Confessions of a Good Boy

King David was a man after God’s own heart. As a ruler, he was wonderful. As a soldier, he was superb; as a poet, he wrote the Twenty-Third Psalm; but as a sinner, he was an adulterer, a liar, and a murderer. He slept with Bathsheba, and deceived Uriah into a death trap so he could marry his wife.  How can we account such two-faced behavior?

David is by no means unique. Many of us who have made an effort to get close to God, have a dark side as well.  A trusted church treasurer steals from the church,  a missionary gets a woman pregnant, a well-respected elder is caught up in internet porn, a minister commits murder to cover up an indiscretion. These are not hypothetical examples—they have all happened. 

Sin splits us into two people—a public one and a private one.  We become hypocrites, phonies.  The world thinks us good, but we know we are sinners.

David’s confesses in Psalm 51.

1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. . . .

David does not plead for justice, but for mercy. David knows that he does not deserve to be forgiven.  A hundred good deeds to now cancel out one bad one.  He cannot undo the sin he committed with Bathsheba, or bring her husband back from the dead.   

3-4 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. . . .

All sins are against God, because all sins involve a breach of contract with Him.  When we hurt others we hurt God as well. 

10-12 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

David knows he cannot turn himself around. He must have God’s power to overcome the sins that have possessed him.  He realizes while his inner heart is separated from God, he can never have true joy, so he is willing to confess his sins to God and before others, to ultimately regain the joy of his salvation.

16-17“ You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

David’s hope is not in what he can give to God, but in having a broken and contrite heart.  We who have so long buried out sins inside of us can only be revived and renewed by opening out hearts to Him.  We can only change when we are broken before Him.

This is what the prayer of confession does for us—it is a cleansing of Conscience before Him, and opening of our soul.

This week, keep a hidden record of your personal prayers of confession.  Tell God everything, even the things you do not want to admit. Then ask God to show you what else you need to confess.  It is a hard, difficult thing if it is done correctly.  But in the end you will experience God’s grace and forgiveness in a way that you never knew before. 

Read Psalm 51 aloud to yourself.  How much of what he says rings true for you?  Are you guilty of hidden sins yourself? Confess those sins to God, and experience God’s forgiveness.

Search my heart, o God, and show me what I need to change.
Watch my heart and help me to run away from temptation.
Cleanse my heart and make me  follower of your ways.
Fill my heart and make me joyful all the days of my life.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen