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Saying Sorry Psalm 51 & Matthew 6v9-15 by Stephen Coffin
- Jesus taught us to confess our sins to God
- Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (Matthew 6v12)
- Jesus taught that we must forgive as a condition of being forgiven
- For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6v14-15)
- David's example – Psalm 51
- The heading gives the context: "For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba." (See 2 Samuel 11-12)
- Sin spoils relationships with God & others
- "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge." (v.4)
- "Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." (v.11-12)
- David had sinned against Uriah & others killed in the battle, against Bathsheba, against Israel, so……
- Remember that poetic truth may be different to literal truth - the psalms are poetry!
- The grounds for forgiveness
- "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions." (v1)
- Be honest about your sin
- "Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me." (v.2-3)
- "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." (v.5)
- Want to change (= repent)
- "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (v.10)
- Note that in Hebrew poetry repetition of an idea is the main literary device.
- Lessons to learn from saying sorry
- Encourage others that they can be forgiven
- "Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. " (v13)
- Praise God for his forgiving love
- "Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise." (v.14-15)
- Relationships are what matter
- "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. " (v.16-17)
- Confession opens the way to blessing
- "In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar." (v.18-19)
- There may be consequences of sin to be faced even though God has forgiven us
- "Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own." (2 Samuel 12v10)
- We can use David's words for our own confession
- Similar psalms 19v12-14; 25; 32; 38; 86
- New Testament understanding
- "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5v18-21)
- To whom do you find it hardest to say sorry?
- How often should you confess your sins to God?
- How can you be sure he forgives you?
- How does the death of Jesus make forgiveness possible?
- Is there anyone whose forgiveness you should be asking for anything?
- How can you use David's confessions to help your relationship with God to grow?
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