Repentant Prayer

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Repentant Prayer (Psalm 51)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, March 15, 2026

The comedian Jim Gaffigan has a bit in which he reflects on how people talk about true crime shows. He shares how the neighbors would say, “He never acted like a murderer.” He shares, “If you watch Dateline, it appears most marriages end in murder.”[1]  

Why do we do bad things? We have a sin problem. As a Christian, when sin is exposed, how do we respond?

My theme today is: When we pray, humbly repent of sin(s).

Let’s turn to Psalm 51 and read it.

Psalm 51:1–12 (ESV)

Psalm 51:title (ESV)

Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God

51 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

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.

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.

  1. I want to give you some background on Psalm 51.
    1. Psalm 51 is about David, the famous King of Israel.
    2. David had conquered many enemies of Israel.
    3. David was God’s anointed King of Israel (1 Samuel 6:13).
    4. But then, in 2 Samuel 11-13, we see King David commit this awful sin, try to cover it up, and be confronted by the prophet Nathan. David had some free time because the others went out to battle, but this time, King David, the famous King of Israel, stayed home. King David is about to, as Johnny Cash would say, fall into a “Burning Ring of Fire.” During the night, David was walking on the roof of the king’s house, and he saw this beautiful woman named Bathsheba taking a bath. David had a servant go and get her, and David slept with her. Later, she ended up pregnant.
    5. So, David must cover up this sin. The pregnancy is going to make it known by everyone that she is pregnant, but not by her husband. Her husband, Uriah, the Hittite, was away at battle. So, David sent for him. David had him come home and tried to get him to sleep with his wife, Bathsheba. But Uriah wouldn’t. Uriah wanted to be back at the battle.
    6. So then, David sent Uriah back to battle with the message that he would be placed on the front lines, and the rest of the troops would withdraw from him (2 Sam 11:14).
    7. So, Uriah died in battle.
    8. In this Psalm, David has been confronted with the sins of adultery and murder, and this is his prayer of confession.
    9. Before we move on, I want to quote 1 John 1:9: if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
    10. I like what Tim Keller shares:
    11. The Bible, unlike all the other ancient texts … Go read them. Read the other stories and accounts of the Greeks and the Romans and the Norse and the Germans and all of their great heroes, their men and women they lifted up as their leaders and heroes. You’ll never see them treated the way the Bible treats the heroes. Never!
    12. It is incredible, frankly, the detail with which the Bible rubs David’s face in what he did….
    13. Second Samuel 11, tells you with unbelievable detail the premeditation, the hard-heartedness, the incredible things David said and did. The Bible does this. It does it to Peter. It does it to Moses. It does it to Abraham. It does it to everybody.
    14. It takes all of these great men and women and shows you their evil. It shows you what? Do you know why? The main message of the Bible is you and I are sinners. The Bible is not here to say, “Oh look how much worse David is than you and me.” No! The Bible here is to say even a great man, a sublime poet, an athlete, a warrior, a king … I mean, David had it all. Even as great a man as David is capable of this. You don’t think you are? See, the whole purpose of the Bible is to say, “You’re a sinner.”
    15. I’ll put it another way. The Bible says there is a prerequisite, an absolute indispensible prerequisite, for you to meet God. You must repent.[2]
    16. Further:
    17. You won’t understand psychology. You won’t understand economics. You won’t understand sociology. You won’t understand international relations. You won’t understand social relationships. It’s the problem. The Bible says it’s the key issue, without which you can’t understand anything else. That’s what’s wrong!
    18. You can laugh. You can say, “Oh, the biblical doctrine of sin. Ha! It’s old-fashioned.” So is the law of gravity. “Well, it’s unflattering.” Look. You can make fun of the biblical doctrine of sin. The Bible says until you believe it, you won’t be able to understand hardly anything going on around you. You can make fun of it, but come on! Come up with a better explanation for what’s wrong with the world. Go ahead. Just try.[3]
  2. Let’s look at David’s prayer.
    1. Notice that David asks for God’s grace (verse 1).
    2. Psalm 51:1 (ESV) Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
    3. He says that He wants God’s grace according to His loving kindness and His compassion (verse 1). David acknowledges who God is. David knows that we have a loving God.
    4. David wants God to blot out his transgression, wash him from his iniquity (verses 1 and 9), cleanse him from his sin (verses 2 and 10).
    5. This is an instance in the Bible where there are 3 words for sin. They all have separate meanings but are very similar. Iniquity is a wicked act or thing. Transgression is crossing a law, and sin is missing the mark. David, the famous king of Israel, acknowledges in a heavy way that he messed up. In verse 4, he says that he knows his transgression, crossing of the law. In verse 4, he says he sinned against God and that God is a righteous and just judge.
    6. David wants this sin to be blotted out. The idea of blotting something out is like erasing a contract. David wants his sin to be erased.
    7. In a Babylonian text, there is a comment that the king may order that the tablet of “my sins be broken.” In Hammurabi’s code, an illegal contract for the purchase of a soldier’s home may be canceled by breaking the cuneiform tablet. But this was not usually thought of with a god. This is what David wanted.
    8. David wants to be washed in verse 2, and in verse 7, he talks about being washed. In verse 7, he talks about being purified with hyssop, a plant used to purify uncleanness.
    9. David wants to be cleansed.
    10. Think of the effects of confession and repentance:
    11. By the time Howard Schultz had resigned from Starbucks in 2000, the coffee chain was experiencing steady growth. Eight years later, when Starbucks was reeling from a bad economy and stiff competition, Schultz resumed his role as Starbucks’ chief executive. He faced a challenging mission: to lead a turnaround. In an interview about his return, Schultz commented that before they could move forward, they had to deal with the past by honestly admitting their mistakes. Here’s an excerpt from that interview:
    12. When I returned in January 2008, things were actually worse than I’d thought. The decisions we made were very difficult, but first there had to be a time when we stood up in front of the entire company as leaders and made almost a confession—that the leadership had failed the 180,000 Starbucks people and their families. And even though I wasn’t the CEO…I should have known better. I am responsible. We had to admit to ourselves and to the people of this company that we owned the mistakes that were made. Once we did, it was a powerful turning point. It’s like when you have a secret and get it out: The burden is off your shoulders.[4]
    13. But then, in verse 8, David prays for joy again.
    14. David has probably lost the joy because, for a year, he has felt overwhelming guilt over the sin he committed.
    15. David asks for a clean heart and a right Spirit (10).
    16. David asks that he not be cast from God’s presence and that he not lose the Holy Spirit.
    17. In 1 Samuel 18 and 19, we can see that the Spirit of the Lord had left King David’s predecessor, Saul, because of sin.
    18. Then in verse 12, David asks for the joy of God’s salvation and a willing Spirit. The New Living Translation says, “and make me willing to obey Him.
    19. I find this interesting. After confessing, David asks for help to keep obeying God.
    20. Research psychologists have found there are at least three situations when we are not ourselves. First, the average person puts on airs when he visits the lobby of a fancy hotel. Next, the typical Jane Doe will try to hide her emotions and bamboozle the salesman when she enters the new-car showroom. And finally, as we take our seat in church or synagogue, we try to fake out the Almighty that we’ve really been good all week.[5]
    21. God forgave David. Jesus came from David’s lineage, and Jesus died so that we all can have forgiveness and a relationship with God (2 Cor 5:21: God made Him who knew no sin….). Remember what 1 John 1:9 says: God will forgive us and cleanse us from our sins. If we confess. God will forgive us even if people will not.
    22. Timothy Keller shares:
    23. When David said, “Cast me not away from thy presence,” God didn’t. Do you know why? Because on the cross Jesus was cast away from God’s presence. When Jesus Christ said, “My God, my God,” what was he saying? “My God, my God, why have you cast me away from thy presence?” Everything David says here “Don’t do to me,” which God didn’t do to him, God didn’t do to him because God did it to his own Son in David’s place, in my place, in your place.[6]
    24. Charles Spurgeon says, in the greatest act of love in the history of the world Jesus Christ stayed on the cross. He saw what we were like and he stayed. Remember he said to Peter, “I could call 10,000 angels like that, and it would be all over,” but he didn’t do it.[7]

