Well, friends, this morning I want to look at this 51st psalm, Psalm 51, the psalm written by David. And it's one of the great penitential psalms, the ever-penitential psalm. It's at Psalm 32. Both psalms written after David had been confronted over his sin and had repented and realized what he had done. And if you remember the background to this psalm is, you know, David was in the spring and he should have been going out. with his men on the battlefield, but instead he chose to stay at home and relax. He was up on the roof of his house and he spied a beautiful woman, Bathsheba, and he enquired after and found out who she was. They told her she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite. That should have been the end of the matter, but instead he sent for her and committed adultery with her. She conceded, became pregnant, and then he tried to cover it up, but Uriah brought back and he even tried to get Uriah drunk, but that didn't work, and so when they realised that he couldn't cover up, he thought, well, he'd have Uriah sent to the front line of the battle, a place where he'd be killed. He effectively had him murdered, and Uriah, he was killed a Hittite, because of what David had done. David thought he'd perhaps got away with it, and for some months, until Nathan the prophet came to him and Nathan he told in the parable didn't he about someone took somebody's poor lamb and David thought how terrible it was but then he turned around and he has that killer remark doesn't he that mark thou art the man and then he suddenly realized that he was the man confronted with his sin and he repented But, you know, it was a tremendous cost, wasn't it? He had problems in his family. Ever after that, God forgave him. And these two Psalms, 32 and 51, are written following that repentance. And you know this Psalm, 51, it tells us, as indeed a lot of the Word of God, it tells us about the greatest problem of all, the problem that causes wars, the problems that cause the far-right riots, It causes broken marriages. The greatest problem in this world, and that is the problem of sin. The Bible has a lot to say about sin, and we can learn a lot about sin from this psalm. And what is sin? It is missing the mark. It is a term of archery. So you know the term of archery, the arrow that misses the bull's eye. It is called a sinner. It has fallen short. And others like us, we have all fallen short of God's standard of perfection. And there are different words used for sin here. We have the word transgressions in verse one, and then we have iniquity and then evil. Transgression, we have. And what is transgressions? It means to step over the line. It is to rebel. And that's what we are, isn't it? By nature, we're rebels against God. We have crossed over. God's line. God's red line. We want to go our own way. You know the song, Frank Sinatra, I did it my way. And that sums up human nature, doesn't it? Go our own way. The Bible says, doesn't it, Isaiah 53, that all we like sheep have gone astray. Each of us have turned our own way. We want to go our own way. We bow, cross over the line. You know, I remember when I was at school quite some years ago, and there was some grounds, there was a lake. And pupils were forbidden to go down to that lake. And it was like an island. But I being a rabbi, I decided I'd go down there. I went there more than once. And one day I was going down there. And it was like a tree trunk growing across, crawling across it. And then a teacher spotted me, so that was the end of that. But I was rebelling, wasn't I? I was going across the line. I wanted to go beyond the boundaries where I was allowed. And that's what we as sinners have done, isn't it? We want to go our own way. We cross God's red line. And then iniquity, that is mentioned in verse 2. wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, an iniquity that carries the implication of being perverse, crooked or twisted, and that's what we are. It's not a pretty picture, is it? But that's what we are. In the sight of a God who is holy, we are crooked, we are twisted. There's nothing lovely about us at all. And an evil is a word as well given sin, isn't it? In verse four, against thee, thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. And what is evil? It is to do bad, isn't it? Contrary to God's nature, anything that is, everything that is contrary to God's holiness. And so those three words there for sin. And it tells us this psalm a lot about sin. And you know, the first thing I would say that it tells us about sin is that it shows us here that sin is a personal thing. It is a personal thing. You know, what does David say? We get the word I, don't we? Or my. He says, blood out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. I am my. David, he took personal responsibility. And sin, it is a personal thing. But, you know, we live, don't we, in a culture, a blame culture, where it is always somebody else's fault. People try to excuse themselves. People say, well, it's my upbringing. Oh, it's my father always had a temper. So that's why I lose my temper. That's why I have a short fuse. It's my upbringing. Well, if I lived in different circumstances, if I lived in a different culture, I wouldn't be like that. And we blame it on other things, don't we? You know, this blame culture, it's been around, hasn't it? It's been right since the beginning of time. We go back to the garden of Edom and Genesis and the fallen man. What did Eve do? Eve, we see it there, don't we? Eve, she blamed when they took that forbidden fruit, that forbidden, the true tree of knowledge and good and evil. And Eve said it was the serpent. And what did Adam do? He said, Lord, it's the woman that