Psalm 51
His majesty’s secretary for appointments came into the throne room to announce that Nathan wished to have a word with King David. (See 2 Samuel 12)
Almost everyone in a culture touched by the Jewish and Christian tradition knows of King David, the one-time shepherd, giant-killer, and musician, who had become the ruler of Israel. Those who know only that David once killed a giant, Goliath, with his slingshot might not know of the years he spent as a fugitive, running for his life from the jealous King Saul. During that time David was in exile, living in the land of Israel’s longtime enemy the Philistine. Eventually, Saul was killed in battle and David was able to take the throne. His four decades long reign began about a thousand-fifty years before the birth of Christ.
David was no longer on the run, relying on the hospitality of enemies bartering a place to sleep for his military skills or sleeping rough when no one would take him in. He was living in a palace. It may not have been Buckingham Palace but it was a far cry from sleeping on a hillside with a bunch of smelly sheep or smelly mercenaries, for that matter. David began to change. One writer said the new way of life made him “soft.” Perhaps, but in any case, it seems to have made him forget his need to stay close to God.
David had been reigning for several years when Nathan cam to see him. His kingdom seemed secure and David felt confident enough to allow his generals to go out and fight any enemies that might be threatening the nation.
It was during this time that David had an affair with a woman named Bathsheba. She was the wife of one of David’s officers, Uriah. Bathsheba became pregnant and that initiated a crisis.
Without going into great detail, to keep his adultery hidden, David arranged for Uriah to come home for a brief stay. David assumed he would spend time with his wife but he didn’t, believing it was unfair for him to enjoy his wife’s company while his men were in danger on the battlefield. Finally, David arranged for Uriah to return to the battlefield. David used the faithful soldier to carry secret orders to the general, orders that instructed General Joab to place Uriah where he would certainly be killed. Think of how callous that was; David had the unsuspecting Uriah deliver his own death warrant. Uriah was killed and David took Bathsheba as one of his wives. The king believed he had successfully hidden his crime.
The second key person in the throne-room was Nathan. Nathan was a prophet, one of those individuals God used to communicate his will to the people. When God had something to say, He sent a prophet.
David admired Nathan and appreciated his support in the rocky early days of his reign, so he asked the prophet to come in.
As Nathan stood before David, he began to tell a little story. Only the hardest heart would be unmoved by the story.
"There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor.
2. The rich man owned many sheep and cattle.
3. The poor man owned nothing but a little lamb he had worked hard to buy. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man's own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter.
4. One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing a lamb from his own flocks for food, he took the poor man's lamb and killed it and served it to his guest."
5. David was furious. "As surely as the Lord lives," he vowed, "any man who would do such a thing deserves to die!
6. He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity."
7. Then Nathan said to David, "You are that man!”
Nathan let David know that God was fully aware of his activities. His conduct had not escaped notice.
It has long been believed that Psalm 51 was written out of David’s reflection on his encounter with Nathan and the exposure of his shameful behavior. It probably was, though the last two verses may have been added after the Exile. That would have expanded the scope of the prayer from one for an individual to one for a whole nation. We’re going to look at it as a prayer for an individual.
David’s prayer reminds us that God’s power can change us.
If you want God’s power to change you, if you want to become new, there comes a time for recognizing the nature of our problem.
--We have sinned against God. “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” David’s sin had social and even national implications, but all sin is ultimately an act of rebellion against God. It fails to honor the holiness and glory of God.
David used three words to describe his actions. He speaks of “sin,” the word that speaks of missing the mark, failing to live up to God’s demands. He speaks of “transgressions,” going over the clearly defined line (in this case violating the commands against adultery and murder); the New English Translation’s “rebellious acts” suggests an attitude that takes a stand against God. He speaks of “iniquity” or “wrongdoing,” those acts that are rooted in our corrupt character, our “wrongness.”
--Our problem is rooted in our character. David looked over his life and concluded, ‘I was born a sinner-yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.” This is neither saying that his mother had somehow sinned in his being conceived or that sexual acts are inherently sinful. He is saying he shares the common human condition. If he ever harbored the notion that God had favored him because he was a cut-above the ordinary Israelite, he was surrendering that idea.
