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What do you do when the sin you tried to hide keeps haunting your heart?Today we hear how David’s cry in Psalm 51 - “Cleanse Me!” - points us to the mercy of God, the hope of forgiveness, and the Savior who restores sinners for His service again.

Last week we saw the depth of sin and selfishness that David fell into, David took another man’s wife, tried to cover his sin, and then -rather than humble himself & seek forgiveness - arranged for her husband to be killed. Another Biblical writing we call 1 Kings alludes to this same event that marred David’s reign:

Unbeknownst to David, he has put his own neck in the noose. Now God is about to confront him.

Wow! What guts! The prophet puts his own life into God’s hands, as David could have killed him too!

Instead, Nathan speaks the truth that God has revealed to him and doesn’t back down.

That’s GREAT NEWS, because the Scriptural standard for both adultery & murder…is DEATH!

But Yahweh will spare David, taking away his sin.

Psalm 51 is attributed to David, along with many others. We have already seen a couple of Psalms (34, 52, 56, 89) that were tied to events in the writing of Samuel. This psalm appears in the Hebrew text but it’s generally thought that these headings are ancient additions by scribes helping the reader to recognize these writings tied to particular events in David’s life. 

Notice that David refers to God’s faithful love (hesed) - a loyal love that extends forgiveness & offers reconciliation.

This loyal love is demonstrated by God’s abundant compassion. The Scriptures often describe God’s character as “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and forgiving (Ex 34:6-7)

Blot out, wash away, and cleanse me are 3 ways to say the same thing - FORGIVE ME! My rebellion, my guilt, my sin is a 3 layered lament for the wicked things David has done. He is not dodging his sin, but acknowledging his sin. 

From the first lustful thought, to the taking of Bathsheba, to trying to trick Uriah, to having him killed, to the marriage with Bathsheba, and throughout the pregnancy - that’s at least 9 months that David’s sin was always stuck in his mind.

• Sin leaves shameful memories in our minds. Sin always STICKS.  

Against You alone I have sinned. David isn’t discounting his sin against Bathsheba nor Uriah. David later mentions his guilt for murder of Uriah later in Ps 51:14. Instead, David’s heart is HEAVY about his disregard for God’s commands & God’s presence.

• David had done what many of us have done - tried to push the Presence of God and the truth of His commands to the back burner - to act as if God and His commands don’t exist in that moment.

But now, David stops running FROM God and turns around and runs TO God, admitting “I have sinned and done this evil in Your sight.” Knowing he is guilty and knowing God is RIGHTEOUS, David receives the sentence that the righteous & blameless judge hands down.

Guilty from conception & birth? This passage is often cited to say that children are born sinful. While there is no doubt that all are born with sin nature, and will ultimately sin, this certainly does NOT mean that God holds an infant responsible for sin that they have not yet committed nor understood. A just God would never hold someone responsible for sin that they have NOT committed - that is UNJUST.

This is a hyperbole, an exaggeration to make a point - David is thoroughly sinful and has been throughout his life. Sin is not just something he did; sin is something deeply rooted in him….and US. David is a sinner in desperate need of forgiveness.

But….David understands that God’s desire is for His people to be full of integrity and wisdom in their souls. 

Notice the poetic artistry here: Verses 2-3 David says 1) blot out my rebellion, 2) wash away my guilt, & 3) cleanse me from my sin. Here it is the reverse order: 1) Purify/cleanse me 2) wash me 3) blot out all my guilt.

Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Hyssop - a small plant (see 1 Kgs 4:33) used to apply water or blood in purification rites (see Exod 12:22; Lev 14:4–6, 49–52; Num 19:6–18.

Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. While Israel does sometimes get snow, it is RARE and usually only in the higher mountain regions. In a world without modern bleach, nothing man-made could match the brilliance and purity of freshly fallen snow. David cries out—not just to be cleaned—but to be made whiter than snow—a purity only God can produce.

The conviction David has felt was like having God crush his bones!

Turn your face away. To “hide the face” normally implies God’s hiding from the sinner (cf. Ps 13:1; 27:9; 30:7; 143:7), but David pleads with Yahweh to “hide his face”—not from the sinner but from his sins. [Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 776.]

You & I have experienced that heaviness too…haven’t we? God refuses to let those who belong to him become comfortable in sin. And if you ARE…then this should cause pause. You can’t belong to HIM and stay in sin.

David pleads with God to give him a clean heart, to renew the freshness of David’s faithfulness from the past - with a steadfast spirit - that is standing upright and firm - not easily moved.

Do not…take Your Holy Spirit from me. Be careful not to immediately jump to the idea that God’s Holy Spirit would leave us when we sin. Instead, we appreciate David’s concern that, just as God’s anointing by the Spirit left King Saul after his continued disobedience (1 Sam 16:14) and was transferred to David as king, he doesn’t want God to strip him of the anointing to be king.

• Our fellowship with God can certainly be impacted when we sin. We can even grieve God’s Spirit (Eph 4:30).

Do you remember the joy you had upon being forgiven? Jesus points out that those who been forgiven much, love much (Lk 7:47). Those who are forgiven much should be wanting to tell others how they can be forgiven much!

We often say, “Let’s be like one beggar telling another beggar where to find the bread.” Cleanse Me. Restore Me. Use Me.

Remember when David said, “Against You alone I have sinned.” (Ps 51:4)? Here’s the evidence that David didn’t forget the wrong he had done to Uriah.

This is not someone pointing to his own goodness, but praising God for HIS goodness! - AND…telling others about it!

We can't pay God off with sacrifices. God responds to people who humble themselves and take responsibility for their sin. David was not saying there is no need for sacrifices - why just a few verses down, in verse 19, David wrote of offering God righteous sacrifices of bulls (after genuine repentance). David knows the substitute sacrifices he offers mean NOTHING without humility & real repentance over sin.

• Cry Out: “Cleanse Me!” Stop hiding. Stop blaming others for YOUR sin. Run to God with honest confession.
• Live Out: “I’m Clean!” After you have been forgiven, walk TOWARD whatever and whoever helps you to be live clean, and walk AWAY from whatever and whoever would tempt you to disobey the King who died to make FULL PAYMENT for your sin.