Psalm 51 - To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned. And done this evil in Your sight - That You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge. v. Psalm 51:1-4 NKJV.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Psalm 51:10-12 NKJV. For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart - These, O God, You will not despise. Psalm 51:16-17 NKJV.
A contrite heart. Contrite, feeling or showing guilt or sorrow for one's actions. David's lamentation for his misdeeds. Flashback.
In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army.They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, "I am pregnant." 2 Samuel 11:1-5 NIV.
So David sent this word to Joab: "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent him to David. 2 Samuel 11:6 NIV. Then David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master's servants and did not go down to his house. When David was told, "Uriah did not go home," he asked him, "Haven't you just come from a distance? Why didn't you go home?" Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in the tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!" 2 Samuel 11:8-11 NIV.
In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. In the letter he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front lines where the fighting is the fiercest. Then pull back and leave him exposed so that he's sure to be killed." So Joab, holding the city under siege, put Uriah in a place where he knew there were fierce enemy fighters. When the city's defenders came out to fight Joab, some of David's soldiers were killed, including Uriah the Hittite. 2 Samuel 11:14-17 The Message. When Uriah's wife heard that her husband was dead, she grieved for her husband. When the time of mourning was over, David sent someone to bring her to his house. She became his wife and bore him a son. 2 Samuel 11:26-27 The Message.
David was a man raised by God 1 Samuel 16:12-13. He was of humble beginnings. The youngest son of Jesse with seven older brothers before him. As a shepherd, he fought bears and lions to protect his sheep 1 Samuel 17:34-37. As a young Israelite, he took on and killed Goliath the Philistine, who had insulted the army of Israel 1 Samuel 17:40-50. As a friend, he was honourable and faithful 1 Samuel 18:1, 3-4. As a servant to a wicked master, he was upright and spared the life of his persecutor even when he could have easily taken it 1 Samuel 24:8-13. A clean record until his prowl. Straight As until plotting another man's death.
What David did was wrong. He broke three of the Ten Commandments. His actions were deplorable. Nevertheless, he was remembered as "a man after GOD's own heart". I have often wondered why? After all that David had done? Perhaps GOD saw in David what no one did. GOD saw David's heart as a young lad. GOD knew the heart of the man whom He had put together. GOD gave David his name, his life, his world. When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, "Here he is! GOD's anointed!" But GOD told Samuel, "Looks aren't everything. Don't be impressed with his looks and stature. I've already eliminated him. GOD judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; GOD looks into the heart." 1 Samuel 16:6-7 The Message.
The Bible illustrates the hope in and potential of imperfect man in the light of GOD's grace and faithfulness. It could have been any of us in David's shoes. GOD was angered by what David had done, and He sent Nathan the prophet to confront David. And because He did, David a chance to turn around. He repented. So why was David "a man after GOD's own heart"? Not because David was perfect but because at the very core, David's heart was dedicated to his sheep (as a young shepherd); brave enough to take on lions and bears (for the safety of his flock); audacious enough to accept the challenge of Goliath the Philistine; reverent enough to spare the life of Saul when he had the chance to end it.
GOD understands our frailty. And because He does, we have a hope. A hope that our destiny does not end at our frailty. That life does not end at our misdeeds. A hope that is kept alive only by who GOD is. A hope that may wane at times but not extinguished. A hope that there is a God who knows His sheep by name. A radical hope which David found in GOD.
A pure heart, that's what I long for, A heart that follows hard after Thee.
Sv ".+
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