 April 28, 1999
EXPLORE THE BIBLE:
Spiritual restoration awaits the penitent heart
___ Psalm 51:1-17
___Dillard Wilbanks
___Travis Avenue Baptist Church, Fort Worth
___In this psalm David deals with a whole chain of sins in the context of his sin with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12). Lust led to adultery, adultery to deception and deception to murder. Whatever our range of sins, we find the route to restoration in this vivid portrayal of the emotions that succeed one another in the penitent heart.
___ Forgive me ( Psalm 51:1-4). The work of restoration in Psalm 51 is rooted in God's gracious  lovingkindness and compassion. David acknowledges that God alone is the source of mercy and forgiveness. He alone can blot out his sins of transgression (willful violation of God's law), iniquity (depravity) and sin (missing the mark). From the day the Spirit of God had come upon him, God had projected a divinely planned life for David. He is now aware of his utter failure and also aware of God's heartbreak.
___His sins are regarded as a record of rebellion which must be "blotted out" (erased), a polluted robe which must be "washed" and a fatal spiritual leprosy which must be "cleansed." Unlike Esau, Saul and Judas, his sorrow was not in the consequences but for the sin itself. David reiterates that the sin is his alone. Not heredity, society, instinct nor Bathsheba, but willful disobedience is its source.
___ Cleanse me (Psalm 51:5-9). David now gets to the depth or gut-level of his sin--his innermost being. The radical wrong is in his soul. He, again, cries out for cleansing. Repeti-tion emphasized the depths of David's grief and a longing for release. It is not only for pardon that David pleads but for the kind of purity that will return him to his place in God's plan. The verb purge is the word commonly used in describing the cleansing of a leper's house. This deep cleansing gives David boldness in praying for restoration. Likewise, "If our hearts do not condemn us we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask" (1 John 3:21).
___ Restore me (Psalm 51:10-13). The heart has been called the rudder of the soul. David is too wise to ask that his old heart be cleansed. The word for create is the same word used in Genesis 1. He has a radical new beginning in mind. Such a work can be done only by God. A new heart is evidenced in a renewed spirit. It is now his desire to live in the presence (literally, before the face) of the Lord.
___Beyond a new heart and renewed spirit, David asks for restoration of the joy of his salvation. The guilt of sin may well remain after it has been dealt with before God (v. 14). Until we ask for divine deliverance from the guilt of forgiven sin, this ploy of Satan will rob us of the joy of spiritual renewal, restoration and a vibrant witness of God's grace.
___ I will praise you (Psalm 51:14-17). With the lifting of the weight of sin, David will now sing and witness to men everywhere of the grace of God. Our "praise" not only reflects God's work; it is God's work (John 4:23).
___He then breaks with tradition. Rather than bringing the Jewish "burnt offering" as a "sacrifice" he brings himself as he is--a man of sorrow fully restored and reinstated.
___It has been rightly said that reinstatement to a place of spiritual leadership is possible when the notoriety of repentance is as widespread as the notoriety of the sin. In Psalm 51 David has fully met this criteria.
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