Song of Man's Sin

Introduction

We are sinners. You sin and I sin. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). While sitting in cushioned pews and an air conditioned building, we can admit that we sin. Whether we admit it or not we tend to compare ourselves with others. And when we do compare ourselves with others, our sin doesn’t seem as bad as others. We are not murderers, adulterers, thieves, or for the most part try not to harm others. We are good citizens. We are willing to admit that we are not perfect, but we are not bad people. We don’t murder someone but we hate that person; we wouldn’t cheat on our wife, but looking at a little porn is not the same thing; we wouldn’t think of stealing from someone but we’ll take a few extra minutes at break or lunch and fudge on our time card. We are like the coach who brought the recruit to meet the college dean in order to get scholarship accreditation. For the most part we wink at our sin. We say ‘I’m sorry” with enough regularity that we recognize we mess up, but our sin is not so bad.

But then there is the time that we become painfully aware of our sin. We do something that pains us and makes us even more fully aware that our sin isn’t in the slight category but is full blown. We come face to face with the darkness which exists inside of us. Our sin is such that we wonder what God is going to do with us and we don’t know what to do with ourselves. King David had such an experience. The man who loved God; the man whose heart was in tune with God; the man who at such a young age demonstrated great faith in his battle with the giant, Goliath; that same man discovered the depth of depravity in his soul one night and discovered that his sin extended beyond the immediate to long term selfishness.

In 2 Samuel 11, David commits adultery with Bathsheba; tries to cover his sin with deception and when that doesn’t work signs the orders which results in the murder of Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah. All in an effort to protect himself and to have what he wanted. It is in 2 Samuel 12, that God sends Nathan, the prophet, to David. Nathan confronts David about his sin and David, whose heart can still be touched, confessed his sin. Psalm 51 is written in response to this dark episode in David’s life. And if we pay attention there is much in this song which can reflect our own response to sin. Today, we will are going to deal analytically with this psalm. But we are also going to allow our emotions to be touched by the recognition of our sin and the willingness of God to forgive.

Four Affirmations

In this psalm, David affirms four things. First in verses 1-2, David affirms that he knows the God to whom he repents, and that the God to whom he repents is a God of “unfailing love” and “great compassion.” This is what David counts on when he repented. This is what made it possible for him to know that his repentance would be accepted. Knowing that God wanted to forgive him, made it possible for David to return to the One he truly loved. When we confess sin, we are not always guaranteed that others will forgive us. When we reveal our dark side, we can’t always count on others acknowledging their own dark side and admit that we need room to grow and change. But the one thing we can count on is that God will forgive. He desires to forgive. He wants those who repent to come to him confessing sin and knowing that in his great compassion, he will forgive.

After the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal, CBS carried an interview with Bill Clinton’s minister. He had known Clinton for many years since his days in Hope and Little Rock. The interviewer asked him what he told the president about what he had done. He said, “I told him it was reprehensible, and indefensible; but not unforgivable. Make your peace with God and let everything else fall where it will.” God is the only one we can truly count on when we genuinely repent.

Second, David affirms his own sin and failure (verses 3-5). We know our sins. We know them well. We may not be aware of how our words and actions make others feel sometimes. We may not always know how our sin affects others, but we know our sin. It is hard not to know when we say things in anger; it is hard not to know when we do something wrong. Verse 5 is not intended to say that we are born with sin, but rather from the earliest days of recognition we know our sin. And we know that our sin separates us from God. We know that when we hurt another, our relationship with God as well as that person suffers.

In his book “What Ever Became of Sin”, Carl Menninger tells the story of a deranged man on a street corner. Usually he would just hang his head looking disoriented. As people drew near, he would raise his eyes upon them, lock his gaze upon them, and then point an accusing finger. “The remarkable thing is,” wrote Menninger, “that few people could bear his gaze. Most of those who passed him by dropped their heads in shame.” We know our sins.

Third, David affirms the expectation of God (verse 6). God desires truth in the inner parts. David knows that God wants there to be consistency between our hearts and our actions. It is possible to do the right thing with the wrong heart. We can appear to have a good heart when we just mask our sin. It is possible to live a life of deception. But God knows the truth about us. He knows what is inside our hearts when we sin and when we pretend. And he knows when our hearts are set on him.

Fourth, David affirms that with forgiveness, God can use him again (verses 7-15). Sin is terrible. But with forgiveness, God uses sinners to tell others of his unfailing love and great compassion. Even David recognized that with his forgiveness he would lead others to turn back to God; that he would worship God with a renewed sense of purpose and thankfulness.

So What?

I want to close with two illustrations. The first comes from Philip Yancey’s book “What’s so Amazing about Grace?”

God wants to forgive your sin. His desire is to be in relationship with you. What separates you is your sin. But through the cross, God has taken care of your sin. He still expects repentance. He still expects changes so that the inside and the outside are consistent. He still expects confession. But you can count on forgiveness. You can count on love. You can count on compassion. There is a line from Mozart’s Requiem that speaks to this invitation.

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