Repentance: Clean Hands, Clean Hearts ~Psalm 51

“The true sense of our sinfulness does not come from measuring the distance between our own conduct and the grandeur of the moral law. Oh no, it is only in the overwhelming presence of the Holy One Himself that we sinners know how utterly sinful we are” (see Isa. 6:1-7, Patrick H. Reardon, Christ in the Psalms, pg. 99).

Read Psalm 51 

            Why is the superscription so important in correctly understanding this Psalm?

Read 2 Samuel 11:26 – 12:1-14

            What were the causes of David’s sin?

·      Not fulfilling his calling (11:1), lust (11:2), greed (12:8), disobedience to God’s Word (12:9).

How can David say in vs. 4 “against you, you only, have I sinned”?

·      Who else did his sin impact? The Army, Bathsheba, Uriah, Joab, their baby.

·      “The confession must be understood within the context of this immediate encounter with the God of purity, truth, and holiness. As the rest of the verse makes plain, the point of this confession is to establish that the speaker has ‘done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge’” (C. Broyles, Psalms, NIBC, pg. 227).

We talked about some of the consequences stemming from how his sin impacted others, so how did he gain wisdom from his sin? (Vs. 6) à By divine revelation!

 “Life has given us two very effective teachers. Both are top-flight instructors, but neither comes cheap. While both are effective, both require something of us. We have to choose one or the other, and if we choose neither, the second will be chosen for us. The teachers are WISDOM and CONSEQUENCES. … Consequences is by far the tougher teacher of the two. Consequences enrollment cost and ongoing tuition are sky-high. Oh, she’ll teach us well, all right—but by the time we learn her lessons, her instruction may have cost us years. It may have cost us our marriage, family, our job, our ministry, perhaps even our life. Consequences have a huge backend cost.” (Wayne Cordeiro, The Divine Mentor, pg. 28-29, © 2007, Bethany House).

Hyssop – shrub w/ stiff, hairy leaves and branches whose surface held liquid well hence its use in sprinkling blood in purification rituals (Lev. 14:1-9) and on the doorposts before the Exodus (Ex. 12:7).

What various synonyms does David use for sin?

·      transgressions (vs. 1) – “rebellion against a norm that defines a relationship”

·      iniquity (vs. 2a) – “crookedness or rebellion”

·      sin (vs. 2b) – “missing a mark, illustrated in Judges 20:16”

o   (Definitions comes from Craig Broyles, Psalms, NIBC, pg. 227).

·      bloodguilt (vs. 14) – for his murder of Uriah, the death of the baby(?)

What inner work does David ask God to do in his life? (vs. 10-12)

·      Pure heart and steadfast spirit

·      The Holy Spirit’s presence

·      The joy of salvation

*How does this apply to our lives today?

What exterior work does David ask God to do in his life?

·      Open up doors for teaching other sinners God’s ways (vs. 13).

·      Interior rejuvenation and cleaning will lead to an exterior praise (vs. 14c-15)

How does David make the logical jump from personal to societal in vss. 18-19?

*What does this Psalm teach us about prayer?

End with “Give Us Clean Hands” song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onGbkeWkA64