Brokenhearted: How Psalm 51 Teaches Us to Mourn Our Sin
How you respond to sin in your life is one of the strongest indicators of your spiritual maturity. Your response also sets your trajectory for spiritual growth or spiritual setback. A biblical response to sin prepares us to move forward, experiencing increased intimacy with God. An unbiblical response hampers spiritual growth and sets us up for even greater sin in the future. But what is involved in a biblical response to sin?
Yielding a Broken Heart
Psalm 51 is David’s great psalm of confession and repentance following his sin with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah. David’s attitude is summed up in verse 17: “the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
The entirety of the Psalm, in fact, is a commentary on what a broken heart looks like. David opens up his broken heart to show us how such a heart thinks and feels. Such a heart is fully aware of its own sin. It does not hide it or excuse it. Nor does a broken heart pretend that sin is anything less than a disgusting, putrid evil, the exact opposite of all that God seeks for and that is beautiful and holy. Indeed, a broken heart is one that is worn out with sadness – all the emotional ‘bones’ have been ‘broken’ (v. 8).
Recognizing the True Victim
David observed that his sin was not ultimately against Bathsheba, or even against Uriah – despite how brutally it intersected with their lives. Rather, God was the great victim of his sin. “Against you,” he declared, “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” (v. 4).
By recognizing that sin is ultimately against God, the evil becomes apparent. Now it is clear that the offense was against the very same God who kindly granted us our very lives. Sin is an affront to the one who shared His Son with us. It is an insult to the one who gives only good and perfect gifts.
Offering Right Sacrifices
It may have been unclear in ancient times, but today we can be certain that God doesn’t want us to slaughter a cow after we sin. Even in David’s time, those who truly understood were aware that God was more interested in righteous living than in sacrificial victims: “For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering” (v. 16). Even if David will go on (in verse 19) to speak about an appropriate use for sacrifices, the lesson remains clear: God intends his people to live righteous lives.
We can, of course, live such lives because we are reconciled to God. We are reconciled through Jesus Christ. He is the sacrifice who restores humanity’s relationship with God. At the same time, He died so that we would live righteous lives before God. The aim is not to continue sinning and repenting, but rather, to pursue holiness, “without which no one will see the Lord.”
Conclusion
Psalm 51 introduces us to the essential elements of confession and repentance. In these three elements – yielding a broken heart, recognizing the true victim, and offering right sacrifices – the poem introduces us to the biblical elements of response to sin. It is the heart-cry of one who has sinned greatly, and who needs mercy desperately. Thankfully, such mercy is found in God through Jesus Christ!
These are good thoughts, Daniel! Thank you for sharing. This phrase- “It[sin] is an insult to the one who gives only good and perfect gifts”- stuck out to me…for a Christian to sin is to be ungrateful to the One who died for us, to treat His sacrifice as trivial, in a sense. A heart of repentance is truly fundamental for a Christian. Praise God for His goodness to us as His children!
I read this post after reading “A summary of David’s life” and seeing you recommended this in the comments. After the summary of David’s life post I thought a lot about punishment for sins, and not sure why I have had the hardships I have had, when Christians close to me have sinned far more than I. Maybe my heart is dark even though I try my best? So then I read this post of yours (while feeling hopeless like I’d be punished like David for years without knowing what I did unless it was my heart), but then in this post saw what you wrote, “The aim is not to continue sinning and repenting, but rather, to pursue holiness, “without which no one will see the Lord.” That still confuses me because I have, but maybe not enough, I don’t know. Sometimes being so hard on yourself can lead to legalism, and that’s tricky in it all too. What are your thoughts on that?
Hi Annabella,
Thanks for commenting – I can understand how this can be confusing. The most important thing is to ensure that you do, indeed, have a relationship with God where you are right with him. In order to have this, you place your trust fully in Jesus Christ. You believe in him. If you have done that, renouncing yourself and your sin and believing in him, then you are fully accepted by God, despite sin! You do not need to ‘work harder’ in order to be pleasing with God. Once you have that relationship, you fight sin and strive for holiness, not because you need to ‘try harder,’ but because you love him and want to honor him. God sends trials into a Christian’s life for various reasons; in David’s case, he sent some of that suffering in order to discipline him to turn away from sin. Pursuing holiness is important, as I said, not because you have to ‘do enough,’ but because it is a way to honor God – and the person who has been saved by God from their sins is going to naturally want to reject sin.
I know that this is a short answer, but hopefully it helps. Please feel free to continue the conversation, either in these comments or via the ‘contact’ link. I’d also encourage you to read this, which might help explain it further: https://fromdanielsdesk.com/2021/10/10/how-do-i-start-a-relationship-with-god/
Blessings,
Daniel
Hi Daniel. I cannot possibly explain in words how happy I am to have found your webpage. Like Annabella I also came upon it by reading a summary of the life of King David.
As I have grown in my walk with God I have progressed from dreading reading the Bible to loving every minute I spend with God and his word. I am a man who truly hates his sin. When I think back about things I have said and done it twists my very being into knots! I am so thankful God holds me accountable for my sins. God is perfect and loving while also being righteous. He holds me directly responsible for all my wrong doings yet also provides a way for me to be cleansed from all my sins. There is no other religion on this earth like Christianity.
I am retired now but also wonder why my senior years and troubled by my constant chronic pain. Like Annabella I often wonder if maybe I have missed something for which God holds against me causing me to live in pain. I love God truly with all my heart yet living each and every day in pain just sucks the life from me. I know I have been blessed by God my whole life. I am safe, have had no accidents or been attacked by neither man nor beast. I have shelter and food each day. God has truly blessed me. Every day he opens my eyes to the world around me yet I still live in pain. I know eventually I will be released from the pain upon my death. If this is God’s wish then so be it.
Thank you all for listening.
dale