Yours may be different. Psalm 51, verse one. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness, according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Well, friends, this is a psalm, I'm sure if you've been a believer for any length of time, you are familiar with it, and you have probably often, like me, resorted to it. It's so necessary for us as sinful, fallen beings often to resort to such a prayer because it is a prayer, as well as a psalm, a prayer of repentance. and what a place we can turn to and find out how we must approach God when we are conscious of sin. Well, the author, you know, is David, and he was very conscious of his sin. But we don't want to delve too much into the background to this psalm. Suffice it to say, he committed atrocious sins in the eyes of the Lord. He thought he'd got away with it. He had committed adultery. with Bathsheba, you know the story, and then he went about to cover up his crime when she became pregnant by murdering, sending her husband, the soldier, to the front line and having him murdered all by his own hand. Guilty he was, but he tried to do all these things and for a long time, almost a year, he tried to suppress his guilt. He refused to acknowledge the guilt of his sin. He kept it quiet. He tried to keep his conscience quiet. It's a very difficult thing to do. That's an impossible thing to do. You can never keep your conscience quiet. Only for a time you may suppress your conscience. But he did these things and eventually, it was only when Nathan the prophet came to him and told him that parable, you know the parable about how a poor man's only sheep was stolen and killed for the rich man and his feast. Nathan said to David, Thou art the man, and he was convicted. And it was then that he came and freely poured out his soul, acknowledging his sin and his guilt. And this is him recounting his prayer. And it's a public statement of his repentance. It was to be sung in public so that others could also draw a benefit from it. And that includes ourselves. We can also read it and learn from it as we're doing this morning. Have I fallen? I hope not, but it may be. Have I fallen into some serious sin that's really displeasing to the Lord? Here's the way back to God. Have I backslidden from the Lord, grown cold in my love towards Him, and suddenly I'm finding I'm just going through the motions in going to church. I'm just going through the motions in my devotions. Something's missing. I'm not really happy, but I do find the world so very attractive. I do find the world so pleasing. I do find delight in the things of the world more than the things of God. Oh, friends, possibly I've backslidden from the Lord and I need to go back to him. It's a miserable thing to be a backslider, friends. As we will see as well, you'll never be a happy person as a backslider. You have to come back to the Lord and have our joy restored in Him. Perhaps I'm not yet a Christian. Perhaps I'm attending church, but I'm still not a believer. Perhaps I'm familiar with some of the things of the Bible and some of the teaching of Christ, but I still haven't turned personally to Him. I still haven't prayed that prayer, have mercy upon me, oh God, from my heart. I haven't got down on my knees and sought the Lord for personal forgiveness. Oh friends here, if you're convicted of your sin and your need to be reconciled with God and you recognize there's a distance still between you and God, Here is a prayer for you. Here is the way back to God. If things are not right between any of us and the Lord, the only way that we can put things right is by getting alone with God. We've got to do that. It's not by filling our lives with more activities and more church attendance and more this and that. You have to get alone with the Lord. We have to get on our knees before God and put things right. Pray to Him in secret. Speak to Him. Don't keep away. Maybe everything in you will want to keep you from being open and honest and acknowledging to God what is your sin. The devil will condemn you for your sin. Perhaps even your own self will think, I cannot come to God. My sin is too great. I shouldn't have done such and such a thing. I shouldn't have stayed away from the Lord for such a long time. He must still come, friends, and come clean with Him. But look, as you come, So we begin here, have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness, according unto thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. When you begin your prayer, you must begin with God. You must have God in mind. You must stop for a few moments if necessary and think about who you're coming to. It's not just a God who is there with a stick to beat you. Oh friends, that would drive us away from the Lord. You have to do what David did here and remind yourself that God is a merciful God, that God is a God who is full of loving kindness and of tender mercies. And we pray, Lord, don't deal with me as my sins deserve. but deal with me according to your lovingkindness, according to your tender mercies." Mercy, well that means God treating us, not as our sins deserve, but having pity upon us and forgiving us, unworthy as we are. Keep that in mind. You'll come into a God who delights not in judgment, but in showing mercy to people. You'll come into a God who welcomes you back. You remember the story of the prodigal son which Christ himself told. And when that prodigal son was coming out, was returning home, the father didn't just stay at home and say, you've got to get on your knees and you've got to do penance and then I will receive you back into the home. You can't come into the vicinity of my home. You have to stay on the outside. No, he ran out to meet him. because that's the heart of compassion that is in God, who loves to see people returning to Him, no matter which circumstance they