Open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your praise!

⁵ Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
⁶ Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
⁷ Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
⁸ Make me to hear joy and gladness,
Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
⁹ Hide Your face from my sins
And blot out all my iniquities.

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
¹³ Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.

¹⁴ Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;
Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips,
That my mouth may declare Your praise.
¹⁶ For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

¹⁸ By Your favor do good to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,
In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar

As the heading of this psalm says it was written by David after he had gone to Bathsheba and had arranged for her husband to be killed in combat. David's life was filled with highs and lows. There were times when his difficulties and trials were caused by others and there were times like this when he faced the trials caused by his own failing. The one thing that was always constant with David, was that whether in good times or bad, he never lost his personal relationship with God. David was known as a man after God's heart. Acts 13:22 says:

 "After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, 'I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My will.'  

David was one of the greatest warriors in history. He was one of the greatest worshippers in scripture. His relationship with God was steadfast. We can learn from David's psalm, his prayer for pardon.

David begins with, Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.  David approaches God not on the basis of any right or privilege he has by position or past relationship, but rather he approaches God based on God's loving kindness, on the greatness of His compassion. We like David need to remember God's loving kindness, the greatness of His compassion. Look at the very first sin, when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden. Genesis 3:8-10

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

God always seeks sinners. He always seeks us , even when we have failed. The awareness of our sin condition does not surprise Him. David says: For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. The  knowledge  of our sin does not change God's view of us. We need like David to go to God when we have failed. What Daid understood by faith, seeing the future promise of redemption, we have by covenant, the promised redemption through Christ.

Hebrews 4:14-16  Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

David recognizes another critical truth about sin. He says:  Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge. 

There were many people whose lives were affected by David's sin. Yet David realized that sin is against God. All the collateral damage that is caused in our own lives or the lives of others is just that, it is collateral damage, the consequences of sin. Sin itself is against God. The result of sin is a broken relationship with God, separation from Him. Romans 6:23 says:    For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Look again at verses 7-12  Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. ⁸ Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice. ⁹ Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities. ¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. ¹¹ Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. ¹² Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.

David again appeals by faith to what we have been promised. The purifying and cleansing of our sin through the cross and Christ's blood. He says create in me a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit... 2 Corinthians 5:17 says: Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 

David knew the Holy Spirit by faith, we have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father,("And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you. Luke 24:49) through Christ.

Finally, let's look at David's response in faith to what he believed God would do.   Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You...Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness. ¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise.

David declared his confidence in the outcome before he saw the result. He knew God is faithful, compassionate and loving. David determines that regardless of the result of the situation, he will praise God and testify of His goodness.

There were still consequences of David's sin which he had to walk through. The child born to Bathsheba died. But David trusted and praised God, he held true to his prayer and confession.   2 Samuel 12:19-20

 David perceived that the child was dead; so David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” ²⁰ So David arose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he came into the house of the Lord and worshiped.

    The story of David and Bathsheba doesn't end there though. It is in fact one of the greatest stories of redemption in all of scripture.  

²⁴ Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her; and she gave birth to a son, and he named him Solomon. Now the Lord loved him

It is through Solomon that the throne of David was continued and more than that it is through Solomon that the line of Christ is traced.(see Matthew 1)

God's compassion is great. His loving kindness is everlasting. He continues to seek us even when we have failed or fallen. Though there may be consequences of our sins, His forgiveness is complete. In Christ we are washed clean. We are restored to the Father and His redemption brings forth new life, abundant life.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, my Savior and Redeemer, precious Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father. Thank You, that I have, in Christ, forgiveness for all my sin, restoration of my relationship with You and the promise of redemption now and forever. I, like David,   will teach transgressors Your ways, that  sinners will be converted to You... my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.  O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise. 

Amen