2 Sam 11

Introduction:

You finished typing an important e-mail and you pressed [SEND]. Then you realized you had used some wrong and inappropriate words. And the worst thing was that you have sent it to the wrong person. How you wish you could undo it and start all over again.

Are there times we feel this in life? We uttered the wrong words; our behavior was stupid and inexcusable. We are full of regret and remorse. How we wish we could just go back in time, to undo those things and start all over again.

This is what this psalm is all about. In 2 Sam 11 we read that David stayed in Jerusalem while his army was away fighting the enemy. He saw a beautiful woman, Bethsheba, taking a bath. Then he summoned her to the place and slept with her. Some time later, she sent a message to David: guess what, I am pregnant. To make things worse, by now David also found out that she was married and her husband was fighting a war in the front line. In order to cover up his mistake, David immediately device an elaborate scheme that eventually killed Uriah. After the child was born, Nathan, a prophet of God came and confronted David, pointing to him the terrible sin he had committed.

Apparently this psalm was written after Nathan confronted David. It is a psalm full of sad and penitent emotions. One can feel his darkness, pain, remorse and despair. Isn't this how we also feel when we have said or done something that have deeply hurt someone close to us, or committed an immoral behavior? How we wish we could undo them. Our hearts are full of pain, darkness and remorse. We may be still haunted by the events that occurred many years earlier.

In this psalm we shall learn a very simple principle, that is, the key to spiritual restoration is a broken spirit and contrite heart. .

I. We come to God on the basis of God's mercy. Vs 1-1c

Knowing what he did was wrong, David came before God and pleaded that God will show him his love and compassion based of his Mercy. To receive mercy means to receive something that we don't deserve. David knew that he could come before God only on the basis of God's love and mercy. No one could stand before God on the basis on God's justice. One person said to me recently, "God must be punishing me for what I did." My response was, "no, if God treats us according to his justice, then none of us would be here today." Only in his mercy and grace can we approach God.

II. We come to God with our deepest guilt. Vs 1d-6

In the following verses we see David's deep sense of guilt before God.

1. Reality of sins in life.

v1d, 3,"my transgressions"; v2, "my iniquity"; v2, "my sin". He used 3 different words to described his behavior: transgression, iniquity and sin. Transgression means deflection from God, being rebellious. Iniquity means perversion of the right conduct. Sin is error, missing the mark, with special implication as to missing God's mark, standard. David recognized that his relationship with Bethsheba and the killing of Uriah were sins. They were against God's standard.

2. Ownership of sins in life.

Please also notice how David repeatedly used this personal pronoun to describe his sins: my transgressions, my iniquity, my sin. There was no hint of shifting the responsibility to anyone else. He did not say, "Bethsheba in the first place should not have taken a bath at a place where I could see her. She was obviously inviting trouble." Or being a man, in a moment or weakness I did something may be I should not have done. No, none of that. David owned up to it. It is my transgression, my iniquity and my sin.

David not only recognized what he did was a perversion, a rebellion against God, missing God's standard, but he also knew the depth of his sin. V5, "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." He pointed to the origin of his sin. He was sinful even before he was born. He was articulating the truth that because Adam sinned, sin came into the world and we are all sinners. He knew that we were sinners not because we had sinned. It was because we were sinners; therefore we sin. This is not to diminish our responsibility towards our sins. We are still responsible for what we did.

3. The ultimate offended person.

V4, "against you, you only have I sinned......done evil in your sight,....." 3 times he expressed how he had sinned against God. But how about Bethsheba and her husband? How come there is no mention of them at all? David's silence regarding Bethsheba and Uriah had made many people feel uncomfortable about this psalm. But before we jump to any conclusion, let us explore it a little more.

If there is no God, and you offended someone. In most countries, this will be considered as offense against another human. Offense to another person is called a crime. And accordingly, in different societies there are different degrees of punishment corresponding to the different crimes. Moreover, in many societies, with the change of time, what used to be a crime is no longer so.

However, if there is a God, then it will change the picture somewhat. Since all men are created in God's image, so every human life is valuable to God. He has also set rules and guidelines to protect us from being harmed. Therefore when an offense was done to another person, God was also offended, because it was a direct violation of his laws. In the society, it is a crime, but in God's sight, it is also a sin, an offense against him. Even though the society may have decriminalized the behavior, but in God's sight, it is still a sin. Therefore David's behavior toward Bethsheba and Uriah was a direct violation of God's law. It was God that he had offended.

In these few verses we see David's deepest feeling of guilt expressed. He knew that he had sinned against a holy and loving God.

Many of us come from countries with no knowledge of God's standards. Our society here, have done away with many of the Judeo-Christian moral standards. Consequently, there is no law against many of the moral issues. Such as, sexual relationships outside the marriage, abortion, homosexual behavior, same sex marriage, pornography, dishonesty, greed and gossip. Therefore, even though we may have indulged in some of such behaviors, yet they are not crimes. Its ok because people around us are doing the same. We may feel bad for a while, then we told ourselves that the world had changed. If so many are doing it, then it can not be wrong. Therefore we may try to suppress any kind of guilt feeling, or try not to think about it.

But now it is a different, isn't it? You have accepted God's existence and have come to know him in a personal way. You also begin to learn about his law and standards on different moral issues. And here may come the big conflict. Before you know Christ, it was really no big deal to be involved in sexual relationships outside the marriage, abortion, dishonesty, greed and gossip. But now facing a different kind of law and standards. We begin to realize what we did in the past, or even now, is an offense against God. It is my transgression, my inequity and my sin. I have truly sinned against God.

