I want you to open your Bibles
today to the book of Psalms. Now, I know many of you are familiar
with the book of Psalms. Some of them you can recite from
memory. But I'm telling you, if you don't
know anything about the Psalm from which I'm going to speak
this morning, you've missed the brightest gem, the brightest
jewel of the entire book. This is Psalm 51. You turn to
Psalm 51. This is the brightest gem of
the whole book of Psalms, and I call this message, The Sinner's
Guide and the Believer's Comfort. The Sinner's Guide and the Believer's
Comfort. So I really have a message for
everybody today, don't I? Unbelieving sinners and believing
sinners. Lost sinners and saved sinners.
Sinners who have faith in Christ and sinners who do not have faith
in Christ. So this message, Psalm 51, and
I want you to find the scripture. So we're going to read about
half of it. That's all we'll have time to
deal with, about half of this psalm. But this is the sinner's
guide and the believer's comfort. It's so beautiful. Martin Luther
said it's so beautiful that the tongues of angels could not do
it justice. The tongues of angels could not
express its full beauty. There's no psalm that's more
oftener sung or prayed in the ancient church than Psalm 51. It was the favorite of almost
all the people. And you'll find it to be just
exactly what I say as we read it in a few moments. You'll find
it to be the sinner's guide, and you'll find it to be the
believer's comfort. And one great old minister of
the gospel said this about Psalm 51. He said, this is the most
deeply affecting of all the Psalms, and it's the one that's most
applicable to me personally, more than Psalm 1 or Psalm 23
or Psalm 100 or Psalm 121. When the divine message from
the prophet Nathan was sent by God to David. It awakened his
dormant conscience and he repented before God and he wrote the psalm
to which I refer, Psalm 51. When Nathan came to him with
that message straight from the throne, David thou art the man,
his Idle, dormant conscience was awakened and he was grief-stricken
over the greatness of his sin and the greatness of God's mercy. And David sat down and wrote
Psalm 51. That's where it was born. It
was born out of a broken heart, a penitent heart, a grieving
heart. That's when he wrote this psalm.
And I say to you this morning, if you are a guilty sinner in
search of mercy, You couldn't find a better guide than Psalm
51. It's the sinner's guide to mercy.
It's a sufficient guide. You'll see that in a moment.
You say, well, I think men ought to go to John 3, 16. Wait a minute
now. You'll see it if you stay with
me through this message. And then if you are a believing
sinner in need of assurance, in need of comfort, in need of
consolation, then you'll find it in this psalm. I'm going to
divide the psalm up in about four or five parts and help you
to remember and help you to understand what David is writing here. And
the first part of the psalm is verse 1 and 2. And here David
refers to the mercy of God. Read it. He says, have mercy
upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness, according
to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Have mercy upon me, O God, according
to thy lovingkindness, according to the multitude of thy tender
mercies, not according to my merit, not according to what
I deserve. Don't deal with me on the basis
of what I deserve. I don't want that. I don't want
justice. I want mercy. I don't want pity. I want mercy. I want pardon. And I want you
to deal with me, O God, on the basis of your mercy, not justice. People say, I want what's coming
to me. No, you don't either. No, by no means. God forbid you
don't want what's coming to you, the wrath and judgment of God.
You want mercy. And this is what David pleads,
O God, have mercy upon me. Thank God there is mercy with
the Lord. David wrote in another place,
let Israel hope in the Lord, for with the Lord there's mercy. Thank God there's mercy with
the Lord. He says in another place, God
is plenteous in mercy. And listen to this, this scripture,
God delights to show mercy. And when Moses, over there in
Exodus chapter 33, Moses made those three requests, you remember,
he said, Lord, show me your way. And then he said, Lord, if you
don't go with me, just don't let me go. And then the third
request, he says, show me your glory. God, show me your glory. And the Lord said, all right,
Moses, I'll cause all my goodness to pass before thee, I will declare
the name of the Lord before thee. I will be merciful to whom I
will be merciful. God's goodness is his mercy.
