David's Sorrowing Heart

Repentance

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.—2 Corinthians 7:10

David Stein

An essential part of growing a relation-. ship with God is, first of all, acknowl- .. edging our need of redemption from sin and then accepting the forgiveness God proffers through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Put another way, we must get “cleaned up.” The apostle Paul describes this as the “washing of water of the word” (Ephesians 5:26). We study to become familiar with God’s moral requirements and then strive to conform our lives to these principles of righteousness.

Integrated in this process of “cleaning up” from sin is something called repentance. Repentance means ceasing from a sinful activity and completely turning away from the sequence of thinking and doing what led to sin. It means implementing a redirection in one’s life with respect to the transgression. But dealing with sin in one’s life can be a difficult proposition, especially repentance from deeply engrained habits of sin. God’s promise to help us guarantees victory if we submit to his leading, but it does not take away the battle! Providentially, we have examples in the Scriptures of those who dealt with sin and repented from it. A primary example is King David.

The Sin of King David

There is no question about God's love for David. God said this about him: “If thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee …” (1 Kings 9:4).

At David’s core was a love for God and a desire to do his will. Having said that, it is instructive to see how even a man such as David could become enmeshed in deadly sin. Sin acts in subtle and deceptive ways. It disarms defenses before one fully realizes one’s position. This was exactly the situation with David.

We are told that sin entered David’s life at an unexpected moment. While on his roof one night he chanced to see a neighbor woman bathing. It was Bathsheba, and the sight of her prompted David to have her brought to his palace. This was the start of a series of sins that included adultery, lies, and murder. The whole sordid account may be found in 2 Samuel 11 the last verse of which reads, “The thing David had done displeased the LORD.”

God loved David, so it was important that David be recovered from this terrible sin that had ensnared him. Consequently God used the prophet Nathan to awaken David to his sinful condition. In 2 Samuel 12 we read how Nathan artfully paints a picture for David using a parable of a man that does wrong. David sees the injustice and immediately judges the matter righteously. Then Nathan strikes at David’s heart by telling him, “Thou art the man!”

Nathan delivers the full judgment of God. David is told that God would have given him anything he asked, but since David acted so sinfully, now the “sword shall never depart from thine house.” Furthermore God says that the things David did in secret would be done to him in public.

David quickly grasps how far into sin he had fallen and is overcome with grief. He confesses, “I have sinned against the LORD.” There are multiple occasions in Scripture where individuals say "I have sinned" as an act of confession, but it does not always reflect a true and sincere confession of the heart. Using words alone is not sufficient. As a result of that admission David was told that Jehovah had put away David’s sin and he would not die then because of it. But the child born of adultery would die. The innocent child who was dying because of David's sin will, of course, be raised in the kingdom. But this would appear to be yet another picture of the ransom sacrifice of Jesus. He who was innocent paid the price for the sin of Adam, thus redeeming the whole world. David recognized that this child is bearing his judgment and he was driven to humble himself before God. God desires to forgive the sins of those who ask. We can always receive forgiveness from the father because of the sacrifice of Jesus. However, while God forgives our sins, he seldom takes away the consequences of sin. Actions have consequences which we must bear even though the sin itself is forgiven. Studying this entire experience of David reveals several distinct steps which are part of repentance.

Step One: Recognizing and Confessing the Sin

We cannot turn from sin in our lives unless we know what that sin is. David had been heaping sins on top of one another and had lost sight of the fact that these really were sins. He probably told himself that as king of Israel, he had powers and privileges above anyone else. Although that was true, this rationalization blinded him to the deceitfulness of sin and caused him to justify a terrible injustice he was perpetrating upon Uriah and his family. David needed to be brought to the point of recognizing the terrible sins for what they were.

The lesson for us is the need to strive for moral clarity in our lives, to be able to see the “sin which doth so easily beset us” (Hebrews 12:1). It should be a daily subject of prayer and study to more clearly see God’s will for us, and whether we are conforming to his laws and principles in every activity (2 Corinthians 13:5). If we do this daily, then it may not be necessary for God to draw our attention to a specific sin as he did with David. But if that should happen, if some dear brother or sister brings to our attention some sin in our lives, we should be sure to see it as God’s mercy toward us and not direct anger against the messenger.

Only when we recognize the sin, can we begin to deal with it. This requires confession. Confession to God is an absolute requirement. And it may be to our benefit to share a confession with another! The general subject of confession is rarely discussed. The idea of sharing one’s sins with another generates fear in most. Yet God’s word suggests that the confession of our sins can be a good thing in our effort to repent. “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16) “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

The essential point of this first step is to see the sin, acknowledge that it is sin, and confess it to God. David certainly did this. Psalm 51 is a prayer of David after his sin with Bathsheba which he put to music. The superscription of Psalm 51 clearly identifies this psalm in connection with David's sin. It says, "To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba." How many of us would put our confession of sin to music? Verse 3 is worthy of special consideration: “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.” This is confession, pure and simple. There is no attempt to whitewash it or diminish it in any way. David knows he stands before the God of the universe who knows everything.

