A Refurbished Heart (Psalm 51)
What do we do when we realize we have really messed up, and our decisions have harmed those who are closest to us? What do we do when the accusations stick and we find ourselves caught amid the consequences of bad decisions? Psalm 51 gives us one of the most beautiful images of repentance recorded in all of scripture. We remember David’s sultry affair with Bathsheba – the unexpected pregnancy, the betrayal, the attempted cover-up, and the dreadful murder of Uriah. This story feels more like the script for a blockbuster Hollywood movie than one about a man God used so mightily. The villain of this story is King David, the commander who made a series of tragic decisions. The beauty of Psalm 51 is that we get to see his process of restoration.
It took a while for David to finally listen to his friend, who helped him understand just how much he had lost his way. Once he came to terms with his failure, David shows us a pathway to repentance in Psalm 51. He begins by crying out to God, to “Have mercy on me…” (Psalm 51:1 ESV) He acknowledges his “iniquity,” and he calls his transgressions “sin.” This is a crucial step in repentance – to acknowledge when we have sinned against God. David takes a large portion of this Psalm to declare that he had sinned against God and His commands. He asks God to forgive him. “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7) David knew God’s grace can cleanse us from our sins. We know the work of Jesus on the cross – how much more do we understand that God’s grace can restore us?
David goes on to plead for God to give him a “clean heart.” What a beautiful way to describe God’s restoration. Then David spends the rest of the Psalm committing to living according to God’s ways going forward and serving Him with his resources and whole heart. David did something few are willing to do. He admitted his huge mistake, sought forgiveness and restoration from God, and he received it.
This is a wonderful reminder that God can restore us if we let Him.
Expectantly,
Shawn
