the reason is wholly found in you. According to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions, wash me throughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Now, did you notice these three words in these two verses, transgression, iniquity, and sin. You know, those words are found quite often together in the scripture. Transgression, iniquity, and sin. Turn with me for a moment to Psalm 32. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man in whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile." Iniquity, transgression, and sin. Somebody says, what's the difference? There is a difference. God the Holy Spirit selects three words to describe our state before him. Now sin has to do with our nature. Sins, transgressions have to do with the bad things we do. Iniquity has something to do with the good things. that we do, and I'll show you that from the scripture. Now, there was a preacher in the 18th century, George Whitefield. Some think he was maybe the greatest preacher other than the apostles who preached. And I really think a lot of him, but he made this statement. Listen to it very carefully. He said, a man has never repented until he repents of his sin, his sins, and his righteousness. Now think about that statement. Now repentance means change your mind. You have a change of mind about your sin, you have a change of mind about your sins, and you have a change of mind about your righteousness. Now in the scripture, sin speaks of our nature. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. That's talking about our sinful, fallen nature. When David says later on in this psalm, my sin is ever before me, he's talking about my fallen nature. It's always there. Transgressions, that's the breaking of God's law. That's the bad things we do, the lies. The covetousness. Thievery. The Ten Commandments. Sin is the transgression of the law. I dirty myself from the transgression of the law. Sin is my nature. Transgression is breaking God's law. Iniquity is the good things. Now, somebody says, how can you Say something like that. Well, let me read you a passage of scripture from Exodus chapter 28, verse 38. Aaron was called upon to bear the iniquity of the holy things of the children of Israel. The scripture says our righteousnesses, that's the good stuff, are as filthy rags. Iniquity, transgression, and sin. If he gives us some understanding of these things, this psalm is going to be of infinite importance to us. Now look at the title of the psalm, Psalm 51. These titles are part of inspiration. This is not a man-made title. To the chief musician, a psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him after he had gone into Bathsheba. Now, I want you to turn back to 2 Samuel chapter 11. This is why David wrote this psalm, this glorious psalm, Psalm 51, 2 Samuel chapter 11. And it came to pass after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the children of Amnon and besieged Raba. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. David should have gone into battle, David did not go into battle. He tarried in Jerusalem. And it came to pass in an even tide that David arose from off his bed, walked upon the roof of the king's house, and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself. And the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and inquired after the woman, and one said, is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? Uriah the Hittite was one of David's 300 mighty men. He was a faithful man. He was a special man. He was a gracious man. He had been so faithful to David. And here David sees his wife Bathsheba bathing, and verse four, And David sent messengers. He didn't do anything he wanted to. He was the king. He didn't answer to anybody as far as men go. And here we have a horrible abuse of power on David's part. And David sent messengers and took her. And she came in unto him and he lay with her. For she was purified from her uncleanness. And she returned and entered her house and the woman conceived. And sent and told David and said, I'm with a child. And David said to Joab, sent to Joab, send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David. And when Uriah was coming to him, David demanded of him how Joab did. What a hypocrite at this time. And how the people did and how the war prospered. He didn't care about that. He was just trying to set this man up. And David said to Uriah, go down to thy house and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord and went not down to his house. And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down into his house, David said unto Uriah, camest thou not from thy journey? Why then didst thou not go down into thy house? And Uriah said unto David, the ark, and Israel and Judah abide in tents. And my Lord Joab and the servants of my Lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go into my house to eat and drink and to lie with my wife? As thou livest and as thy soul liveth, I'll not do this thing." What an honorable man. And David said to Uriah, Terry here today also and tomorrow and I'll let thee depart. So Uriah bowed in Jerusalem that day and tomorrow. And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him and he made him drunk. He thought surely he'll go into her like this. And that even he went to lie on his bed with the servants of his Lord. He went not down to his house. And it came to pass in the morning that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. How cold-blooded this is. He is giving Uriah the letter for his own execution. And he wrote in the letter saying, set you Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle and retire you from him. Retreat that he may be smitten and die. And it came to pass when Joab observed the city that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were. He implicated Joab in this crime. Joab was made to participate. And the men of the city went out and fought with Joab There fell some of the people of the servants of David, and Uriah the Hittite died also. Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war, and charged the messengers, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matter of the war unto the king, And if it be so that the king's wrath arise, and he say unto thee, wherefore approach ye so nigh into the city, when ye did fight? Know ye not that they would shoot from the wall? Who smote Abimelech, and the son of Jerobesheth? Did not a woman cast a piece of millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebes? Why went ye up to the wall? Then say thou, thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. That's why we went to the wall, in obedience to your command to murder this man. So the messenger went and came and showed David all that Joab had sent for him. And the messenger said unto David, surely the men prevailed against us and came out unto us in the field, and we were upon them, even unto the entering into the gate, and the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants, and some of thy king's servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. Then David said unto the messenger, thus shalt thou say unto Joab, let not this thing displease thee for the sword devoureth one as well as another. Make thy battle more strong against the city and overthrow it and encourage thou him. What hypocrisy. The man after God's own heart. What treachery. And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah, her husband, was dead, she mourned for her husband. And when the morning was passed, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." David has been guilty of the abuse of power of adultery, of premeditated, cold-blooded murder, implicating others in his sin, Joab, remarkable hypocrisy and hardness of heart. Somebody says, can a believer, a real born-again believer do something like this? Now, if you ask that question, was David a believer? Have you read the Bible? If you ask that question, you haven't done much Bible reading because you find out that that's true. Yes, a believer can do something. And if you ask that question, you betray very little understanding of the treachery of your own heart. You see, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? Yes, David, the man after God's own heart. That was God's testimony of this man. He said his heart beats with mine. He is the one who committed these vexing, grievous, ungodly sins. Now you notice in, hold your finger there, to the chief musician, Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him after he'd gone into Bathsheba. Now let's pick up in chapter 12, verse one. And the Lord sent Nathan, remember the thing David did displeased the Lord. Write that down in your mind. It displeased the Lord. And the Lord sent Nathan unto David, and he came unto him and said unto him, there were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought It nourished up, and it grew up together with him and with his children. It did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. That's how precious this one little lamb was to this poor man. Verse four, and there came a traveler unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock, of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was coming to him, but took the poor man's lamb. dressed it, they ate it. Killed the poor man's lamb. This rich man did. He wasn't going to waste one of his. Let's take this fellow's. He butchered it, killed it. That's what they had for dinner. Verse 5, And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man. And he said to Nathan, as the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die. And he shall restore the Lamb fourfold because he did this thing and because he had no pity. Oh, David could so clearly see the sin in other people. Isn't that us? I can clearly see everybody else's sin. Verse seven, and Nathan said to David, thou art the man. And that is when David penned the words to this psalm. Now in this psalm, I counted 20 things. You can go back and try it yourself, but I counted 20 different things that David asked the Lord to do about his sin. You see, when you understand something about sin, you understand that you can't make it go away. The only thing that'll help you is if the Lord does something about your sin. And he asked for 20 things for the Lord to do about his sin. And I pray the Lord will make this not only a psalm of David, but the psalm of everybody in here. Let's look at it together. The setting after Nathan came in. Hear David's words. Have mercy upon me, O God. Have grace, favor upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness. according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies. Blot out my transgression, erase it, make it to not be. Wash me throughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Now, when he's asking the Lord, have mercy upon me, he's asking for the Lord's favor, his saving favor, his grace. Have favor on me, O Lord, not according to anything in me. I can't work something up and say, have favor on me, because I'm so sorry, because I've done this. No, have mercy upon me according to thy loving kindness. Now that is the Old Testament word that's most identified with the New Testament word and concept of grace. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, according to thy grace. Now, how do we define grace from the scripture? The only way grace, God's grace, The grace of God can be defined is by the attributes of God. God's grace is sovereign grace because God is sovereign. He gives it to whom he will. God's grace is all powerful grace because God is all powerful. Grace won't take no for an answer. Grace gives a new heart. Grace grants repentance. It's all-powerful grace. It's independent grace. God's grace doesn't need something from you before it can do something for you. It's independent grace. It's immutable grace. It can't be changed. It's just grace. It's righteous grace. God has grace on you. It's going to be a way that exalts his righteousness. Saving grace. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy saving grace, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, thy compassion. Remember the leper, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. And Jesus moved with compassion, reached forth and touched him. and said, I will be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. According to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions, exterminate them, wipe them away, erase them, make them not to be. Would the Lord do that for me? Make it to where they never happened. And that's what he's saying when he says, blot them out. Make it to where they never happened. Is that possible? Yes, it is. Through the gospel. As we go on, he says, wash me, verse two, wash me throughly from mine iniquity. My righteousness. and cleanse me from my sin. Now that word cleanse, he's talking about his nature, his iniquities, his transgressions and sins. When he says cleanse me from my sins, that word cleanse is the same word used for the cleansing of the leper in Leviticus chapter 13. And this is so important. That leper was