come from. Now, you know the Roman Catholic and some of us before were Roman Catholics, when he goes to his confessional box and he engages in what's called an auricular confession, auricular meaning external year because the confessor is confessing his sins to the priest. Well, that person really has nothing really about God, it's not really in their minds. They're just thinking that confession is about their burdened conscience. We all know confession is good for the soul to a certain degree, and they find some relief in just doing that with the priest, but they're not really confessing to God. They're confessing to a priest, and often it's just like a fear of him, isn't it? Because they're told, oh, you've got to do penance for your sins. Penance for your sins? We can't do that. And the penance for the sins usually is saying, 10 Our Fathers and 10 Hail Marys, or something along those lines. Oh friends, God is missing from that kind of prayer. But we go to the Lord, Lord be gracious unto me. I don't plead any merit of my own. I don't deserve forgiveness. But because you are full of mercy and pity, have mercy upon me and blot out my transgressions. And then wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. The truly repentant person wishes not only to be forgiven their sin, but also to be purged from it. They're not content with just being delivered from the consequences of sin, but they also want the stain of sin to be erased from them. He doesn't just want to be given a clean slate so that he can then continue and sin again, return to his sin at a later time. No, he says, Lord, cleanse not only my record, blot out not only my transgressions, but Lord, also cleanse me. I want to be free from the sin. I want to be free. I don't want to do it again. I don't want to commit the sin again. Every truly repentant person has a sincere desire to be rid of his sins. The word thoroughly, wash me throughly, thoroughly from my iniquity here, of course means many times, multiple times. Friends, the stain of sin is so deep within us, isn't it? It's embedded into our constitution in some places. Perhaps it's a temper, perhaps it's a lust or something else that is so embedded in us. It needs, as it were, much scrubbing, much sanctification, much purging by the Lord. But the point here, friends, is David wants to be free not only from the consequences of sin, but also from the sin itself. And that's why Christ came and died on the cross, not just to obtain forgiveness for us, but to purge us from our iniquities, to make us really in character and life. righteous people. You remember Pharaoh, how he said to Moses on two occasions, I've sinned, I've sinned, he said. When did he say that? Why did he say that? Only because of the consequences of his rebellion, only because of all the plagues that had come upon Egypt, only because his life and his people's lives were suffering I said, Lord, I have sinned, Moses. Pray that the Lord will take it away. The Lord took it away, and he returned to his sin more than once. Then you can think of King Saul. King Saul did the same thing. He disobeyed the Lord. Samuel said, you've sinned. And he said, yes, I've sinned, but honor me now. Samuel said to him, you're going to lose your throne. The throne is given to another person. Your kingship is given to another person. Another person is going to sit in your place. No, no, no, I don't want that is what he's thinking. I've sinned. Restore it unto me. Restore me the honor. It was still kept from him. Well, friends, this is so important for us as well. Perhaps we're seeking the Lord. We wonder, why haven't I found the Lord? I've been seeking him, and I still seem to fall short of salvation, never seem to know. Perhaps you only want forgiveness. Perhaps you only want, you're afraid of the fear of the consequences of sins. and the punishment of it. Perhaps you're afraid of hell. That's not a bad thing, but that's not the only thing, friends. You must also wish to be rid of the sin itself. But then David goes on to say, Here at verse three, for I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. My sin is ever before me. Nine months plus he went on with a suppressed conscience, refusing stubbornly to confess his sin to God. He endeavored to carry on life as normal in such a state. He couldn't do it. Well, he did it, but he wasn't very comfortable as he did it. Everywhere he went, probably different specific places, reminded him of his specific sins. When he went into his bedroom, it reminded him of his sin. When he went onto the balcony from which he saw Bathsheba, it reminded him of his sin. When he saw his general, Joab, it reminded him what he told him to do, the instructions he gave him. Every time he asked the courtier to write a letter, he was reminded of the letter he'd written to send to Joab to have that righteous man killed. His sin was ever before him. And he refused, still he refused for such a long time until he found relief in acknowledging to the Lord what he had done. Freely, without reservation, I acknowledge my transgressions. And friends, this is what we must do. Don't hold back. Don't keep back. The person who truly desires forgiveness and reconciliation with God, we must also admit our sins. Don't make excuses for it. Don't blame other people for what you have done. We come clean with the Lord. Lord, this is what I've done. This is the kind of person that I am. These are the evil things that I've done. It's not that we just want our guilt to go away, the bad feelings of guilt, but Lord, this is the things that I've done. Take away my guilt and my sin. We don't blame extenuating circumstances, or it's because I grew up in poverty, that's why I am what I am, or other things. Or, I was rich and I had so many temptations I couldn't help it. No, friends, we acknowledge ourselves as we