God's mercy is his glory. That's what Moses asked to see,
and that's what God showed him. When God showed him his glory,
he showed him his mercy. I'm interested in the greatness
of God, and I know you are. I'm interested in the holiness
of God. I'm interested in the wisdom
of God. I'm interested in the justice
of God, but all of these work against me if I'm not a recipient
of the mercy of God. That's right. I don't want to
know anything about the greatness of God apart from mercy, or the
justice of God apart from mercy, or the holiness of God apart
from mercy, because these all work against me unless God deals
with me in mercy. David knows his guilt. He knows
his sin, and he seizes upon this attribute of God. He doesn't
seize upon the justice of God, or the holiness of God, or the
power of God, or the wisdom of God. He seizes upon one attribute,
have mercy upon me. That's where you'd better come
in, and it's where I'd better come in. Not pity, mercy. Not
justice, mercy. He bases his whole plea on the
mercy of God, his whole prayer. He says, God, have mercy on me
according to your loving kindness, according to the multitude of
your tender mercies. This is what the publican in
the temple prayed. The Pharisee boasted of his works,
of his deeds, of his religious accomplishments. And the publican
would not so much as lift his eyes to heaven because of the
shame of his sins. But smote upon his breast and
cried, the scripture says, O God, be merciful to me, the sinner. So in search of mercy, in search
of mercy, that's what David, that's what he introduces us
to right here in the opening verse of this psalm, which is
the sinner's guide. It's look to God for mercy. All
right, notice the next two verses, verse 3 and 4. There follows
a confession of sin. He said in verse 3, I acknowledge
my transgression. Now, we know what we want. We
want the mercy of God. That's what David says, I want
mercy. I'm not asking for justice. I'm not asking for you to deal
with me on the basis of my merit. Deal with me, O God, in mercy.
Now, the first step in obtaining that mercy of God is to confess
our sins. If we cover our sins, we shall
not prosper. If we confess our sins, he's
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. So David comes and he says, Lord,
have mercy on me. I acknowledge my transgressions. I acknowledge my iniquities. I confess them. They're mine. I've committed them. The source
of the evil is right here in me. It's nobody else's fault.
I don't put the blame on anyone else. They're my sins and my
iniquities and my transgressions. I own them. I acknowledge them.
I admit them. I confess them. And then he says,
my sin is ever before me. It's ever before. This is not
merely a confession of the lips. This is not merely a recitation
of some religious creed. And we know that we are all sinners
and God forgive our sins. It's not some religious creed
cited by an indifferent, insincere person. This is so real to David. His sin is so hateful and so
wretched and so real that he says, my guilt is ever in my
thoughts. It's ever before me. My sin is
constantly in my mind. The seriousness of it, the evil
of it, the guilt of it, my sin lays heavily upon my heart. I
confess it. And, oh God, it's ever before
me. Now, watch this next point. He
says, against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this evil
in thy sight. David says, Lord, I've offended
you. God is the offended. Against
thee have I sinned. Sin is against God. Yes, sir,
sin is rebellion against God. It's treason against the government
of God, the spiritual government of God. Sin is treason against
that government. It's an attack upon the throne
of God. Against thee have I sinned. And
we've got to get this thing of sin in proper proportion, in
proper respect and understanding. We've got to see against whom
we've sinned. And the one who's sinned, against
thee have I sinned. He doesn't say we or they. He says, I have sinned. The offended is God, the offender
is me. And then he deals with the act.
He said, I've done this evil. He doesn't call it a mistake.
He doesn't call it a white lie or a little stumbling. He says
it's evil and I've done it. I've done it. It's evil and I've
done it. And I've done it in your sight.
God knows our hearts. God knows our thoughts. Why do
we seek to justify ourselves before men when God looks on
the heart and God knows what's going on down here? Why will
men And women pretend to be religious. Why will they pretend to be pious
and pretend to be holy when God does not look on the outward
countenance? Men do. You may deceive men and you may
fool men, but not God. He looks on your heart. And David
said, Lord, I've offended you. I've done it. I've done evil,
and I've done it in thy sight, clearly in thy sight. God sees
and God knows. And then I want you to watch
this next part of this confession. Now, he's looking for mercy,
and he's looking for it in an honest fashion. He says, I acknowledge
my sin. I confess it. And, Lord, I've
sinned against you. And then he said, you are justified. Listen to this, that you might
be justified when you speak and clear when you judge. I confess
my sins. They're ever before me. They're
against you. And, Lord, if you condemn me and damn me, and send
me to hell, you'll be just." And that's what he said. Every
true believer justifies God in his condemnation of sin. Yes,
he does. He justifies God. He's not like
Adam who said, well, Lord, it's really your fault that we failed.
You see, it's the woman's fault that you made. If you hadn't
made this woman, this wouldn't have happened. And then the woman
said, well, Lord, I know it's your fault because it's the serpent
that you made who tempted me. Now, that's not justifying God.
