As we begin our study of Psalm 51, we will break it into 3 sections. The first section this week is verses 1-3, which we will title “The cry of the conscience”.

Before we can dig in we need some background. This Psalm was written by King David addressing his willfulness to surrender to his sinful desires.

For the story that brings us to this Psalm see 2 Sam. 12:1-6. This is a beautiful story of two men and how they in totally different roles (one with ultimate power and the other with authority) loved and trusted the Lord God with their very lives. You’ll understand once you read the story.

David’s words in this psalm are very transparent. Remember he is the king of the nation and could just as easily ignored Nathan. Matter of fact, David had three doors to choose from once Nathan accused David as the guilty party. First, he could have dismissed it as though Nathan was crazy. Second, He could have had Nathan executed for such claims against the king (without question). Third, the high road, this is path David chose. Not only did he plead guilty, he openly asked for forgiveness from God.

Psalm 51:1-3 NLT
1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.

2 Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.

3 For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.

Defining Words:
Guilt: The fact of having committed an offense, crime, violation: a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, crime, wrong

Transgression: The act of transgressing; the violation of a law or a duty or moral principle; the action of going beyond or overstepping some boundary or limit

Iniquity: Gross immorality or injustice; wickedness: A grossly immoral act; a sin

Acknowledge: concede, confess, grant. Acknowledge, admit, confess agree in the idea of declaring something to be true. Acknowledge implies making a statement reluctantly, often about something previously denied

Repentance:
To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one’s mind regarding it; to make a change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one’s sins.

Look at verse 1, Have Mercy, Blot out my sin (transgression) David is putting God in the proper position of absolute authority. Only God can remove the existence of someone’s sin.

We need to understand that SIN deserves judgement! This is why David pleads for God’s mercy instead of His justic.

Acts 3:19 Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.

Verse 2, Wash me clean (thoroughly and repeatedly, as necessary) of my guilt (iniquity), Purify me from my sin (make me wholly pure from my sin) See Hebrew 9:14-15

Who does it mean to be wholly?

Verse 3, I recognize my rebellion (conscious of my transgressions and acknowledge them), My sins haunt me day and night (my sin is ever before me)

Read1 John 1:5-10, God is JUST and faithful to cleans us from ALL wickedness

You can see how dangerous sin really is. Even when you think your in the zone, sin can and will blind you from the truth. If you let it!

Why was David haunted day & night?

Christian’s commonly place conditions on their relationship with God. Can you name a few of these conditions and why?

Why do you think David felt the need to humbly (lower himself) confess his sin to the world?

We must have honest repentance, just as the example given to us by King David himself.