Seven Rhythms: Freedom from Strongholds Psalms 51:1-19
What are the hurdles to practicing confession? What keeps us from acknowledging our sins before God and others? After we confess our sin, what keeps us from living like we are forgiven and free from our past? The two biggest hurdles I have encountered in practicing Christian confession are blame and shame. I have seen these two things hinder my spiritual life and the lives of others. Blame stops the practice of confession from ever starting, and shame sidetracks the healing process in the middle. Blame blinds us from our sinfulness, and shame prevents us from seeing forgiveness.
I believe that one of Satan's primary strategies to hinder our spiritual growth is to use blame and shame. In Revelation 12, he is called the “accuser of the brothers.” He loves to speak deception and false things about who we are. He can cripple us with self-doubt and throw us off course by keeping us from being self-aware.
The devil loves blame and shame. David's model confession in the Old Testament shows us how not to be blind to our sin and blame others by confessing the true depth of our sinfulness. He also shows us how not to live in a vicious cycle of shame by embracing the transformational cleansing of the Holy Spirit. Today, I hope you are inspired to confess your sin and see yourself as fully cleansed.
Big Idea: Only the Devil wins the blame and shame game. Satan is content to make you think too highly of yourself, which causes you to blame others for all the problems in your life, or to make you think too low of yourself, which causes you to live in shame. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, convicts us of sin and promises spiritual cleansing when we confess. Let’s see how David didn’t practice blame or live in shame but modeled an awareness of his sin and an appreciation for the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit.
Psalms 51:1-6, “1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.”
In verses 1 and 2, David pleads for God’s mercy. David knows he doesn’t deserve what he asks for based on merit. He is not asking God to give him something he has rightfully earned. Mercy, by definition, is unmerited. The basis for his request is only the “steadfast love” of God. David approaches God this way because he is fully aware of his sinfulness. In the first two verses, he shows his ownership of his sinfulness by using the pronoun “my” four times. He is not complaining about someone else’s actions but confessing his own.
The following four verses reveal how sinful David believed himself to be. First, he realizes the one most offended by his sin, God. David sinned against Uriah and Bathsheba when he committed adultery with her and had him murdered. His actions were clearly egregious offenses against the two of them, yet God is portrayed as the one most offended. We often think of the law and the lawmakers as separate and distinct from each other. When we break the law, our lawmakers don’t consider it a personal offense to themselves. God’s very character is displayed in His law, so when we violate His commands, we insult His holiness. When we don’t tell the truth, we insult the value of honesty, which devalues the truthfulness inherent in God’s character. God’s connection to His law is similar to that of an artist and their work. If I speak poorly of a painting, I am insulting the painter's skill. When we disobey God’s commands, we insult His wisdom and offend His character. David realized the true weight of his sin. He knew that he had offended the Creator of the universe.
Second, David acknowledges that his sinfulness started early in his story. He traces it back to the beginning of his life. The phrase he uses here, “brought forth in iniquity,” doesn’t refer to being born as a result of a sinful relationship but rather that his sinfulness began at birth. David does not see his sin as an infrequent occurrence but rather a habit that has been persistent in his life since his youth.
Third, David sees that this habit of sin comes from his heart. In verse 6, David states God’s standard for truthfulness in our innermost selves, which is reiterated in verse 17. I believe that David is still in a confessional posture in verse 6. He admits to failing to meet this standard.
In summary, David confesses the weight of his sin by speaking of it as a personal offense against God, the duration of his sin by seeing it as an early pattern in life, and the depth of his sin by tracing it back to the corruption of his heart. This is a thorough confession that he feels is absolutely accurate. In verse 4, he admits he cannot protest against God’s appraisal of his sinfulness. David has accepted God’s complete verdict. He does not contend that he is good or innocent. His sins are inexcusable, and he takes ownership of them. He doesn’t blame others or his environment for his sin.
Conviction is not a comfortable place. It is difficult to admit when we are wrong and just how wrong we are. No one likes to feel guilty. Conviction is not a place where we should build our homes. It is meant to be a transitional space. It is God’s design that we move through it and not stay in it. If we stay there, we get stuck in shame and destructive self-sabotage. Let’s see how David moves through conviction and confession to a place of feeling completely clean.
Psalms 51:7-12, “7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.”
These six verses are similar to the plea for mercy in the first two verses of the psalm. However, the appeal is more extensive and hopeful. It appears that David is growing in his assurance of God’s forgiveness. He speaks of the results of experiencing God’s forgiveness. I don’t believe he would share these effects unless he thought he would experience them. Zooming out from this passage, we can find several occasions where God promises to forgive those who confess their sin and turn from it. One example is 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God does not reject our repentance.
David uses several word pictures to describe the spiritual cleanness he knew he would experience after confessing his sins. He speaks of being cleansed with “hyssop.” Hyssop was a plant used in the Old Testament to spread or sprinkle the blood of a sacrifice. It was used to provide ceremonial cleansing for lepers and those who had come in contact with a dead body. David also uses a unique picture that was picked up later by the prophet Isaiah. He states that he will be “white as snow.” I have experienced the blinding whiteness of snow when hiking St. Helens and Mt. Hood. One person in our party forgot his sunglasses on the hike, and we had to trade off who would give up their pair as we descended the mountain. If we didn’t do that, one of us could have experienced temporary blindness. I think of that experience when I read this phrase. You can’t get much whiter than pure snow. David was trying to convey the purity God sees us in when we experience his forgiveness.