not pronounced clean by the priest until he was completely covered with leprosy. There wasn't one square inch of his body that was not completely covered with leprosy. If he had any healthy flesh, go back to the leper colony. You're not clean. It's only when you're completely covered with leprosy. David says, I'm completely covered with sin. That's all that is there. Cleanse me like you cleansed the leper. Verse three, for I acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. Now this is the confession of sin. It's taking sides with God against yourself. My sin, my sinful nature, it's ever before me. There's never a time when it's not before me. This is my continual sight of myself. My sin is ever before me. I acknowledge, I freely confess my transgressions. Look in verse four. Against thee, thee only have I sinned. Hey, what about Bathsheba? What about Joab? What about Uriah? But yet he says against thee and thee only have I sinned. Sin is understood when you understand it's against God. You know the particle, how did he come? When he came back to his father, he said, I've sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no longer worthy to be called thy son. Against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. that thou mightest be justified when you speak and be clear when you judge. Now, I love what David says here. He says, if you condemn me, just and holy is your name. Can you say that? If you condemn me, if you pass me by, just and holy is your name. You see, when people are always questioning the Lord, how could the Lord be fair if he let this happen, that happen? They're sitting in judgment on God. I'm God's judge. It's a bad place to be. David said, you're justified when you speak and you're clear when you judge. Everything you do is right. I'm wrong and you are right. Verse five, behold, I was shaping iniquity. And in sin did my mother conceive me. Now he's not talking about a sinful act on his mother's part that he was brought into the world. He's saying I was born bad. I was born sinful. I came out of my mother's womb, evil. The wicked are estranged from the womb, the scripture says. They go about as soon as they be born, speaking lies. Now this is because of the fall of our first father, Adam. When he fell, scripture says, in the day you eat thereof you'll die. He spiritually died. I inherited his spiritually dead, evil nature. I was born bad, born evil. You were born evil. You were born innocent. Why is it you don't have to teach a child to lie? Why don't you have to teach a child to be selfish? Comes natural. Well, if we gave them a better example. No, they can be just as bad if you gave them a perfect example. Now, you ought to give them a perfect example. I'm not, but born bad. Behold, I was shaping iniquity. And in sin did my mother Conceive me, verse six, behold, thou desirest delights in truth in the inward parts and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. The inward part, the hidden part, what's that? Well, didn't Peter speak of the hidden man of the heart? Not corruptible? The inner man? This is who appreciates truth. and the gospel, the inner man, the hidden man, that's the new man he gives in the new birth. You'll have no understanding of sin unless he gives you this hidden man, this new man, this inner man of the heart. And that is the part that knows wisdom. Now look what he says in verse seven. He's so aware of his sin and he says, purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Now, hyssop was the branch used to dip down in the blood on the Passover lamb. You take a hyssop branch and put the blood over the door. And then we have that precious promise of God. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. Not when I see your faith, not when I see your repentance, not when I see your endeavor to be better. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. There's the gospel, now purge me with his, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I'll be whiter than snow if you wash me. You take the whitest thing there is, I'll be whiter than that if you wash me. Oh, wash me. I need to be purged when he by himself purged our sins, by himself, no help from you. Wash me. I love that statement the Lord gave to Peter. He that is washed needs not to say bit his feet, but he's clean every whit. If the Lord washes you, you're clean. He says in verse eight, make me to hear joy and gladness. I can't even hear. unless you enable me to do it. Have you understood that about yourself? You can't even hear the gospel with understanding and with joy unless he gives you the ears to hear. I love the scripture, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. If you go on reading the next verse, it says, then came all the sinners and publicans for to hear him. You know who has ears to hear? Sinners. If you can't hear the gospel, it's because you're not hearing as a sinner. If you hear as a sinner, you'll hear. He said, make me to hear joy and gladness that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. I can't hear unless you enable me to. I can't rejoice except you enable me to. Everything about me is broken. I'm damaged goods and it's all my fault. That is David's confession. Verse nine. Hide thy face from my sins and blot out all mine iniquities. The only way this can be done is for him to look on me in Christ. That way he can't see my sins because there's none there. I'm in Christ. Hide thy face from my sins. Don't look at my sins. Let me be seen in Christ so you do not see my sins. And he had earlier said, blot out my transgressions. Now he says, blot out my iniquities. Make them to not be. Erase them. Cause them to not be. Create, note that word, create. Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me. Of this I'm sure I have a filthy, unclean heart. That's my biggest problem. Iniquity, transgression, and sin belch out of my heart, and I can't make it better. Jeremiah 17, 9, the heart is deceitful above all things, desperately, that means incurably. The only hope I can have is for him to create in me something that was not there before. Create in me, just as you created the universe from nothing. Create in me a Clean heart, oh God. And renew a right spirit within me. My spirit's wrong, give me a right spirit. Verse 11. Cast me not away from thy presence. Take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Now doesn't David understand that once saved, always saved? Doesn't he understand that the Lord won't take his Holy Spirit if he gives it? I believe David understood all that, but he's talking about how he felt. He felt like he ought to be cast away. Don't cast me away. Don't take your Holy Spirit from me. If you take your Holy Spirit from me, it's over for me. Cast me not away from thy presence, O Lord. Take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Verse 12, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. I don't have any joy. Restore that to me, the joy of thy salvation, that salvation which is of the Lord. And uphold me with thy free spirit. Now, notice. with thy is in italics he's literally saying uphold me with a willing spirit make me willing can you pray that prayer make me willing thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power i want to be willing to be saved by christ in a way he gets all the glory none goes to me i want to be willing Make me willing. It's of God that worketh in you both the will and to do. His good pleasure. Make me willing. Then, verse 13, then will I teach transgressors thy ways. You see, his ways are seen clearly in Psalm 51, aren't they? Then will I teach transgressors thy ways and sinners shall be converted unto thee. This is perhaps the best definition I've ever heard of preaching. He talks about sinners being converted to thee. Preaching the gospel is one beggar telling another beggar where he got bread. That's it. That's what David's doing. You save me by your grace, I know what I'm gonna be doing. I'm gonna be telling sinners how you save. Verse 14. Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation. Deliver me from the guilt of murdering your son, is what that's talking about. You wanna know how bad you are? You'd murder the son of God. That's how bad. Say, I'm not like that. Yeah, you are. If you don't see it, you're just blind to yourself. And he said, deliver me from this horrible blood guiltiness. Oh God, thou God of my salvation, my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. Now notice, he said, I'll sing aloud of thy righteousness, not of your grace or your mercy, although that's certainly involved, but my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. You see, God has made a way to be righteous. and absolutely just, and save somebody like David who is guilty of all these horrible things, and make it to where he never did it. That's the glory of the cross. Jesus Christ put away my sin, gave me his righteousness, and now the very righteousness of God demands the salvation. The very law of God demands the salvation of everybody that Jesus Christ died for. Verse 15, oh Lord, open thou my lips and my mouth so I may show forth thy praise. David was aware that I can't even open my mouth and praise him unless he enables me to. Without me, the Lord said, you can do nothing. Amen to that. Verse 16, for thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it. Thou delightest not in burnt offerings. The blood of bulls and goats never satisfied God. All they were given was to point to him that was to come, who was going to shed his precious blood and accomplish salvation. See, but thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it. Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. broken, and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." Now, what is a broken spirit? Something that's broke means it doesn't work. Doesn't work. Throw it away. It's lost its usefulness. It can't operate. It's broken. Now, the only thing that's at its best state when it's is this broken and contrite heart. You understand by the grace of God that you cannot be saved by your works because you're broken. You're broken. You can't be fixed. You can't become better. You're broken. And that broken sinner before God is that one that he delights in. This is the gift of His grace. You see, if you're broken, you understand that you don't work. Salvation by works is impossible for you. If He doesn't do something for you, you'll be damned. You understand that. You're totally dependent upon Him doing something for you. You're broke. You don't have anything to bring. You don't have any money to pay. There's nothing you can do. You're broke, broken. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite, crushed heart. Oh God, thou will not despise. Verse 18, do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion. Build thou the walls of Jerusalem. The only hope a sinner has is that salvation is what he does. Amen? Not what I do. You do. In thy good pleasure, do good to Zion. There's two words. Do and done. I'm not telling you to do anything. I'm telling you, it's done. Don't wait for something. Don't wait for an experience. Don't wait for a feeling. It's done. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Broken and crushed, damaged goods, Believe. You're the only one who will believe. If you're not that way, you won't believe. You see, I love the scripture Romans 9, 11, for the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God, according to election, might stand not of works. That's God's purpose. But of him that calleth. Oh, you be the builder of the walls of Jerusalem. If I build them, they'll come crumbling down. Oh, if you build them, everything's fine. Salvation is what he does. And he's the one who does the building. He's the one who preserves us and protects us. Then, verse 19, last verse. Then, when you do good, and when you're the one that does the building, and it's all your work, and it has nothing to do with anything I do, Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering. Then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar. When salvation is what you do, you're pleased. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And listen to this. If you're in Christ, God is well pleased with you. Aren't you thankful for Psalm 51? Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you that salvation is according to thy loving kindness and the multitude of thy tender mercy. So, Lord, enable everybody in this room, by your grace, to cry out to you, have mercy, favor upon me, O Lord. according to thy loving kindness, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions, wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Lord, we ask you to do something about our sin. And Lord, how amazed we are that you have done something about our sin in sending your son to put it away. Lord, create in everybody in here, according to your will, a new heart. For Lord, these old hearts will never be enabled to rejoice in your gospel or believe your gospel. put a right spirit within us. Bless this message for Christ's sake, in His name we pray, amen.