are. We find it very hard, isn't it, to do that? People find it very difficult to acknowledge their sin to the Lord. Why? It's a very simple answer. Pride. Pride gets in the way. Pride affects us all. We don't want to admit what we really are. We'd rather say, no comment, no comment, no comment. When we are, and the conscience accuses us, then acknowledge our guilt. But the way to find true relief and freedom is in acknowledging our sins to Him. Against Thee, Thee only have I sinned and done this evil in Thy sight. But David, you have sinned against people. You've killed somebody, you've committed adultery with somebody, you've sinned against people. How can you say, against thee and thee only have I sinned? Well, friends, because to break any of the Ten Commandments is a sin against God who gave it, the lawgiver. David had showed contempt for the sixth commandment, thou shalt not kill. The seventh commandment, thou shalt not commit adultery. The eighth commandment, thou shalt not steal, because he'd stolen somebody else's wife. He'd showed contempt. He'd sinned not, yes, against other people, but in breaking God's law. He had also sinned against God himself. He sees this now and he acknowledges he has offended God and done this evil and he vindicates God who has been convicted him that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest and be clear when thou judgest. God has reproved him for his sin. He doesn't bark back. He doesn't fight back and say it's not so. He acknowledges. It's true, everything that you say is justly spoken. It's right, Lord. I agree with what you are saying. Behold, he goes on, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. Now, don't get this wrong, friends. He's not saying that when he says in sin did my mother conceive me that he was conceived in iniquity. Immorality, that's not what he's saying. What he's saying is, from the very moment I came into being, and conception is the moment when a person, a human being, is considered a human, not a birth time or later, conception, when I was conceived in my mother's womb, right from the very beginning, even before I came out from the womb, I was shapen in iniquity. I was born in sin. I came into the world having an innate sinfulness. I came into this world as a baby, looking all innocent, without sin, but actually I had a sinful nature, and not my sins alone, but I came into the world conceived in sin. It's not friends, as so many people get it wrong. So many people think, I am a sinner because of the acts I commit, because I do this, and I do that, and I do that, the other. Therefore, it means I'm a sinner. It's the other way around. And Christ taught this so clearly. We do those bad things because we have a sinful nature. It comes out of us. This is the kind of tree that we are. A corrupt tree, the Lord says, produces corrupt fruit. A good tree produces good fruit. We are born into the world as corrupt trees. We come into the world with an evil heart. It's because we have a sinful nature That's why evil thoughts come out of us. That's why murders and adulteries and so on, that long list, that dreadful list that the Lord gave to us, proceeds out of our hearts because it's a part of us. The sin of Adam has fallen, the consequences of his sin, he who represented all of mankind, every man, every woman, Adam was representing them. If he fell, if he stayed faithful to the Lord, we all would have been righteous. If he fell, we would fall with him. When he fell, oh friends, his sinful nature passed on to all his children, as you and I. We are born with it. We come into the world with a sinful nature. It's not evident at the beginning, and it doesn't mean to say that we're all so 100% bad. Of course, there are some inclinations to good. There are some desires to do good. We're not wholly bad. Really, the predominant thing about us, the Bible teaches us is that we are born with a sinful nature. This is so difficult for people to accept. The world doesn't like it. You can't say that about us. Man is good. Man really has a good heart, really. He has a few problems here and there. Friends, man's problem, man's greatest problem is not economic, It's not climate change. That's not man's biggest problem. Man's problem, the problem with the world today is that the men and women who come into it, come into it with a sinful nature, come into it with an inclination to do evil. That's what the Bible teaches us. The person who is truly repentant, where he begins, he realizes these things. He doesn't fight against them. But then, verse 6, Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. This is what God looks at in our prayers when we are approaching Him. It's our hearts. The inward part, he looks for sincerity. This is how he estimates men, not by what we do on the outside, but what's going on in the hearts of men. But look here, this is in the hidden part, thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Even in his repentance, The Lord is teaching the sinner. The sinner is still learning. God is teaching him, as we have already mentioned in passing already, that it's the heart that counts with God. That's an important lesson to learn. in a time when people are thinking, it's by my works that I'm saved, or by my outward actions. But God is teaching the person, it's the heart that really matters. Even the thought, or the teaching that we carry with us, a sinful nature everywhere. The way of forgiveness is taught to the returning sinner. What a joy to know these things, things which are hidden from the world, made known to that person who is returning back to God. How to come back to God, how to find forgiveness with him. The Spirit of God reveals those things to such a person. He, thou shalt make me to know wisdom. He will teach us and instruct us in the right way. And then he says, purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. It's a reference to the Old Testament ceremonial when a leper was cured or felt he was cured or clean of his leprosy or one who had touched a dead body, he would go to the priest and the priest would take the hyssop, which was a plant or a shrub of some kind, and dip it in animal blood and he would sprinkle it upon the person and declare the person clean. And David has that in mind. Of course, he's not Thinking of it literally, that's what used to happen literally, but it was emblematic, it was symbolic of the work of Jesus Christ would do to take away sins. Because the blood of animals cannot take away our sins, it is only the blood of Christ that can take away our sins. And David, by faith, is looking forward to the work of the Savior. I'm sure that is in his mind, and saying, "'Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.'" It's only the cross of Christ that makes an atonement for sin, nothing else. Only the blood of Jesus Christ, as we read, can cleanse us from all sin. What can take away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. That's true. And then verse eight, make me to hear joy and gladness that the bones which thou has broken may rejoice. This, sorry, to go on in life, with unconfessed sin, friends, on the conscience, as we've said already, is so miserable. You'll never be a happy person. If there is some serious sin we're talking about, or if you're living in a backslidden condition, or even if you're an unbeliever, you'll never be really joyful. If you're the Lord's, you'll be miserable and feel wretched to be in such a position. On the one hand, you're trying to please the world. On the other hand, you're trying to please the Lord. You'll never be happy like that. That the bones which thou has broken may rejoice." Broken bones, that's extremely painful, I remember. a number of years ago when I was returning from work and came out of the tube station and the whole road was covered in snow. We had a sudden snowstorm going back over 20 years ago. And this was London and there was snow everywhere. The trains, as you know, in London, come to a standstill when there's any incremental weather. And we had I had to walk a long way home, but I fell on the snow. I fell on the ice, the black ice, and I broke my leg. The ambulance had to come out eventually, and when they took my shoe off, I still can feel the pain in my leg. It was awful. It was dreadful. I never wish it to happen again to me or to anyone. It was so awful. Broken bone. Broken conscience is harder. A broken heart is hard. A troubled one, oh, that's even, that's also painful, isn't it? Very painful to live with. Oh, how can we think back of those times when we've had physical pain, but the pain of our conscience, the pain of guilt upon us, the bones, look, which thou has broken, the Lord did it. The Lord, you are Lord, you broke those bones. That's not very nice, but it's all with a purpose, to bring you and I back to the Lord. Friends, the Lord is good even to do these things, otherwise we won't listen to Him. But notice also here, the psalmist doesn't ask for joy first. but only after confession and repentance. Make me to hear joy and gladness." That wasn't at the beginning of his prayer, as it might be for so many of us, but always after he's confessed his sin, after he's repented, he's asking the Lord to restore unto him, as it says in verse 12, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and take not thy Holy Spirit. from me. Verse 9, hide thy face from my sins and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Are you trying to make your old heart better? Are you endeavouring to improve that old nature, thinking you can get the better of it? It cannot be done, friends. You're fighting a losing battle. Some of us have tried, and we have failed miserably, and then we've been brought to realize how foolish it is to ever try to do such a thing. You and I, we need a new heart. We need a new nature, and it's something that only God can give us. We need conversion to God. It's not improving ourselves. We need God to create in us a clean heart, a new heart. This is the kind of prayer we need to pray. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Friends, a heart that is inclined to good and righteousness and not to evil. This is the kind of heart that God creates in us. This is what conversion does for us. This is what we need above everything. Have you understood this, friend? Have you understood this? This is the central message of Christ's teaching. This is the central message of the gospel, that man is a sinner, unable to get back to God, unable to reform himself. He needs conversion. He needs a new heart. He needs the Spirit of God to change him. He needs this to happen. He needs a life transformation, a total change, not just a renovated heart, a new heart. It must be not a work of that person, that man, that woman, it must be a work of God. It's an appeal to the Lord, creating me a clean heart, O God. Verse 11, cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Oh, this is the driving force, isn't it, of his prayer. And now that he has been convicted, don't banish me, Lord, from your presence. Don't drive me away. I couldn't bear that. I couldn't stand to be away from you. I want to be near you, Lord, again. I want to be on friendly terms with you again. I want to be reconciled with you, O Lord. He cannot bear the separation any longer. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me, his influences, his comforts, his help. Withdraw these not from me." The Holy Spirit, friends, is never withdrawn from a true believer. Even if he sinks into the most backslidden state, the Holy Spirit will never fully withdraw himself from that person in a backslidden state. The influence of the Spirit is withdrawn, so that person will pray, but he will pray without any profit, without any delight. He will hear the sermon, but it will have no effect on him. It will just be a message, doesn't affect him, doesn't help him, doesn't encourage him, doesn't stimulate him. He's not engaged in it. that repentance will restore things with him. Repentance will bring a restoration and a return of the Spirit's help without which the Christian cannot live. Take not thy Holy Spirit from me. And then, verses 13, 14, and 15, we see how David, Every returning person as well is concerned not just about themselves, but about others. He looks away from himself to others. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee. I'll be a witness for you, Lord. I'll have an experience to tell other people. Having known and obtained forgiveness for myself, I can then instruct others. Having been enlightened in the way of salvation, I can teach others how they also can find peace with God. How can I keep this to myself? If I'm a believer, if I'm saved, if I know the way of forgiveness and pardon, how can I keep it to myself in my own bosom? It's criminal. It's not right to do that. We have to engage and resolve to tell to sinners far and wide the gospel. Teach, then will I teach transgressors thy ways. Teach them. Don't harangue them, don't try and push them into the kingdom. You want to teach them, this is what you must do, this is the way you must go. Try our very best friends and look I have that faith of David. Sinners shall be converted unto thee. The young children I'm teaching, they shall be converted unto thee. God will bless my efforts to witness for him. Deliver me from blood guiltiness. It's his own crime of murder. Thou God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips. which had been closed because of sin, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. And then this so important verse, the heart of repentance, with our desirous not sacrifice, else would I give it. Thou delight us not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, O God. thou will not despise. The heart of repentance, friends, is a broken heart and a contrite spirit. One that is sincerely sorry for sin, genuine heartache and remorse over offending the Lord, not only about the consequences, but what the Lord thinks about my sin. This is what God looks for. This is what pleases him to see. This is what he will not despise, we are told. Christ put it in another way, but similar. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Mourning for their sin. If you mourn today for your sin, you go and see your GP, they'll give you antidepressants. There's something wrong with you. What are you doing mourning for your sin? Come out of it. Snap out of it. This is a work of the Lord that the Spirit of God begins to do in a person who is broken on account of sin. And then verses 18 and 19, David's attention and mind turns to the church. He, do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion. Build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness. with burnt offering and whole burnt offering, then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar." Oh, what dishonor David had brought upon the church at that time by his sins. How he had affected it, how he had affected Zion, churches represented here as Zion, hindered its progress, and he knew it. He knew it. Caused its enemies to ridicule it, And now he returns, he says, Lord, I've done much harm. I've affected you, I've brought reproach to your name. Do good now unto Zion. Build up the church again, oh friends. And believers fall into serious sin. It really does do so much harm to the church of Christ. We've had it even in the last few weeks, you may have heard. of a very public preacher of the gospel in America, falling, confessing to some degree a sin, immorality of some sort, we do not know. But this man was much admired, much respected, thousands were listening to him. He was an instructor of other preachers, and then all of it. People are broken-hearted, but what dishonor it has brought to the cause of Christ. Our friends, are you returning a backslider? Of course, even our backsliding will affect the church, but here we can say, as we come back, Lord, build the church again. A concern for the church, that's always a good sign. concern for the Church of God, not just ourselves, not just for others, but for the Church of Jesus Christ. You know, just in closing, the people of Israel, when they were journeying from Egypt to the Promised Land, at the center of their camp was the tabernacle, and all the other tents and the tribes were around it. When they got to the Promised Land, The center of Jewish life was worship, the tabernacle or the temple as it became. And people's lives revolved around the feasts and the Passover. That was ever central in their minds. How about us, friends? Are we at the center and the church is just a part of us? Or is the church at the center of our lives? And we are revolving, as it were, around it. Other things are fitting in to that which is central. C. H. Spurgeon said, there is surely no grace in us if we did not feel for the Church of God and take a lasting interest in its welfare. So important. And it's an indication that we are on the right path. if we have such a feeling for the Church of God. Well, friends, let me conclude. I've already gone beyond my time, but are you far off from God? Return to Him as the psalmist did, as we have done. He's merciful, He's willing to forgive all your sins, oh friends. And no matter how great your sin is, let it not hinder you from coming. Just come freely, acknowledging it, repenting of it, turning from Him, trusting in the blood of Jesus Christ, and God will be merciful to you. Let's close by singing our final hymn, which is number 51. Version 1, God be merciful to me. 51, version 1.