David's Repentance - Psalm 51:1-19

Teacher: Rusty Kennedy
​Series: Bible Stories

Rusty's Notes

David's family life was fraught with turmoil.

• His son Amnon committed a grievous act against his half-sister Tamar, leading to further family strife when Absalom, Tamar's brother, avenged her by killing Amnon (2 Samuel 13:1-29).
• Absalom later led a rebellion against David, temporarily seizing the throne.
• David fled Jerusalem but eventually regained his kingship after Absalom's death (2 Samuel 15-18).

Despite these personal and political challenges, David remained a man after God's own heart, seeking God's guidance and showing repentance when confronted with his sins.

ACTS 13
16 Paul stood up and motioned with his hand and said, “Fellow Israelites, and you who fear God, listen! 17 The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors, made the people prosper during their stay in the land of Egypt, and led them out of it with a mighty arm. 18 And for about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness; 19 and after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. 20 This all took about 450 years. After this, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet. 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22 After removing him, he raised up David as their king and testified about him, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my own heart,, who will carry out all my will.’
23 “From this man’s descendants, as he promised, God brought to Israel the Savior, Jesus.[1]
 
David is remembered for his deep devotion to God, as reflected in the Psalms he authored.
 
PSALM 51
A PRAYER FOR RESTORATION
For the choir director. A psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him after he had gone to Bathsheba.

• This is the first of fifteen consecutive psalms in Book II (42-72) attributed to David.[2]

 
 
Cleanse Me
1 Be gracious to me, God,
according to your faithful love;
according to your abundant compassion,
blot out my rebellion.
2 Completely wash away my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I am conscious of my rebellion,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you—you alone—I have sinned
and done this evil in your sight.
So you are right when you pass sentence;
you are blameless when you judge.
5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born;
I was sinful when my mother conceived me.
6 Surely you desire integrity in the inner self,
and you teach me wisdom deep within.
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

• “Hyssop” was a shrub with hairy stems that could be dipped into liquid, and the priests used hyssop to sprinkle blood or water on people needing ceremonial cleansing (Lev. 14:4, 6; Num. 19:6, 18; see Ex. 12:22).
• Today’s believers find their cleansing in the work Jesus accomplished on the cross (1 John 1:5–10; Heb. 10:19–25).[3]

Restore Me
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Turn your face away from my sins
and blot out all my guilt.
10 God, create a clean heart for me
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

• 1986 – Wedding – Brown Bannister

11 Do not banish me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore the joy of your salvation to me,
and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit.
Use Me
13 Then I will teach the rebellious your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
14 Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God--
God of my salvation--
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

• David’s sins had affected his whole person:
• his eyes (v. 3),
• mind (v. 6),
• ears and bones (v. 8),
• heart and spirit (v. 10),
• hands (v. 14),
• and lips (vv. 13–15).
• Such is the high cost of committing sin.
• David knew this, so he asked for more than cleansing, as important as that is; he wanted his entire being to be restored so he could serve the Lord acceptably.
• He wanted the joy of the Lord within him (see v. 12) and the face of the Lord smiling upon him.[4]

 
16 You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it;
you are not pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit.
You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.

•  David was wealthy enough to bring many sacrifices to the Lord, but he knew that this would not please the Lord and that their blood could not wash away his sins.
• David wasn’t denying the importance or the validity of the Jewish sacrificial system; he was affirming the importance of a repentant heart and a spirit yielded to the Lord (Isa. 57:15).
• God could not receive broken animals as sacrifices (Mal. 1:6–8), but He would receive a broken heart![5]

18 In your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper;
build the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in righteous sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.[6]
 

• David was a man after God’s own heart.
• David’s sin was forgiven entirely.
• David’s lineage was the one through which God chose to send the Messiah.
• But David never got to build a home for God.

 
His reign laid the foundation for the future prosperity of Israel under Solomon.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ac 13:16–23.
[2] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Worshipful, 1st ed., “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries, 2004), 186.
[3] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Worshipful, 1st ed., “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries, 2004), 187.
[4] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Worshipful, 1st ed., “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries, 2004), 188.
[5] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Worshipful, 1st ed., “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries, 2004), 189.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ps 51.