of  it it says to you david is once more speaking   to you and you alone i have sinned now what that  means is this ultimately all sin is against god   we are his creation so when we sin against another  person that sin is ultimately first and foremost   against god and it affects our relationship  not just with that other individual but   primarily with god so this is what he's saying  he's talking about how ultimately all sins   are are a sin against god and he  says and the evil in your eyes   i have done now he mentions evil and i've shared  numerous times that this hebrew word hara the evil   simply means anything and hear that carefully  anything that is outside of god's will   we may look at it we may not even recognize that  it's outside of god's will someone may be doing   something that simply seems as a good work but  because it does not meet god's will in that manner   for example someone may make a very nice donation  to an organization a good organization a godly   organization but if god said no i want you  to make the donation to this group instead   of that group for whatever reason and we disobey  that is evil that meets the biblical definition   of evil so david says here and this is clearly  an affront a a transgression and he says the evil   in your eyes now it's yours eyes it's parallel  with you alone so it's what god alone sees as   evil as sinful the evil in your eyes i have  done therefore he says on account of this   you are justified you are righteous in your word  and you are innocent in your judgment meaning this   god is is pure he is justified he is  right and what he said and the judgment   that he has for david now in one sense that  judgment the child that was conceived between   david king david and batsheva that child has  died and david is acknowledging that principle   that we have mentioned many times and that's  this that inherent relationship between sin   and death why is there death in this  world because there's sin in this world   there is that inherent connection  between them so david is saying   you're right in your judgment of my sin that  death has come about and then he says behold in iniquity i have been created  now this is nothing to do with god   but simply it speaks to david's sinful nature  behold in iniquity i have been created and in sin   my mother conceived me this is a unique word for   conceived i'm not going to go into it for a  variety of reasons but it simply speaks about   the fact that when a man and a woman produce an  offspring that offspring is produced within a lit within a framework of sin my children  are sinful because i'm sinful my wife's   sinful we produce every human being produces  sinful children that's always saying that   framework that that understanding of humanity  then he says behold truth you have desired   in my inner parts now here it simply  says behold truth you have desired in my   innermost being now why that is is this  whatever's there in your innermost beings   is what's going to manifest itself through deeds  and then he says and what's parallel here to that   innermost innermost parts of a human being it  says and in those closed places closed places   those things that that are inside that the eye  can't see because the skin has has sealed them   up so it's talking about that inner man that inner  person so he says in those closed places wisdom   you make known to me what david is simply  saying here in this passage of scripture   is that he wants truth and wisdom  to be to be placed within him   david knows and understand the connection  between what we just said david says in sin   i've been conceived i was created in this world  and i have that sinful nature instead of sin and   and and that nature that is not pleasing to you i  want to see truth and wisdom truth is is what is   right and wisdom is the ability to demonstrate  truth in a given situation so david is saying   in this verse that he wants to obey god he  doesn't want to be bound to that sinful nature   he wants transformation and then he continues  by these prayers of forgiveness where he says cleanse me with hyssop and i will be clean  and this word clean is really the word for   purity cleanse me with hyssop and i will be pure  and wash me and this is a word for literally   like washing a garment but in this case it  has a spiritual spiritual context wash me   and i will be wider than snow david wants purity  he wants to be spiritually clean he wants to   be able to do the things that god is going to be  glorified by and that god will bless so let's just   pause for a moment and ask ourselves an important  question do i want to do the things that god will   bless see many times people they just  don't want god to to come down on them   if if god isn't going to get involved if god  says you do this i'm just going to stand idly by   many people many people would behave differently  it's that threat of judgment punishment   that oftentimes is that incentive not to carry  out with those sinful desires of sinful human   flesh but but david's different here david is  saying here that he wants to be to be purified   cleanse with hessem so that he will be pure he  wants to be washed and he wants to be made wider   than snow he says in the next verse you caused  me to hear joy and gladness he wants a change   because now he's not experiencing that and this  leads us to another principle and that is this   sin robs takes away the joy and gladness of of our  life a person can be in a covenantal relationship   with god praise god for that through faith and  messiah but when we sin that joy that gladness   that god wants us to have that is an outcome of  the the anointing of the holy spirit in our life   that assurance that peace that contentment and he  speaks about joy as well all of that because of   sinfulness is affected at firstly so he says you  make me to hear joy and gladness and the joy of   my bones he says he says has been been crushed so  he wants to hear these things because the joy of   the very very foundation of his life that's what  you mean by his bones has been crushed next verse hide your face from before you  have hidden your face because of   my sin and all of my iniquity blot out  now what david is saying here is this   hide your face would be a better way for me to  render this look again at the text haster paneka   hide your face from my sin now we know something  sin causes god's face to be hidden from us   this is not what it's saying what it's  saying is david is requesting that the   face of god the presence of god is is is not is  not gazing upon his sinfulness he wants a change   to take place and he wants all of his  iniquity he says in all of my iniquity   to be blotted out so he wants god not to  look at his sin he wants his sin to be   blotted out and no more what david is is  