Tabor Baptist Church

Introduction

• David is a Saint
• All true believers are Saints
• We are going to look at another Saint David
• You may have read this psalm many times
• You may have prayed like this many times
• There are no excuses in this psalm for sin
• To the Chief Musician - this psalm was intended to be sung
• Sing to God for mercy
• Outline of sermon

The Context

• David was chosen as the youngest of the family to succeed King Saul
• For many this was a surprise
• He passed through many experiences before coming to the throne
• David & Goliath
• He had a difficult path to the throne
• Many years of persecution from Saul
• David showed love, patience and kindness to the Lord's anointed
• He would not touch Saul
• He morned Saul's death
• God made a covenant with David
• He shall have an everlasting Kingdom
• In his line would come the Messiah
• God had many victories and subdued the Land
• David committed adultery
• He was aware of the penalty
• He tried to cover up his sin
• He brought Uriah home from battle but he would not go to his house
• He invited Uriah to a feast to make him drunk
• He put Uriah at the fiercest part of the battle so he died
• David was pleased but God was greatly displeased
• David thought he had covered over the sin
• Bathsheba became his wife
• Nathan the prophet comes and reveals the sin
• David recognises his sin:
• v2 - "wash me thoroughly"
• v4 - "against You only have I sinned and done this evil in your sight"
• He didn't make excuses
• He recognised his awful guilt
• v14 - of bloodshed and adultery
• Have we been in situations like this where we have tried to cover up our sin and guilt?
• Physical, of the min
• It is worse to go on sinning and covering up sin
• Nathan told a story to David to reveal his sin
• David responded in outrage to the story
• We are good at judging and condemning others
• Often we fail to see the sin in ourselves
• There are many lessons:
1. The need to be vigilant (against our weakness)
2. When sin is covered it leads to more sin
3. Sin catches up with people
4. When a person is found out
1. There can be real repentance
2. Superficial remorse (only sorry because they have been found out)

An Honest Plea for Mercy (v1-6)

• Sometimes when we sin we are so overwhelmed that we cannot think of God's mercies
• David talks about the loving mercies of God
• God has great lovingkindness we can plead mercy
• God is willing to restore, willing to pardon
• You must think that you have sinned too far
• Where sin abounds, grace abounds
• Sin:
• Different words :Sin, transgression, iniquity
• Transgression - the breaking of the law
• Iniquity - evil within (not just some little failing or fault)
• We are born in sin
• We need God to put a clean heart within us
• Do we recognise sin in this way?
• If we do, it is a tremendous grace as God lifts us up
• Example of Portuguese Man
• Sin is not just missing the mark but also falling short of the mark
• We will always fall short - we will never reach the target
• Man cannot please God
• Sin cannot be explained away by psychology
• David recognises that only God can deal with sin (v4b)
• Example from Angola Prison in Louisiana
• David is a repentant adulterer and murder
• This gives us faith that God can forgive us

Faith in the Mercy of God (v7-17)

• "I shall be clean" and "I shall be whiter than snow" (v7)
• Hyssop - speaking of a symbolic cleansing in the blood of Christ
• "Make me hear joy" (v8)
• Psalm 32 - when David did not confess his sin he was oppressed
• This is what it is like for the non-Christian: the burden of sin is known
• "Create a new heart"
• Nothing about self improvement or trying harder - it is recognising that change comes from God
• He did not want to be like Saul
• God took His Holy Spirit from Saul
• "I will teach transgressors your ways"
• This is not audacity
• David will teach in humility and in mercy
• David's desire is to serve God
• 'I will sing of Your righteousness'
• It is not a matter of ceremony, religion, reading the bible, penance - it is a matter of having a broken and contrite spirit
• David has tremendous faith in the mercy of God
• Some people who sin do not look to God
• They commit suicide

Closing Remarks

• This passage is sobering
• Sin took him further than he intended to go and more that he ever intended to pay and kept him longer than he ever intended to stay
• Flee from sin
• Without forgiveness there is darkness and hell
• Sin will drag us right down
• God is able to rescue
• God rescued David from the pit
• Song by Joseph Hart
• Do we identify with these words?