Psalm 51

As I was reading through Psalm 51 the other day, I was reminded of all the times when I sin of how often I tell God that I will repent, but find myself committing the same sin over again later that day or the next. Randy Gunter, Pastor at MeadowBrook, often reminds our church that it is God who saves us, but it is also God who sanctifies us. He does not leave it up to us to live the Christian life in our own power and strength after our salvation.

David understood this. He committed two of the worst crimes that a person could commit, adultery and murder, yet he knew that God was the one who would forgive him AND empower him to repent. I encourage you to read Psalm 51 below, and especially take notice of the bold, underlined verbs where David is asking God to take action in his life.

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
  because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
  blot out the stain of my sins.
2 Wash me clean from my guilt.
  Purify me from my sin.
3 For I recognize my rebellion;
  it haunts me day and night.
4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
  I have done what is evil in your sight.
You will be proved right in what you say,
  and your judgment against me is just.*
5 For I was born a sinner—
  yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
6 But you desire honesty from the womb,*
  teaching me wisdom even there.

7 Purify me from my sins,* and I will be clean;
  wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Oh, give me back my joy again;
  you have broken me—
  now let me rejoice.
9 Don't keep looking at my sins.
  Remove the stain of my guilt.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God.
  Renew a loyal spirit within me.
11 Do not banish me from your presence,
  and don't take your Holy Spirit* from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
  and make me willing to obey you.
13 Then I will teach your ways to rebels,
  and they will return to you.
14 Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;
  then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.
15 Unseal my lips, O Lord,
  that my mouth may praise you.

16 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
  You do not want a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
  You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
18 Look with favor on Zion and help her;
  rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit—
  with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings.
  Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.

I don't so much struggle with the phrases like "blot out the stain of my sins," "purify me from my sin," or "forgive me". I know that I am powerless to cleanse myself from my sin, and that Jesus has forgiven me of my sin through his death on the cross and resurrection. But, I often forget that I am also powerless to live in repentance. God must do that work in me, too. Phrases like "renew a loyal spirit within me" and "make me willing to obey you" shows that David knew God must essentially be the one to provide forgiveness AND repentance in his life. David could not do either in his own strength.

This was something that the early church in Galatia struggled with. Paul wrote them, "Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?" (Galatians 3:2,3) In other words, they trusted in Christ for their salvation, but not for their sanctification. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, must do both of these works in us.

So what must we do? What part must we play? Paul told the Galatians, and tells us today, that we must ask the Holy Spirit to guide our lives, and to produce fruit that will bring glory to Christ. "So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Galatians 5:16, 22-23)

Let us be reminded, through the example of David and the Galatians, that it is God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that empowers us to live the Christian life from start to finish.