basically praying for is a new covenant   experience where god will not remember our sin  any more this is what he's asking for next verse   a pure heart create for me oh god and it's  important that we read it exactly what it says   it begins late to [ __ ] a pure heart create  for me now it's important we have for me because   david will never be able to create for  himself a pure heart a pure heart is   always always always the outcome of the work  of god and therefore a pure heart create for me   o god and a correct spirit a right spirit renew in  my midst so david wants in essence to be changed   and he realizes his inadequacy his inability  to change himself he was conceived in sin   he's living in sin and he wants god to move  through his grace through his compassion through   his mercy through his forgiveness in order that  david be changed whereby he is restored to the   purposes of god and i cannot overestimate and  over emphasize would be the better way to say   it cannot over emphasize the importance of god  doing this work in in someone's life next verse   he says restore to me this can also be  translated for me usually restore is to   but we can understand it restore for me the joy  of your salvation very important your salvation   if we have salvation it's because the saving  god has given it to us restored unto me   the joy of your salvation and a generous  spirit support me this word for generous   means one who gives abundantly and david is  saying i need i am utterly dependent upon   your generous spirit now in one sense the  spirit of god carries out the work of god   the spirit of god he produces the will  of god and what david is saying is that   he realizes that it's going to be that generous  spirit of god that supports him that upholds him   that uplifts him and puts him back in this this  condition whereby he's experienced that intimacy   this relationship with god and if this happens  notice what he wants to do he says and i will   teach transgressors your way now we have to be  very careful about something and that's this   those often who embrace reformed theology and a  wrong understanding of the sovereignty of god they   believe that that everything that happens is god's  will because if something could happen that's   not god's will he wouldn't be sovereign that is  false just because god is sovereign does not mean   everything that happens happens according to his  will obviously what's the number one exception sin   god is not part of sin god never leads one  to behave sinfully obviously that would be   heresy to say that but this is what happens  those of a reformed theological background   commonly associated with calvinism they  believe everything happens and it's god   and therefore they'll say you know i sin but  really this was was was god's plan all along   because having sinned i have learned from  that sin and that makes me better able to   teach others and they go to this very  verse here and they say see david he sin   he's praying for restoration well i'll pray for  restoration as well forgiveness and all of that   and then i will be able to teach transgressors  your ways because i'm one myself well here's the   problem god does not need sin in order to use us  in order to accomplish some purpose never it is   blasphemy to say god needs sin in order  that his will can be fulfilled god is able   to to cause someone to be able to teach  highly effectively his truth his truth about   repentance his truth about forgiveness when that  person has never sinned let me give an example   yeshua hamashiach jesus christ did yeshua ever  sin he did not was he a perfect teacher yes he was   never think that that it is good that i sin  because now i'm in a better position to serve god   this is not what david's saying david simply is  saying this god restore me because i want to teach   transgressors your ways that's what he's saying  and sinners unto you that they return david wants   to use this experience for good and god can do  that god can take that which is sinful that which   is evil and he's able to to salvage that utilize  that for good but he is never ever ever the cause   of sin anything outside of god's will god's not  part of it can he use it yes he can the cross   is a great example of this but he does not will  this now what oftentimes people forget is the   foreknowledge of god god has perfect for knowledge  and therefore he based upon his foreknowledge he   can behave utilize that foreknowledge for his  purposes god's free he can do that so god knowing   how sinful human beings will behave god can  use that for good but he's never ever the cause   of anything sinful unrighteous anything that  is contrary to his will he's simply not part   of it next verse david says save me from  and the next word is blood in the plural   the mean and this can mean save me and it could  be the consequences of shedding innocent blood   that's one uh interpretation of that  another could mean because david has   has done this he doesn't want to continue he wants  to be changed he does not want to be an individual   that continues in this type of behavior so he's  saying here god save me i think it's best to think   from the consequences the guiltiness of shining  innocent blood o god and the god of my salvation   notice what he says the god of my salvation  renew literally it's a word for to refresh   with joy my tongue uh of your righteousness so  let me shout my tongue my tongue shall shout   for your righteousness so david is saying  here oh god save me from the guilt of shedding   innocent blood he says for you are the god of my  salvation and my tongue will shout joyfully of   your righteousness best way to to understand this  verse when we experience god's salvation when god   saves us from the consequences of our sin what  are the consequences of our sin ultimately death   god is gracious instead of of punishing and the  good news for us is the punishment has been taken   by messiah on that tree so we can have full  confidence in this forgiveness in this salvation   that that guilt is going to be removed from us and  therefore we should shout with with our tongues   concerning god's righteousness next verse my  lord open my lips and my mouth will declare   your praise now notice something here if we look  at the last two verses that we've studied there   is a relationship between righteousness and praise  righteousness is when we do that which god praises   that which praises god and which god sees as  approved right proper that which brings god to to   to see that as a proper good event and the outcome  for those who do righteousness is going to be joy   that's why this word te rang it's a word for for  shouting with joy but it also has a degree of   renewal refreshing within it verse 17. let's go to  the next verse that was my 17th