Just as David confesses his sin as coming from his heart, he sees God's forgiveness transforming the very nature of his inner being. God's forgiveness goes as far as David’s confession. He asks for a “clean heart,” a “right spirit,” and a “willing spirit.” He knows that he needs a heart transplant, which only God can do. This new heart God “creates” will possess a new “willingness.” David needs his motives and desires to change and conform to God’s commands.
Notice how David does not dwell in shame. He does not wallow in self-pity and entertain a chorus of destructive self-doubt. His confidence is placed in the cleansing work of God. He can’t stay in a place of shame because the inner work of God will not let him. Satan wants us to stay in a place of shame because it hinders our pursuit of holiness and robs glory from God by diminishing the effectiveness of His transformative work. God forgives us when we confess, and we are made clean. Satan will call you unclean, and if you entertain and echo his words, you will find yourself being suffocated by shame. Shame is not a work of God. It insults the work of God.
When we feel convicted about our sin and confess our sin, God cleanses us, and we respond with praise and testimony. David shows us that our cleanness causes us to sing about our freedom and invite others to experience that freedom. This type of rejoicing surprised me when I first started attending church before fully following Jesus. I thought it was odd how Christians would sing about their sinfulness. It seems strange to me that they would write songs about their brokenness and weakness. It took me a while to realize that these songs were not about feelings of shame but freedom. Look at how David rejoices over the work of God’s forgiveness.
Psalms 51:13-17, “13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
David commits himself to sharing the forgiveness he experiences with others. He wants others to be freed from their guilt and shame. When he teaches “transgressors,” he will not speak of his righteousness but the Lord’s. I believe the degree of his praise is related to the depth of his confession. When we truly understand the extent of our sinfulness and how much the Lord has forgiven us, we can’t help but praise Him. Christian testimonies are not human highlight reels. They are stories of brokenness and despair that end in healing and joy. When you tell your story, people should not be impressed with you but with the work of God in you.
David's confession is a model for how we should approach God. We should not blame others but rather own our sin. We should not stay in shame but see ourselves as cleansed by God's transformative work of forgiveness. The last two verses of this chapter show that these words of David are meant to be a model for us.
Psalms 51:18-19, “18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; 19 then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.”
These verses do not reflect the time of David’s reign as king of Israel. The walls of Jerusalem were not destroyed. These two verses are most likely a later edition by another inspired author. This author is encouraging the Israelites, who are most likely in exile after Jerusalem’s destruction, to hope in God's forgiveness and restoration. If they confess their sins, as David did, which led to their exile, God will restore their place of worship. We see a fulfillment of this in Nehemiah 12. We, too, should be inspired by David's model of confession. We need to be honest about our failures, bring them to God, and be confident that He will forgive and change us.
Only the Devil wins the blame and shame game. David's picture of forgiveness and healing in this psalm is incredible. I want us all to experience the freedom that God's forgiveness brings to our lives. The main hurdles that stand in our way are blame and shame. Blame prevents us from being self-aware, and shame keeps us in a cycle of despair. Satan loves to hold your judgmental stare on those around you and amplify the inner critic who constantly degrades you. You can experience freedom from his schemes by confessing your sins and appreciating the cleansing power of his forgiveness.
If you are following Jesus, I want to challenge you to do two things. First, I would like for you to evaluate the level of shame in your life. I like to think of shame as the sin that sticks. It’s those past failures we let shape our present identity. Take some time this week and ask yourself, “How have I let my sin shape my identity?” Then, reread Psalm 51, focus on the words David uses in verses 7-12, and declare them as true descriptors of your identity. Say out loud, “I am clean, washed whiter than snow. My sins have been blotted out. I have a clean heart, right and willing spirit.” My prayer for you this week is that God’s Word will drown out your thoughts of shame. Second, I would love for you to participate in our spiritual health survey. This survey is anonymous. We used the information to understand better how to minister to you as a church. Please help us help you better by participating in this survey. Your honesty is greatly appreciated.
If you are not yet following Jesus and are here because you are curious about Christianity, I would love for you to also participate in this survey. Also, I want to invite you to consider how blame may be disrupting your relationship with God. We often excuse our poor behavior by our environment, experiences, or everyone around us. I don’t want to downplay the pain that you have experienced. I hope you will not let the sins of others distract you from seeing your own. The Bible tells us that we will all give an account of the actions of our lives. We won’t be able to excuse our sins before God. We are all guilty before God. He is provided a way for that guilt to be forgiven. First, you must admit to that guilt. Second, you must believe that Christ's death and resurrection is the only way to be freed of that guilt. Third, you must confess Christ as the Lord of your life. God is ready to cleanse you of all your sins if you will come to Him as David did. Don’t let blame distract you from dealing with your guilt before God.
Life-Level Application
Head: Read Luke 23:39-43. How does the thief's confession on the cross match that of David’s? How does Jesus’ response to the thief compare with how David believes God will respond to his confession?
Heart: Read Romans 7:18-25. How would you describe the turmoil Paul is speaking of in these verses? How do these verses compare with David’s confession of his sinfulness in Psalms 51:3-6? Have you ever experienced such feelings?
Hand: Read Isaiah 1:11-17. How does the prophet’s evaluation of Israel’s worship relate to David’s words in Psalms 51:16-19? Does your worship or obedience ever fall victim to this error?
Habit: How have “blame” and “shame” stifled your spiritual growth?