Step Two: Penitence

Penitence is regret and sorrow for what was done, accompanied with a desire to atone for the sin, to set things straight, to undo what was done. Penitence is not a show for others to see. It is a serious manifestation of a grieving heart over the sin. David realized that his sin would have significant outward effects, the most immediate of which was the sickness of his new-born son. The birth of the child reminds us that this judgment of God has come about nine months after the initial sin! God's patience is considerable, but there is no escape from the consequences of sin, even if they take time to come. David’s actions now were penitent: “David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted and went in, and lay all night upon the earth” (2 Samuel 12:16).

This is an act of penitence. It is a sincere show of regret for his sin. David hoped that by afflicting himself in this manner, he might find mercy from God for the life of the child. As he said in verse 22, “While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?”

We also see David’s penitence in Psalm 51. Here is a short list of the things David requested:

“Wash me thoroughly”, “cleanse me”—v. 2
“Purge me,” “wash me”—v. 7
“Create in me a new heart … renew a right spirit”—v. 10

These and other expressions indicate David was truly sorry for what he had done. He wanted the sin to be put away from him and be restored to a righteous state. Notice his expression in verse 17: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

Likewise in our lives, after we have acknowledged the sin and confessed it, we must have godly sorrow. When the apostle Paul wrote a strong, judgmental letter to the church in Corinth regarding sin in their ecclesia, there was great anguish among the brethren over it. Titus later informed Paul of the penitence of the church over the evil done there. Paul mentions it in his second letter: “Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death” (2 Corinthians 7:9,10).

This “godly sorrow” that Paul speaks of is penitence. False sorrow works death, but true sorrow, godly sorrow, leads to salvation.

Step Three: Replacement

We want to replace sinful behaviors with the opposite behaviors. For example, a repentant thief must now practice generosity, the opposite behavior of stealing. A liar must now practice telling the truth. The impure must strive for purity. Wrong thinking and wrong doing in our lives must be specifically noted and replaced with the correct, opposite behavior. If we fail to replace the sinful behavior, it will deceive us and ensnare us again.

David did this. The replacement action that David wants to practice is described in Psalm 51: “Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise” (Psalm 51:13-15).

David did his terrible sins in secret. But it is in public where he says the behaviors he wants in his life from now on are activities of praise. Instead of lies he wants praise to come out of his mouth. He wants to teach other transgressors and sinners, of which he was one, to be converted. These are all positive behaviors he would use to replace the sinful behaviors.

Such activities work true repentance. When we find sin in our life, we must acknowledge it, confess it, be truly sorrowful about it, and finally replace it with its opposite and righteous action.

King David’s Second Sin

Having laid out the sequence of steps and their place in the process of repentance, let’s look at another sin committed by David. In 1 Chronicles 21 Satan provoked David to sin against God by taking a census in Israel. We surmise that the nature of this sin was that of trusting in numbers rather than trusting in God. God was displeased with David and showed it by smiting Israel (verse 7). Once again, David regained his senses and fully realized what he had done.

What was his first reaction? He acknowledged and confessed his sin: “And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly” (verse 8). God accepted this, but indicated there must be punishment for the sin. Three alternatives are offered, all of them bad. But David made a faithful choice. He chose the alternative of punishment directly from God. The result was a pestilence that took the lives of 70,000 men. In the midst of this, David did acts of penitence. We read: “David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father’s house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued” (verses 16,17).

David’s penitence is clear. He had already donned sackcloth and fell upon the earth. Then David, seeing the avenging angel of Jehovah, pleaded for the life of the innocent people and asked that God’s hand be upon him instead of them. This action of penitence stayed the hand of the angel. David was then told to set up an altar on the threshing floor of Ornan. He asked Ornan for permission to do so and Ornan told him to take it along with sacrifices, firewood, and a meal offering. David showed his nobility by refusing to take these things and instead paid him 600 shekels of gold for everything.

David’s sin was numbering Israel, a covetous act to establish the greatness of his own kingship and military might. So an appropriate replacement behavior would be to establish the greatness of God no matter what it cost him. The pestilence ended with God’s request for an altar. It appears that David’s choice of action was to provide the most praise-worthy altar imaginable, namely a complete temple, a house for God. In the next chapter of 1 Chronicles, chapter 22, David begins the building project by gathering all the material that would eventually be necessary. God had already told David he would not be permitted to build the temple, but his son would. But David participated in the start of the project and glorified God in the doing.

Summary

King David showed in his own life the steps necessary to repent of sin:

w Acknowledging the sin and confessing it.

w Showing penitence (godly sorrow and regret).

w Replacing the evil behavior with righteous behavior.

If we follow these steps in our lives as we wrestle with sin, we will ultimately be victorious over the flesh. As Paul so wonderfully said of the brethren in the church at Corinth: “For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter” (2 Corinthians 7:11).