So, pray with repentance. Tim Keller helps us out:

Some years ago, I remember counseling a couple of people in my church in Virginia. They were married and they were having marital problems, largely because the man was prone to anger and abusive language. Not physical abuse but very abusive language. His wife dragged him into counsel with a pastor, and I basically had to lean on him. He said, “Well, I guess you’re right,” but it was very clear he felt like she was being too sensitive. “I’m really no different than other guys.”

He tried to put a lid on it, but he never did. He always said, “I’m sorry,” but he never changed. Finally, one night he calls me up. She left. She was gone. He comes to see me in tears, saying, “I’m really sorry. I really, really see that I have done wrong. I have to stop. I have such a bad mouth on me. I have to stop it. I know I hurt her. I will change the way in which I speak. You have to call her and tell her.”

All I did was I called her and told her, “Why don’t you come, and the three of us will meet?” I didn’t say, “Oh yeah, I’m sure he’s changed.” I said, “Let’s come and let’s hear him.” She listened to him. He says, “I really am sorry. I’m really changed. I really repent.” So she says, “Okay, I’ll come back.” She came back, and for about a month he was fine, and then he went right back to it, and she left for good.

Why? He was sorry for the consequences of the sin. He wasn’t sorry for the sin. Do you know the difference between self-pity and repentance? This means everything here. In self-pity you’re loving yourself. In self-pity you’re saying, “This sin got me into trouble. That’s why I’m so upset.” Actually, you’re sorry for the consequence of the sin, but you don’t hate or are sorry for the sin, because that takes love.[8]

We must pray that the Lord opens our eyes, so we repent, not because we have been caught, but because we love God and we don’t want to break His heart, nor do we want to hurt other people.

Let’s pray about that.

Luke 9:23

Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

 

 

[1] https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=860513759282727

 

[2] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

[3] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

[4] Adi Ignatius, “We Had to Own the Mistakes,” Harvard Business Review (July-August 2010), p. 109

[5] Dr. Perry Buffington, licensed psychologist, author, columnist; “Playing Charades,” Universal Press Syndicate (9-26-99)

[6] Timothy J. Keller, “Reality: Forgive Us Our Debts,” in The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive, 2014–2015 (New York: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2014), Ps 51.

[7] Timothy J. Keller, “Reality: Forgive Us Our Debts,” in The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive, 2014–2015 (New York: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2014), Ps 51.

[8] Timothy J. Keller, “Reality: Forgive Us Our Debts,” in The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive, 2014–2015 (New York: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2014), Ps 51.

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