Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
Psalm 51:1-4 (NIV)
Today we see the heart of a broken man. David was God’s man, hand picked over all of his brothers to become the King of Israel. But David was not a perfect man. Although David had this wonderful calling on his life, he would find himself making a series of bad decisions and then, in an attempt to cover it up, he would make the situation go from bad to worse. What was David’s big failure? David committed adultery and murder. Psalm 51 is a prayer that David wrote after carrying out these transgressions. Did God forgive David? The answer is yes and that should give all of us cause to praise God and to celebrate this tremendous Psalm. (To read the historical account of this portion of David’s life, I suggest reading 2 Samuel 11-12.) When David prays for forgiveness, he calls on two of God’s characteristics: God’s love and compassion. Literally, he is appealing to God’s “kindness” and “abundance” of compassion.
Two things for us, as believers, to consider:
(1) Confession is not begging God to forgive us. If you have placed your faith and trust in Jesus’ provision on the cross for your sin, you are forgiven and are no longer under the Law or the penalty that it demands. What was brought to Israel under the old covenant has now been brought to Jew and Gentile alike through the new. There is no condemnation for those who are in a relationship with Christ (Romans 8:1). That’s the gospel and it really is good news!
(2) So what is confession? I define confession as agreeing with God. I believe confession is a gift from God, allowing us to acknowledge our sin, agreeing with Him that is does not belong in our lives, and, by extension, acknowledging God’s goodness and holiness. In other words, I believe confession is for us…for our healing. It is a lot like marriage. Husbands, when we “mess up”, our relationship with our wives is affected (come on married guys, you know what I’m talking about). Our mistakes don’t cause us to cease to be married. She still loves you and you still love her, but the “transgression” causes a disruption in the relationship. But when we apologize, owning up to our mistakes, the relationship can be restored. When we allow sin to take root in our lives, we don’t cease to belong to Christ, but the relationship is affected. When we confess our sin to Him, agreeing with Him about it, the relationship can be restored. Of course with humans forgiveness may or may not come, but with God we can always be assured of His willingness and pleasure to forgive us (1 John 1:9). Confession isn’t telling God something He doesn’t already know rather it is an opportunity to draw even closer to Him and to enjoy His love and forgiveness.
All of mankind is affected by the one sin of Adam bringing spiritual death to the entire human race, but justification and eternal life are given through the one act of righteousness when Jesus Christ went to the cross for you (Romans 5:18-19). The Law was given to increase our guilt under the Law, but where sin increased, God’s grace super abounded! Having a heart of confession brings you closer to the God who loves you and to the Savior who died for you. Enjoy the gift of confession today!
For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; you are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
Psalm 51:16-17
For more on this Psalm, I recommend A Heart of Confession: Psalm 51 by Stephen C. Edge.
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