first next verse   4 you do not seek or you do not delight would  be a better way to translate that more accurate   for you do not delight in sacrifice or i would  give birth offering you do not want meaning this   this is not what god desires from the beginning we  all know the verse of scripture where it says it   is better to obey than sacrifice god doesn't need  these sacrifices and here the context is those   ones for for sin god doesn't need sin sacrifices  this doesn't excite him please him so david says   you do not delight in sacrifice or i would would  give burnt offering you do not want next verse the   sacrifice of god the sacrifices that he wants is  a broken spirit meaning one that's humble one that   understands their spiritual condition their utter  dependence upon god to move in their life first   and foremost forgiving issue fourth grace to that  person so a broken spirit that same word a broken   heart and the next word usually con translated  contrite means a crushed heart one that that   that is down one that understands their guilt  before god and it says such things oh god you do   not despise god doesn't despise these things now  what happens we'll look at the next verse he says do good according to your will o zion now zion and  i've shared this many times zion is a kingdom word   when he says here do good according to your will  he's saying bring about a kingdom experience now   this has big consequences because david is guilty  he has committed adultery he has committed murder   he has conspired to cover up his sin he has done  many things that are about as wrong as they can   be but yet david he knows the greatness of  god's grace he knows the majestic majesty   of god's mercy and he knows the richness of of  god of god's covenant that gospel covenant that's   literally what the gospel does it establishes  a covenant that new covenant between between   humanity and god anyone can receive that gospel  truth act upon it so he says here do good   in your will your will is for a kingdom  experience for for me do that bring this about   and he says build up the walls of jerusalem now  the walls of jerusalem notice here that that sion   zion is is parallel hill here with jerusalem and  this this good thing of god's will is to build up   the walls now walls the security defend in other  words the promises that you have made jerusalem   as a word it literally is two words put together  which means to take hold of to take possession   of to inherit the fulfillment of god's will so so  david is saying build up those walls secure that   hope for me god that's what i want that's what  i want to experience your kingdom promises and   then finally let's conclude look at the last verse  where he says then you will delight in sacrifices   of righteousness now i would underline these  sacrifices of righteousness or righteous   sacrifices these are the one that comes from not  any other purpose but acknowledging the righteous   god understand that the word righteous is a  kingdom adjective need to know that one of the   ways that the kingdom of god one of the primary  ways the kingdom of god is spoken of is through   the concept of righteousness that's what's going  to be maintained in the kingdom of god perfectly   that's why it says seek first the kingdom of god  and its righteousness so righteous sacrifices   are those that are acknowledging god properly not  because we have sinned not because we're guilty   not because we want something or we're doing  something that is commanded we're acknowledging   the righteous god and we do that through a burnt  offering and it's very interesting the next word   rashi will say the next word khalil is just  just a gift offering but here's what we see   a burnt offering one of the things unique about  it is that it's all given up it's all offered up   no one receives back from it it's totally given  to god and this next word which is a word that   relates to entirety that in a general sense so  this is what he's saying here that we need to give   everything unto god because he is righteous why  is he righteous that's his nature but god and   here's the key god makes righteousness that's  what the new covenant does that's what messiah   entered into this world and and when this is  established notice what it says then they will go   up who the people of god then they will go up and  this is a word for for offering up upon your alter   bulls now what is a bull offering it is seen  as the most the largest the most expensive the   most generous to make very few people could  do that to offer up an entire bull unto god   and what it speaks about is this when there  is righteousness there is going to be a godly   prosperity here again this is a kingdom  context this last part of this psalm   that people are going to want to have whatever  they possess no matter how expensive no matter how   valuable it is they're going to want to  offer it up to god that is what what a   righteous relationship with god produces  in the same way that david spoke about   god's spirit being a generous spirit that does  a work of restoration forgiveness rich in mercy   abundant in in compassion well in that same way it  produces righteousness in us whereby we will want   to offer up to god not sacrifices because of this  reason that reason or some other but because we   have a righteous god and that we will want to  give him the very very best all that we have   because god deserves everything everything  that we are everything within our possession   psalm 51 a very powerful psalm the foundation  of which is the changes that forgiveness   brings about in a person's life when you  truly know that god this holy perfect god   has forgiven you you will be eternally transformed  while close with that shalom from israel well we hope you will benefit from  today's message and share it with others   please plan to join us each week at this  time and on this channel for our broadcast of   love israel.org again to find out more about us  please visit our website love israel dot o-r-g   there you will find articles and numerous other  lectures by baruch these teachings are in video   form may download them or watch them in  streaming video until next week may the   lord bless you in our messiah yeshua that is  jesus as you walk with him shalom from israel

Channel: LoveIsrael.org

Views: 3,554

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: psalm 51, psalm 51 explained, psalm 51 bible study, psalm 51 book fo common prayer, the book of psalms, prayer of repentance, confessing your sins, humble before God, david sinful nature, adultery, Davids prayer of forgiveness, old testament, the bible, bible study, bible teaching, discover the bible, bat sheva

Id: w9l7FVk7iUA

Length: 48min 19sec (2899 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 12 2021