gave us me. He was blaming Eve, but he was blaming God, as if you gave me that woman, you gave me Eve. It's your fault. And we have this blame culture, don't we? But we need to come to that position, don't we, each of us, where we each are personally accountable, that we see the personal problem of sin, that it's my sin, it is our sin. You see, it is a serious thing. You see, when we stand, before the judgment thrown at God one day. The Bible says each one of us should give account of himself to God. We won't have to account for anyone else. It won't be any good blaming anyone else. We will each be personally accountable. And so sin is shown to be a personal thing. But then also, as well, sin, it is shown, and this is what makes it so serious, it is shown that it is against God. It is against our Creator. In verse 4, it says, against thee, thee only, have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. You see, that is the most serious thing about our sin. People, they think lightly about their sin, but we do it against, in the sight of the Holy God, we do it against our Maker, our Creator, the one who is infinitely holy, the one who is powerful, You know, David, of course, when he sinned, he sinned against Bathsheba. He sinned against Uriah. He had Uriah killed. He took Uriah's wife and then he had him murdered, effectively. And he sinned against his country, didn't he? He let down the nation of Israel. But, you know, above all, it was against God, wasn't it? He says, V only. And that is the most serious thing with our sin. When we sin, we hurt other people, don't we? We may sin against our spouse, our children, our family, and others. But above all, when we sin, we do it against God. And that's what makes it so serious. People realize that. In the illustration, we have a snowball. If we throw a snowball at our friend, it doesn't matter. If we throw a snowball at the teacher, well, it's a bit more serious, isn't it? We get into trouble. But if it were to throw a snowball, let's say, like the king or the prime minister, then it would be a much more serious thing. Just a small picture, isn't it? Our sin is against someone far greater than any human dignitary. It is against the Almighty, the all-powerful Creator. Oh, if David had realized, like Joseph, when he was tempted to sin, that he was doing it against God. Like Joseph. You remember Joseph? Joseph, he was in Potiphar's house and Potiphar's wife tried to tempt him. She tried to seduce Joseph. What does Joseph say? What is his answer? In Genesis 39 verse 9, he says, how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? He wouldn't do it against God. He realized that, didn't he? And so our sin is serious because it is against God. But also as well, it tells us as well that it is not only done against God, but it is in the sight of God. Against thee, thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. It is in the sight of God. That's a solemn thing, isn't it? Everything that we do or say or think. It is done in the sight of a mighty God who sees everything. In the psalm it says, Psalm 139, verses 11 and 12. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from me, but the night shineth as the day. The darkness and the light are both alike to thee. Oh, you know, this is why so many people, they do wicked deeds, don't they? Under cover of darkness, because they think nobody sees them. Sometimes they get caught on CCT, but they may get away with it. As far as the law is concerned, they may have got caught by the police, but they forget there's one who sees everything, one to whom the darkness is as light. And that is Almighty God. Oh, that people remember that. There's a little verse, isn't there? Genesis 16, 13. Thou, God, seest me. that each of us would do well to remember that every time we attempted to sin and we're never immune, are we, as Christians to sin? Thou, God, seest me. And in Hebrews, all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we have to do. There's no creature hidden from his sight. God sees everywhere. We can never hide from God. But then this psalm as well, it tells us about sin. It tells us that we are born sinners. In verse 5, David says, Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. It doesn't mean that he was born illegitimately. There's no reference to that at all. But that he was born with a sinful nature. You see, we have here, don't we, the doctrine of original sin. It's something that's not very popular, isn't it? People like to think that man is basically good. And there was a monk, Pelagius, and he had a problem with evil, but he came to the conclusion, he thought, well, we're basically born good. It's just our willpower, and we can choose to be good. We have a choice. But we're not born basically good. We're born sinners, right through. We're born with that nature to sin. That's why we don't have to teach a child, do we, to be disobedient? What is one of the first words a young child says? No. It's natural, isn't it? We have that sinful nature. Romans 5, verse 12. It says this. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passes upon all men, for all have sinned. Yes, it's a popular doctrine, but it is what the Word of God teaches. We are born sinners. Original sin. And it is universal. Every one of us. We read it in Romans 3, 23. