Psalm 51

“Sin is crouching at your door…but you must rule over it” (Gen. 4:7). This verse paints a vivid struggle with temptation faced by Cain, who felt anger toward God for rejecting his sacrifice and resentment toward his brother for presenting an acceptable one. Cain’s emotions led him to kill his brother instead of overcoming his temptation. Unfortunately, we don’t always succeed in ruling over temptation either. So, what are the steps to true repentance and restoration?

To answer that question, we headed to the psalms, where King David sought forgiveness after a series of sins, including adultery and murder. Last time, we learned:

1. True repentance begins when we own our sin (Ps. 51:1b-2).
2. True repentance is based on God’s mercy. (Ps. 51:1a).
3. True repentance means understanding that my rebellion is against God (Ps. 51:3-4a).

Let’s continue our study of Psalm 51 and discover two more steps of repentance.

4. True repentance accepts sin’s consequences (Ps. 51:4).

Psalm 51:4
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.

There are always consequences to sin. We have seen that throughout Genesis. For instance, Abraham and Sarah’s decision to have a child through Hagar caused them and Hagar much pain. Jacob and Rachel’s deceptive scheme to steal the firstborn blessing caused Jacob to run for his life and then become the recipient of a classic bait-and-switch on his wedding night. Joseph’s brothers feared the consequences of their sins when they appeared before Egypt’s ruler—before and after they learned the ruler was Joseph.

David’s consequences were tragic. His son, born to Bathsheba, fell ill. While the newborn lived, David fasted, wept, and prayed that God would restore the baby’s health. When the baby died, (2 Sam. 12:22-23) David mourned his child acknowledging God as justified and blameless in his judgment.

Consider Cain’s attitude in contrast to David’s response. After killing Abel, God asked Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” Cain flippantly responded, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen. 4:9). When God pronounced the penalty for killing Abel, there was no sign of remorse. Cain stated, “My punishment is greater than I can bear” (Gen. 4:13). Thus, Cain essentially suggested that God was neither justified nor blameless in his judgment. True repentance requires us to accept God as right and blameless, regardless of the price.

I think it’s instructive to consider Joseph’s brothers here. Their sin against Joseph was heinous. They hated him and planned to kill him. But at the last moment, they sold Joseph into slavery. They smeared goat’s blood on his coat so Jacob would believe that a wild animal had killed his son. Did they discuss Joseph among themselves afterward? Did they feel any remorse? We don’t know. What we do know is that they never sought to find him, allowing their father to believe that Joseph was dead for over twenty years.

Then, when they appeared before the ruler during the famine, there seemed to be a change of heart. They admitted that they were guilty concerning their brother. They were experiencing consequences for their sin (Gen. 42:21). Reuben said, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood” (Gen. 42:22). After Jacob died, the brothers asked Joseph for forgiveness and offered to be his servants (Gen. 50:17-18). Was this just self-protection? Did they realize their sin was primarily against God? The text doesn’t tell us. However, there is repentance and the willingness to accept the results.

5. True repentance understands sin’s battle (Ps 51:5-6).

Psalm 51:5-6
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. ⁶ Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

God warned Cain that sin was crouching at his door, eager to attack and devour him. David conveyed that same struggle in these verses. We are born with a sinful nature, and sin consistently lurks at our door, but God always offers the right path and takes joy in our obedience.

In this passage, David was not suggesting that his parents conceived him through an inappropriate sexual relationship. Instead, he confirms the foundational truth of original sin. It is so important to understand this truth. Original sin does not refer primarily to what we studied in Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve rebelled against God. Rather, it refers to the results of the first sin and how it corrupted humanity. Original sin explains the condition in which we are born. [1] That’s why David said, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Ps. 51:5). Paul wrote, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12).

So, I know these two truths—I am sinful, and God desires obedience. Sin is crouching at my door, and God desires me to resist it. I live with this pull of wanting what I want and, at the same time, wanting what God wants. Can you relate to that?

The apostle Paul had the same tension. We’ll finish Psalm 51 tomorrow. But let’s wrap up today with Paul’s words.

Romans 7:15-25
For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. ¹⁶ Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. ¹⁷ So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. ¹⁸ For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. ²¹ So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. ²² For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, ²³ but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Read Psalm 51. Read reflectively. Let God speak to you through this instructive psalm. Ask him to help you have a better understanding of true repentance.

Talking to God
Read Romans 7 above. Talk to God about the battle in your heart—the reality of sin’s desires and the need to follow hard after Jesus.

Have Questions?
If you have any questions about today’s reading or teaching, please ask. Our team is here to assist you as you explore God’s Word. Submit your question below, and we’ll reply soon.

Two more things:

1. Go to ronmoore.org/lifemap for an exercise that will help you discover how God is writing his story in you. I have included a life map of Joseph that will serve as an example.
2. On February 25 at 7:00 pm, we will meet on a Zoom call to review what we have learned in Genesis and answer questions. A link to the call will be provided if you wish to participate.

[1] R. C. Sproul, Essential Truths of the Christian Faith (Wheaton, ILL.: Tyndale House Publishers, 1992), 145-146.