That's justifying myself. If I justify myself, my own mouth
would damn me. People say, well, I wouldn't
have been like I was if I hadn't been brought up like I was. So
it's really my parents' fault. Or I wouldn't have done this
if it hadn't been for the company I was with. I wouldn't have done
this if it hadn't been the temptation put before me by someone else,
hogwash. Our sins are our sins. And we're
guilty and we justify God. If he condemns us, then he's
doing what he ought to do. We deserve to be condemned. That's
what the thief on the cross said. He turned to that other thief
and he said, don't you fear God, seeing you're in the same condemnation,
listen, and we indeed justly, we receive exactly what we deserve. Isn't that what he said? we receive
exactly what we deserve. And then he turned to Christ
and he said, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
So this thing of acknowledging sin is the second thing that
David... Now, what's the third thing?
Over here in verse 5 and 6, the root of the whole problem. David
says, Lord, have mercy on me. not according to my merit, but
according to your loving kindness. I confess my sin. I acknowledge
my transgression. Now, he says the cause of my
sin, the root of my sin, the root of the whole problem, the
cause of the whole problem is my fallen nature. That's the
root. My sins are caused by my sin. You understand what I'm saying?
My sins are the result of my sin. What I do is because of
what I am. That's right. A man is not a
thief because he steals. He steals because he's a thief.
That's right. He's a thief in his heart. Every
sin that a man commits with his hands or his feet or his mouth
or his body, he planted in his heart. He drew the blueprints
here. That's right. A man steals because he's a thief
already. He's a thief by nature. Now,
look at what David's saying, Psalm 51, 5. He says, I was shapen
in iniquity. In sin my mother conceived me. Behold, thou desires truth in
the inward part, in the hidden part, thou would make me to know
wisdom." God Almighty demands truth and integrity in the heart,
in the hidden part. He looks not on the outward countenance,
He looks on the heart. So my friend, it is not enough
for me to confess that my water is polluted, I also confess that
the fountain from which the water came is polluted." That's what
David's saying. He's saying, my sins are ever
before me, my transgression, my iniquity, and I'll tell you
why that is, Lord, because I am a guilty sinner by nature. I
do these things because my heart is evil, because my imagination
is evil, because my soul is a fallen soul, a depraved soul. You don't
have to teach children to lie. They're born knowing how to lie.
The wicked are strained from their mother's womb. They go
astray as soon as they're born speaking lies. You don't have
to teach a child to be selfish. He's selfish by nature. You don't
have to teach him to be greedy. You have to teach him to love.
Why is that? Why do you have to teach goodness?
And evil comes naturally. Now, you ever stop to think about
that? Why is it so much easier for you to do evil than to do
good? Now, answer that. Well, I'll
tell you the reason, because what we are by nature. We're
not good by nature, we're evil by nature. We're evil by nature. It's not enough to confess that
my deeds are evil, my heart's evil. Out of the heart proceeds
evil thoughts, blasphemies. and all of these things that
are so sinful in God's sight. It's not enough to know that
my works are evil, my person is evil. That's what David is
saying here in Psalm 51 5. He says, I confess my sins and
my sins come from my sin. My works proceed from my heart. The things I say, the things
I do are motivated by the person I am. And God, that's my problem.
That's my problem, the person that I am. All right, now watch
this. Verse 7, the atonement. This
is the fourth thing I want you to see, the atonement. He says,
Lord, purge me. I said this is the sinner's guide
and the believer's comfort. All of it. He said, Lord, I need
mercy. I confess my sin. And I not only confess my sins,
but I confess what I am by nature, a fallen rebel. I need a miracle. Now he says, "'Purge me with
hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter
than snow.'" What is hyssop? "'Purge me with hyssop, and I
shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter
than the snow.'" Hyssop. Hyssop is a plant in the Old
Testament which was used to dip in the blood. When they brought
the lamb, killed the lamb. put his blood in a basin, they
would take the hyssop and dip it in the blood and sprinkle
the book, they'd sprinkle the people, sprinkle the altar, sprinkle
the tabernacle, sprinkle the priest. Everything was purified
and sanctified by the blood. When Israel put the blood on
the doorpost and the lintel in the Old Testament, Exodus 12,
the hyssop, dipped it in the blood and put it on the doorpost. and on the side post, on the
lintel. Now, here's what David is saying
with all this guilt and evil in here. Lord, if you'll sprinkle
me with the blood of Christ, with the atonement of the Lamb
of God, I'll be clean. If you'll wash me in the blood
that flowed from his veins on Calvary's cross, I'll be whiter
than the snow. That's what he's saying. There's
a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Emmanuel's veins,
and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains. The dying thief rejoiced to see
that fountain in his day. There may I, though vile as he,
wash my sins away. Dear dying lamb, thy precious
blood shall never lose its power till all the ransomed church
of God be saved to sin no more. Lord, sprinkle me with the blood
of Christ and I shall be clean. Clean from all of my past sins
and my present sins and my future sins. Wash me in the blood of
Christ. What can wash away my sins? Not
water, not rituals, not ceremonies, not works. What can wash away
my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole within? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
That's what he's praying here. Wash me, and I shall be whiter
than the snow. Come now, God said, let us reason
together. Though your sins be as scarlet,
though they be red like crimson, double-dyed, twice-dyed, deep-dyed,
they'll be as white as the snow. They'll be white as the snow.