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none righteous. No, not one. There is none who seeks after God. There is none who doeth good. No, not one. Every one of us. are infected with this disease of sin. The only person who walked on this earth who had no sin was the Lord Jesus Christ, who was the Son of God, who was God manifested in the flesh. But every one of us are infected with the sin. It doesn't say some have sinned, it says all have sinned. And this psalm as well, it tells us about sin, that sin is a heart matter. It's not just an external thing. You see, sin is such a serious thing, so rooted, we need to be changed on the inside. What does David say in verse 6? And in verse 10, he says, create in me a clean heart. You see, it's a heart matter. You see in 1 Samuel 16 verse 7, it says, God does not look as man looks. Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. He's interested in our hearts. And the Bible says about our hearts that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. And who can know it? And God knows our hearts. It's beyond cure. It is desperately sick. And we need a new heart. That's what it is. We need to be born again. Because unless we have a new heart, unless we're born again, then we're totally unregenerate. Sin, it is a heart matter. The Lord Jesus Christ, he made that clear. In Matthew 15, verse 19, he says this, For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. You know, the actions, isn't it? When people murder, and they kill, and they commit adultery. It starts in the heart, doesn't it? It starts with a wrong thought. or a thought of hate and it translates into an action. You know, people so often think it's just the outward actions, don't they? And they think I've kept commandment that I shall not kill, but they forget that The standard of the Bible is much higher. It says, you know, if you hate somebody, you committed murder in your heart. And no murderer has eternal life. And that lust is equivalent to adultery. And Lord Jesus said that when you look at somebody else's husband or wife with lust in our heart, then we committed adultery in our heart. You see, it's our heart that needs to be changed. We can look good on the outside, can't we? But what is our heart like? Is our heart clean? A little illustration, you may have a cup that's got dirty water inside it. And you can perhaps paint that cup outside and make it look beautiful, but it doesn't matter how decorative you may do, unless you change the water inside that cup and wash it inside, the water's still going to be inside, isn't it? It's just like the Pharisees, religiously they look good on the outside, They were white and suckled curves, weren't they? They were rotten on the inside. Their hearts weren't right, were they? And you know, the psalmist tells us here, David, isn't it? But our hearts, they need to be broken, don't they? They need to be broken. What does verse 17 say? The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, a God thou wilt not despise. Our heart needs to be broken by our sin. I wonder, have we seen how serious our sin is? We need to, don't we? We need to get to the point where we see the seriousness of sin. We're Christians, aren't we? We need to be broken again and again over our sin and our failure. And then this Psalm as well, it makes it clear that sin, it brings pain. It brought pain to David. In verse eight, he says this, make me to hear joy and gladness, that the bones which thou has broken may rejoice. They weren't literally broken, but that's what it felt like. You know, in Psalm 32, David says, when I kept silence, My bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night, my hand was heavy upon me. My moisture is turned into the drought of summer. It brings pain, doesn't it? And you know, when our conscience is awakened, you know, then we see, don't we? We see how awful sin is, isn't it? I wonder, I trust our consciences have been awakened. And you're David, isn't it? When he was awakened, when Nathan had come and said, vow at the man, he came there and he says, I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. You know, we need to see that with the seriousness of sin. You know, often the world, doesn't it, they think lightly of sin. You know, fools, is it Proverbs, fools, or Ecclesiastes, I think that fools make a mock at sin. They think it's not a big deal, do they? And, you know, there's the pleasures in sin in Hebrews 7. It talks about the pleasures of sin. And there is pleasure in sin. If there was no pleasure in sin, no one would ever sin, would they? But then it goes on to say, but the pleasures of sin, they're for a season. They're passing. You know, there's a day of reckoning. That is coming. You know, sin brings pain. David, though he was forgiven, he experienced pain, didn't he? Afterwards, there was consequences in his family. He saw his own son, Absalom, didn't he, rebel against him. And he suffered a lot of heartache. And sin always has consequences and it brings pain. We see that, don't we, in this life. You know, the person who cheats on their wife or husband. There's a cost to pay, isn't there? Or people that get drunk. You know, they may feel good, but then the hangover comes. Or they do things, don't they, that they regret. We've seen that with the riots. People, they were totally ashamed of themselves. And there's consequences, aren't there, with a person who takes drugs. It may make them feel good for a while, on a high. while they have that fix, but then when the effect wears off, they get the cold turkey. For sin, it brings pain. There's always consequences. You know, in Proverbs, it says this, in Proverbs 9, 17 and 18, stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there, and that our guests are in the depths of hell. And ultimately, you know, with sin, unless our sin is forgiven, then we would experience the eternal, never-ending pain of sin in that place called hell. You know, I was reading about the King's Cross fire. Remember the King's Cross fire, an awful fire in the underground in 1987? And this is what, when I witnessed