If we want God to change us, we have to give up any such notion about ourselves. We must admit we have a natural propensity to live in rebellion against God.
Sin gives birth to one of the most disturbing truths of the human condition, illustrated by the fact that the hand that wrote the words sending Uriah to certain death, wrote the words, “The Lord is my Shepherd….” We are broken and need God’s help.
If you want God’s power to change you, if you want to become new, there comes a time for recalling the character of God.
--God seeks sincerity and honesty in our relationship with him. As verse sixteen says, ”Going through the motions doesn’t please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you.”
Instead, God looks for a brokenness which came from the depths of those seeking him. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart,”
--At the same time, we need to recall that God is a God of mercy. David sought mercy from a God known for “steadfast love” and “abundant mercy.” He cries out in hope, “God, be merciful to me because you are loving. Because you are always ready to be merciful.”
When our boys were in elementary school they believed the principal “went up and down the hall looking for kids to paddle.” Some people have the same image of God. To them, God is always looking for someone to punish. David opens our eyes to see God a new way. One paraphrase of verse one describes God as “generous in love” and “huge in mercy.”
When you and I want to change, we need to remember God wants us to change more than we do and he is ready to help us.
If you want God’s power to change you, if you want to become new, there comes a time for letting God do his work of radical transformation.
--Born sinners, we have an inherent inability to please God; it can’t be done, no matter how hard we try. David saw this. His goal to bring honor and glory to God as Israel’s king, had been derailed by the spiritual corruption of his own heart. He needed to change but he couldn’t do it on his own. That transformation would have to be accomplished by God’s work within him. So, he prayed….
[10] Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Jesus would underscore the same truth when he said, “You must be born from above.”
It would not be enough for God to cleanse his heart; he would need a new spirit to enable him to live a transformed life. He needed to be converted. Conversion is the product of allowing God to do his work of radical transformation within us.
--the one who is converted knows joy in place of shame.
--the one who is converted becomes a witness to the power of God.
Alan Walker shares an autobiographical note about the power of conversion.
His story begins in the days when Australia was a penal colony where England sent prisoners.
“My great-great-grandfather was sentenced to seven years’ transportation to Australia for stealing ten pounds. My great-great-grandmother likewise recdeived a seven-year sentence for stealing some curtain material for a London shop. The met in Sydney and began living together. They could not marry, for my great-great-grandmother left a husband behind in England.
“In 1810 a boy was born to whom they gave the name John Walker. On completing their sentence, they were given a small landholding near the Hawkesbury River where they reared their family. By the age of twenty-six, John Walker was in the grip of alcohol. He was drunk at a funeral and was reprimanded by a neighbor. This troubled his conscience. Some months later a Methodist preacher came into the valley. John Walker was soundly converted. At once he began to preach, becoming respected for his transformed life.
“I am the thirteenth Methodist—now the Uniting Church—minister who has come from the conversion of John Walker. Our two sons are ministers of the gospel. Therefore, fifteen ministers of the gospel have come from the conversion of the one illegitimate son of two convicts. Do you wonder why I believe in conversion? God in Christ transformed our family story, setting us off in a new direction.”
A change like that could only be accomplished by the power of God.
Conclusion
A few years ago I talked with our son David down in Austin. I asked him how our daughter-in-law Kelly was handling the news about contaminated spinach. He said he’d told her not to eat any, then he added, “Of course, you and I are safe.” David knows that neither one of us is a fan of spinach.
When we read the story of King David’s failure we have to be careful that we don’t say something like, “Of course, I’m safe—that could never happen to me.”
What King David said of himself is true of every one of us. We have all been sinful from birth. At one time or another we have all given evidence of possessing a rebel’s heart.
We all need God’s mercy and cleansing, we all need God’s transforming power.
There may come a time when you need to feel again the touch of God’s transforming power—his power to change us, the power which David discovered was also the power to restore.
You see, King David had already enjoyed a rich relationship with God but his sin had robbed him of the joy and peace he once knew in that relationship. Because he came to God, that joy and peace was restored.
Even if you’ve never trusted Christ, never sought his salvation, you can know that transforming power, if you open your life to Him.
Come to God, let him change you.