All right, what's the sixth thing, or the fifth thing? Verse 10,
regeneration. Now, David was a wise man taught
of the Holy Spirit. He knew that what had to be done,
he couldn't do. I wish preachers had learned
this. I wish congregations would learn it. Here David is seeking
mercy. Have mercy upon me, O God. I
acknowledge my transgressions. My sins are ever before me. Against
thee and thee only have I sinned. And Lord, if you gave me condemnation,
you'd be just and righteous. And I confess my sins. Sprinkle
me with the blood, and I'll be whiter than snow. But now watch
verse 10. He realizes that something needs to be done for him that
no one but God can do. He says, O Lord, create in me
a clean heart. Renew within me a right spirit. You see, this thing of regeneration.
In other words, David is saying, what I need is to be born again. What I need is a new heart. What
I need is a right spirit. What I need is something that
only God can do. It's not enough just to be religious.
It's not enough just to make an outward profession of faith.
It's not enough just to join a church and be baptized. Something's
got to be done in here. Something's got to be done for
the sinner which he cannot do for himself, which the preacher
cannot do, which the church cannot do, which the evangelist cannot
do, which only God can do. Create in me a clean heart. Now, this is a creation. God
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness. When this earth
became without form and void, and darkness was upon the face
of the deep, God said, let there be light. And there was light. And God said, let the dry land
appear. And it appeared. And then God put man on this
earth. He created life. Now, sinners, and Paul in 2 Corinthians
compares salvation to this very thing. It's a recreation of man. When man sinned, just like the
earth, we believe between Genesis 1-1 and Genesis 1-2, there's
a time, there's some time elapsed. God created the heavens and the
earth in the beginning, and the earth became without form or
void. God created it perfect, and Satan
fell. And darkness and death and confusion
came upon this earth. And then God recreated it when
he said, let there be light. Now, God created man in his own
image. He created him holy and upright.
But man sought out many inventions. Man failed and sinned. And as
a result of his fault, he became like this old world did after
its original creation. You know, he told Adam and Eve
to multiply and replenish the earth. That's because it had
already been plentied. And so when man fell, he became
without form. Void, darkness was upon him. And one day God said, let there
be light. And the Holy Spirit came and gave life, gave a new
heart and a new nature. And that's what David's praying
for here. He's praying for God's mercy. And he's praying that
God will give him a new heart, a new nature, make of him a new
person. And this takes creative power.
God must do it. It's not something I can do for
you or you can do for me or I can do for myself. It's something
only God can do. If any man be in Christ, he's
a what? A new creature. A new creation. A new being. A man with new direction. A man with new thoughts. A man
with new motives. A man with new desires. The man
with a new object to glorify God. And what's the results of
all this? David says, and I shall be clean. And I shall be clean. And then
he said, and I shall teach others. We're not fit to teach anyone
else till we've been taught ourselves, are we? But he said, and then
I'll teach others. Lord, if you give me a right
spirit and a new heart, I'll teach others. I'll teach transgressors
the errors of their way. And then he said, Lord, I will
praise thee. I will praise thee. One old Puritan
wrote this hymn, and I want to read it to you. He says, I'll
go to Jesus, though my sin, like mountains round me rise. I know his courts I'll enter
in, whoever or whatever may oppose. Prostrate I'll lie before his
throne, and there my sins confess. I'll tell him, I'm a wretch undone
without His sovereign grace. I can but perish if I go. I am resolved to try. For if
I stay away, I know I shall forever die." Now, that's the guide,
the sinner's guide to mercy. And it's five-fold, and I'll
give it to you in close. First of all, it's to seek the
mercy of God, not justice, the mercy of God, based on His long-suffering
and loving kindness, not your merit. Secondly, it's to confess
my sins openly, honestly before God. Thirdly, it's to face the
root of the whole matter. It's in here. It's in the heart.
That's where it is. And fourthly, it's to look to
the cross, the sprinkling of the blood. And fifthly, to cast
myself on the power of God to make me a new creature.