a kink, said, thick, black, choking smoke everywhere. It was impossible to see anything, and all you could hear was screaming. That's an awful picture, isn't it? Hell is far worse than that. The fire of Cain's cross was eventually put out. The fire of hell will never ever be quenched. Isaiah talks about the everlasting burnings. Who of us can dwell there? Hell is a place where inconsolable grief, a place of unremitting torment, You see, God, because he is holy, God must punish sin. And so our greatest need, the greatest need of every human being is forgiveness of our sin. We need to be forgiven. And David realized this. And what did David do? Well, first of all, he acknowledged his sin. In verse three, he said, for I acknowledge my transgressions. He confessed his sin. In Psalm 32, he says, I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and my iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions under the Lord. And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin, Selah. He realized he needed forgiveness. He acknowledged his sin and confessed it. And to confess sin, it is to see sin as God sees it. And we need to see that, don't we? You know, once I heard a story of a young lady, And she spoke to her pastor. She wasn't a Christian and she couldn't really see it. And the pastor said to her, he said, pray this prayer for a week. Ask God to show you what you are. And she went away and she prayed that. And at the end of that week, she was in despair because God had opened her eyes. The Holy Spirit convicted her of sin and she saw what sin was. Then her pastor said to her, But now pray this prayer, ask God to show you his son, the Lord Jesus, and she did that. She saw the Saviour, who is the one who died for her sin, and she was saved and born again. Every single human being, until we see the problem of sin, until we see how serious it is, we will never see our need of a Saviour. The Lord Jesus Christ said, it's not the well who need a doctor, who need a physician, it's those who are sick. We only go to the doctor when we think there's a problem. Jesus said, I'll not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners to repentance. Not those who put in their own self goodness, who think they're OK. As so many say to us when we offer Christian leaflets, I'm good, I'm OK, I'm all right. They're not OK. They just don't realize it. They need to have their eyes open, like that young lady. You know, the Bible says this on Isaiah 64, verse 6, that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. We're all like an unclean thing. And so David, he confessed his sin. He acknowledged it. And then we see repentance. We see repentance because in verse 10 he says, create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. He wanted to be changed. He didn't want to hold on to his sin. You know, those people aren't there. Oh, they want to go to heaven. They want to be forgiven. But they want to just keep hold of their sin. My friend, it doesn't work like that. And so David, he had that repentant heart. He confessed his sin. And the good news, my friend, as we know, is that we can be forgiven, we can be cleansed, we can be washed from our sin. You know, David, he uses three different words, doesn't he? Asking for forgiveness, blot out our sins, isn't it? Wash me, cleanse me. And my friends, we can experience all of that. It says in verse 7, doesn't it? Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. What was hyssop? Hyssop was a plant that was used to put the blood on the doorpost and the lintel at the Passover feast. Do you remember the Passover? That last plague in Egypt. They had to kill a lamb and the blood had to be applied and sprinkled on the doorpost and the lintel. Lord saw the blood on the doorpost and then the angel of death passed over and the firstborn didn't die. But if there wasn't the blood there, then the firstborn died in every household. And they always commemorated that feast in every year. And they use that plant, hyssop, to sprinkle the blood, to put the blood on the doorposts and the lintel. What does that remind us of? What does that point us to? Well, it points us, doesn't it, friends, to the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, there's only one thing that can wash away our sin, that can make us clean, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1 John 1 verse 7, we read, the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. I love that hymn. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me white as snow? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. My friend, it is only the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ shed on Calvary's cross that can ever take away our sin. Hebrews 9.22 tells us that without the shedding of blood, there can be no remission, no forgiveness of sin. The prophet Jeremiah, chapter two, verse 22, says this, for thou wash me with niter, that's a type of acid, and take me much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, sayeth the Lord God, not all the soap could wash away. Soap. We think back, you remember Macbeth, the Shakespeare play, what does Macbeth say when Macbeth had been guilty of murder and killing? He says, would all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? And the answer goes, no, isn't it? Only the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, many people think it's religion. They think it is good works that can take away their sin. But it cannot do. The Bible says that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Or by grace are we saved through faith. And that, love yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. And our sins, they can be blotted out, can't they? The