Scripture
2 Samuel 12:1-13
Psalm 51
After everything happened with Bathsheba—David raping her, getting her pregnant, having her husband killed, and then marrying her (a lot, I know), we see in 2 Samuel 11:27 that “the thing David had done displeased the Lord.” So, God sent a prophet named Nathan, to go talk to David. He told him this story about a man stealing his neighbor’s only sheep to feed a guest, even though he had so many sheep himself. David got so mad about this story. But then, Nathan told him, “You are the man!”
I can’t imagine the guilt that David felt in that moment. He immediately felt convicted and after Nathan told him what God said about what he did, David said, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan replied to him, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.” God forgave David for what he did, even though he did some really awful things.
After this encounter with Nathan, David wrote Psalm 51. In it, he says, “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… Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow… Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me…” (Psalm 51:1-2, 7, 10).
David is crying out for God to forgive him of his sins and asks him to wash him clean and give him a pure heart. He recognized his sin, confessed it, and then repented, or turned from it. Repentance is basically making a 180o turn, going in a different direction than you were. That is what God calls us to do when we sin—confess that we messed up, what we did, and then turn and go the other way.
Verse 17 says, “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” David offered his broken heart, broken over what he did, and gave that to God. That is what God desires of us, our hearts, our broken hearts, our pain, our sorrow. David didn’t try to run and hide. He owned up to what he did, and turned and ran the other way—back to God.
When we sin, God doesn’t want us to hide from him, he wants us to come to him. He wants to wash us clean, and that is what he does—he forgives us of our sins and creates in us a pure heart. He is a God who has unfailing love and great compassion. We are going to mess up, he knows that, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to turn away from us. No, he’s going to draw us in closer to him so that he can wash us clean. That’s what he did to David, and what he does to us every time we sin and come to him.
When we look at what David did—rape and murder—and that God still forgave him and loved him, it just shows us that no one is beyond redemption. There isn’t anything we can do that God can’t or won’t forgive. He is a God of unfailing love and great compassion. David knew that and experienced that personally, and I pray you would experience that as well.
Prayer
God, thank you for your unfailing love and your great compassion. Thank you for your forgiveness whenever I sin. Help me to come to you, confess my sin, and repent, coming back to you. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Questions/Journal Prompts
Feel free to use these questions as a guide as you journal and/or pray.
1. What is repentance?
2. What from this psalm stood out to you? Why?
3. What sin in your life do you need to confess and repent of?
4. What does God offer us when we confess our sins and repent?
Songs to listen to
Spend some time listening to these songs, reflecting on the words, and sitting with Jesus.
“White As Snow” by Jon Foreman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh3cO1rTtqE
“Psalm 51 (Wisdom in the Secret Heart) by Shane & Shane https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px-eU1QjQiU
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