III. We come before God with profound penitence. Vs 7-9

V7-9, "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity." David not only knew that he had sinned against God, but he also feel very filthy before this holy God. He pleaded that God will cleanse him. Please take note of the words he used.

V7, "wash me and ......". It is like washing clothes, getting rid of all those dirt and stains.

V9, "Blot out all my iniquity". The word blot means to wipe out. Its like after you entered an item in your ledger by mistake and you want to blot it out. And the mistake will be completely removed.

V7, "cleanse me with hyssop......". Hyssop is very tough plants that grow in the rock crevices. In the OT days, it was used like a brush. The first mention was in Exodus 12:22 where the Israelites were told to use the hyssop to dip into the lamb's blood and brushed it on the doorposts. Later in Leviticus it was used for ceremonial cleansing. For David, cleansing with hyssop meant to be cleansed with blood. It also implied that to have his sins cleansed, an innocent animal was to be sacrificed. Years later, the author of Hebrews wrote, "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."(9:22)

Why was David so desperate to have his sins removed? He knew he had sinned deeply against God. He also knew that his sins had ruined his relationship with God. Resulting in inner pain, turmoil, darkness and without peace and joy. It was miserable. He wanted to reestablish his relationship with God. Therefore he desperately pleaded God to cleanse him.

What was God's response to David's pleading for cleansing? "'Come now, let us reason together', says the LORD. 'Even though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.'" (Isa 1:18)

You see, just knowing that we have sinned is not enough. We also need to realize that we have sinned against God. It has damaged our relationship with God. It is miserable to live in such condition: inner turmoil, pain, desperation, without joy and peace. Knowing that life can be so much better than this, we too come to God to seek cleansing, to have the lost joy restored.

Moreover, in David's days, he used the hyssop and blood as a symbol of cleansing. This symbol pointed to Jesus Christ who came several hundred years later and died on the cross. His blood can once and forever remove our sins and restore our relationships with God.

IV. We come before God to seek inner renewal. 10-12

David came to God with his immense feeling of guilt, and the most profound penitence. Here we see him asking God to give him a new heart, to restore him and start all over again. David knew that he cannot restore himself. It had to be from God.

1. Create a new heart.10

The word create means to make something out of nothing or out of chaos. Out of his confusion and chaos, create a clean heart. The word "steadfast" means resolute and constant in his allegiance to God. So that he will not deflect or turn away from God again. In Ezk 36:25-27 we read about God's response: I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

2. Dependence upon God.

V11, "do not cast me from your presence, or take your Holy Spirit from me." David was not saying that when he sinned, the spirit left him. No, the Holy Spirit is still there. He was still a child of God. He is in fact saying, how much I need you, depend on you. I can't go on without you.

V12, "...grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me" David was praying for inner motive that will sustain him to live in accordance to his new heart. David's realization of his sinfulness leads to his dependence on God.

The more I see my sinfulness and how I have sinned against men and God, the more I recognize my need for God. The person with the deepest guilt and most profound penitence is a person with broken spirit and contrite heart. Such is a person who knows how much he needs God in his daily living.

3. Ministry to others. 13-14

Up till now, we see David's emotion of guilt lead to his profound penitence, and the desire for a clean heart to start all over again. In vs 13,14, we see how he turned his personal experience to into a learning experience for others.

V13, "Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you." What did he teach? First. God's ways. This is not a reference to God's law, but how God deals with his children. There is always mercy, love and compassion. Even though our sins may be as red as scarlet, he will make it white as snow.

I think of the testimony we heard two Sundays ago. Having known Christ for only 3 months, Julia wanted others to know God in a personal way.

Secondly, he will also teach others how to worship God. God was not looking for those external rituals, such as sacrifice and burnt offerings. Instead what his desire was a broken spirit, a contrite heart.

When we come to worship, there is always the element of praise. But what is equally important is the condition of our heart: A broken heart, a contrite heart and a renewed heart.

The last two verses of this psalm had created some difficulty in interpretation. Some biblical scholars felt that they were added on at a later date. Because in David's time, the Jerusalem wall was still intact, and therefore no need for rebuilt. But there is also another way of looking at these two verses. David knew that his personal sin had a great effect on his nation. When the leader committed a sin against his people, it is like a city with a broken wall. So David here is praying not only for himself but also healing and rebuilding of his own nation. This brings us to a very basic truth: the more visible a person, the greater the effect it has on people. One can find no better illustration than to look at the events that occurred in this country during the past two years.

Conclusion:

During this past 30 years, our world had gone through many changes. Both the eastern and western societies had moved further and further away from some of the traditional moral values. There is no longer any absolute moral rights or wrongs. It is all relative. Conducts that were once abhorred, is being promoted and accepted by the society in general. If you grew up in this period, you would have possessed and lived by a set of moral standards that are different from the earlier generation.

However, when you become a Christian, you began to realize there is another kingdom with a different set of principles and values. You also know that what you did in the past, what seemed to be OK, was not compatible with this new faith. So you focus on being different from now on. But you know what? Sometimes our past was like a shadow relentlessly following us. We feel that because of what I did in the past, I am not deserved to be loved and accepted by others. I do not deserve to live a happy and fulfilling life. I must do more in the church to compensate for what I did. It is troublesome, isn't it?

In today's psalm we learn that for David to experience restoration, he had to face his sins head on. He was broken man before God.

During these past two years, on two separate occasions, I found myself having to urge and encourage two young Christians to deal with their sins more specifically. I encouraged the to spend some time to write down the past sins in their lives. Then they are to read to God and tell Him how sorry they are.

This enables them to experience God's forgiveness and love in a very special way. God will not despise a broken and contrite heart. He promised that though our sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9)

Rev. William Hsueh    August 13, 2000    Houston Chinese Church,  Houston, Texas