debt can be cancelled. We can be made whiter than snow. How wonderful that is. Verse 7, wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. And we have the wonderful promise for the person who confesses their sin and repents of their sin and puts their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ with the promise in Isaiah 43 verse 25, I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake and will not remember of thy sins. And all this is possible, isn't it? Because of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done, because God's Son. There's only one way that our sin could be dealt with, that the Lord Jesus Christ had to leave the glory of heaven and to come down and to die on that cross with the sacrifice in the place of sinners which the prophet Isaiah foretold more than 700 years before when he said in Isaiah 53 verse 5 but he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed Peter tells us that Christ suffered once for sins, but just for the unjust that he might bring us to God. How do we receive forgiveness? I trust each of us have received this forgiveness of sin and we need daily cleansing as well as Christians. But we need first of all to repent, we need to turn from our sin, don't we? We can't do it on our own strength, can we? We need the help of the Holy Spirit. And if we're not being born again, the Lord is able to give us, He can change us, can't He? The Bible tells us, doesn't it? To as many as received Him, gave you then the power to become the children of God. If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed. And the Lord Jesus Christ is able to give the power to change us, to make us a new person, if we surrender to Him and ask Him to change us, to cleanse us from our sin. So the need for repentance, a turning from all known sin, And then there needs to be that trust, isn't there, that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, to believe that he died on the cross for our sins, took the punishment for our sin. Yes, forgiveness of sin, a home in heaven, salvation. It is not something that we deserve. It is not something that we can earn. It is totally of God's grace. The Bible says the wages of sin is death. That's what we deserve. But the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus. And then as I draw to a close, look at just verse 12. And what does David say? He says, You know, David was a child of God. He was a man after God's own heart, and he sinned grievously. but he was a child of God and he never lost his salvation. And as Christians, we can never lose our salvation. We may lose the joy of our salvation. We will lose the joy of our salvation. We may lose our communion with the Lord when we sin, but we can never, ever lose our salvation. Our salvation is totally secure. You know, the Lord Jesus Christ says in John 10, 28 and 29, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. And so the person who is saved, truly saved, we can never ever lose our salvation. David, he lost his joy of salvation and There's a link with salvation, with joy. They're linked together. Some people think that to be a Christian is a miserable thing, but the Christian should be the happiest person. We have so many things to be grateful for, don't we? We're forgiven, accepted by God. We know that the best is yet to be. We have someone who's promised to never leave us nor forsake us. Someone who will help us through all our problems. In Isaiah 12, verses 2 and 3, it says, Behold, God is my salvation. I would trust and not be afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and song. He also has become my salvation. Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. When we have the joy of salvation, then it enables us to witness It says, Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and hold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Sometimes we can lose the wonder of our salvation. Gypsy Smith, a gypsy evangelist, near the end of his life someone heard him preach and said, you're just the same, you haven't lost that power, you're just the same. He said, what's the secret of your ministry? And he said this, I've never lost the wonder. I've never lost the wonder of being saved. I've never lost the wonder of my salvation. You know, close to the story, there was once a man who'd been blind and he was travelling across the continent on a train. And the train was hot and stuffy and it was normally a tedious journey and a lot of the passengers on there, they just wanted the journey to get out of the way. This man, his sight had been restored, and as he's looking out the window, he kept just saying, wonderful, wonderful. And the passenger said, what is it about it? What's so wonderful? It was just a hot, stuffy journey from the get-over. And the man, he said, I once was blind, but a surgeon restored my sight. And he said, what is commonplace to you? It is wonderful to me. You think we've had St. Paul more wonderful than our physical sight? For those of us who are saved, we've had our spiritual sight, we've had our spiritual eyes opened. We saw our sin and we were appointed to the Saviour, we've been saved, we've been born again. And what a wonderful thing that is. If we've lost the wonder of our salvation, may we see again the wonder of what the Lord has done for us and seek to live for Him. and may we never ever get over what the Lord has done for each one of us. And if we don't know the Lord as our Saviour, and Lord, if we have not seen how serious sin is, may we ask, may God open our eyes and may we see what an awful, terrible thing sin is, and may we fly to the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, and put our trust in him as the one, the only