Psalm 51: The Psalm of Desperation

Psalm 51: The Psalm of Desperation Why do we continually fail in our walk with God? Why is it we so often ask God to forgive us of the same sin over and over again? With simple will power, we decide to stop the action that we know harms our witness and brings shame to the Father, but soon find we fall right back into the terrible habit we hate with all of our being. Why do we fail so often? I see this work itself out in my own spiritual journey and see it evidence itself in many of the people I council with on any given day. How do we overcome? Psalm 51 may be the perfect text for us to examine. I think of this Psalm as the “Psalm of Desperation.” As you read Psalm 51, can you sense the desperation in David’s spirit? I can almost see David writing this psalm through brokenness and tears. He is crying out to God in desperation. He cries out “Have mercy on me, O God.” He knows he is guilty and deserves God’s judgment. He begs God to have mercy on him. He begs God not to remove His Spirit from him. Have you ever been that desperate over your sin? Are you more disappointed that you got caught or that you brought shame to the Father’s name? Are you more worried that God won’t bless you any more or that you have embarrassed the only person who loves you unconditionally (God)? The first step in gaining victory over your sin is desperation. From desperation, God will lead you to a declaration of guilt. “Against you, you only have I sinned.” You must own your sin. It is neither your father nor your mother’s fault. You sinned, not because you were raised a certain way, but you sinned through a conscience choice to disobey God. We try to defend our actions before God telling Him we are too weak to do any better. We do our best to divert guilt to someone else. We disown our sin and deliberate our guilt and judgment with God. In other words, we play games with God. We try to make others look worse than ourselves and pray God will have mercy with us but bring judgment upon others. Once you have hit rock bottom and you are desperate for the hand of God, make your declaration of guilt before the Father. From your declaration, you will be led to a genuine dissatisfaction with your spiritual walk with the Father. You know there has to be more to this spiritual life but you are missing it. Through a genuine dissatisfaction, you will realize that only God can do the work in you that is needed to bring victory to you. In verse ten, David implores God to “create in me a pure heart O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” The Hebrew word David used for “create” is “bara.” This is an interesting word. In the creation account it is used three times in Genesis 1. God, and God alone, created in Genesis 1 verses 1, 21, and 27. God created the heavens and the earth. God created the animals and God created male and female. It was only God who created those things and David affirms that it is only God who can create a pure heart in you. Too often, we try by our own willpower to change those habits we hate so much. But we continually fail because we cannot create a pure heart within us. Only God can “bara” a pure heart within you and me. Release your strangle hold on your life. God will not override your self-sufficiency but will freely empower to victory if you humble yourself and let Him “bara” in you. Remember, God wants you to live a victorious Christian life more than you desire a victorious life. From your dissatisfaction with your current spiritual state, you will begin to uncover wonderful discovery: God is more concerned with your heart than what you do. David says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (vs 17). You will unchain yourself from the constant treadmill of trying to perform enough acts of righteousness to please God. As we surrender ourselves to God, we discover it is not about performance but about surrender. Finally, as you read and meditate over Psalm 51 there will be a deep, slow and gentle ebb of hope resonating within your spirit. Slowly but surely you will begin to dream again. This hope will begin to flood your soul and overflow out of your heart. David writes, “Then there will be righteous sacrifices…”(19). David believes God is not done with him and one day David will again be restored to the place of offering righteous sacrifices of a broken and contrite heart to God. David’s hope in restoration is what drove him to his knees. Hope for forgiveness permeates this Psalm. While the consequence of David’s sin is clearly taught in scripture, we also know David was listed in the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11. God is a god of second chances. If you are reading this and find yourself in a continual cycle of failing in your Christian walk, can I encourage you to humbly go before God with a singular desperation and offer God your genuine confession? In your desperation, go to God in the following way: It may feel a little awkward at first. Open your Bible to Psalm 51. Lay it on the ground before you. Humbly bow in the presence of God. Lay flat before the throne room of God and remain silent. Say nothing. In a few moments, begin to read the 51st Psalm to the Lord. As you come to portions of the Psalm, read them as if you are guilty. You are the one desperate for God. You are the one who is guilty. Beg God for your life. Plead with the Father for a second chance. Implore Him not to give up on you but humbly forgive and use you again. If you go to God with that attitude, I am confident that He will freely forgive your sins, restore your relationship with Him and faithfully use you again. Go to God humbly and in desperation and see what He might do through you.