When Did You Last Cry Out In Repentance?
Hey everybody!!
This week we look at Psalms 36… Traditionally this is not taught as the psalm where King David repents of his sin with Bathsheba. That said, it does provide a crystal clear example to keep in mind as we go through this scripture.
The David and Bathsheba story can be found in 2 Samuel 11-12 and it is a story of murder, adultery (possibly rape), and a cover up. If that is where that event ends it would be an absolute tragedy. The good news is that we know that David repents and sings about it in Psalms 51!
Here is a super quick overview of the D and B story and how it relates to Psalms 36. Take a look and after that we will get into it!!!
David & Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11–12)
King David saw Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, bathing and desired her.
He committed adultery with her, and when she became pregnant, he tried to cover it up.
Failing to hide it, David arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle.
The prophet Nathan later confronted David, and David confessed his sin, leading to repentance but also consequences (the loss of the child, ongoing strife in his house).
How It Relates to Psalm 36
Psalm 36 contrasts the wicked heart with the steadfast love of God.
Verses 1–4 describe the mindset of sin: no fear of God, self-deception, scheming, and doing wrong — exactly what David fell into with Bathsheba and Uriah.
Verses 5–9 remind us of God’s unfailing love, righteousness, and mercy — the very qualities David later clung to in repentance (seen more fully in Psalm 51).
Verses 10–12 are a prayer for God’s protection and continued faithfulness, showing David’s dependence on grace after realizing his own failure.
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Guys!!! Lets DIG IN!! Here are my verse by verse notes
Verse 1
Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.
some manuscripts read… deep in MY HEART.
If this is the way it was supposed to be, and David is writing this, as if HE was the evil man, he is setting for us a very important precedent…to look inward to our own wickedness…
When was the last time you ever really examined yourself ?
Your heart
Your mind
Your relationships and what they say about you ?
Your actions
When was the last time you looked intently at whether or not your heart posture was aimed toward God?
Transgression speaks… the first two words of this Psalm
Sin calls to us in our heart ...
you can look at that.
it's not wrong for YOU
she’s probably talking about me too
I deserve this
I'm still a better Christian than so and so
there is no fear of God before his eyes.
When we are being tempted before we sin...
If we Feared God at all times , if we KNEW how AWESOME He is... We would stand firm, thoughts of violence, thoughts of anger and rage, these wouldn't have power over us. We would RUN from sexual thoughts, We would reject evil
Verse 2
For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
Nobody has to know...
I can still wear the mask, I can still do whatever I want and it won't destroy me. I can handle this little sin. That's what we think… but
Un-forgiveness becomes bitterness and a hardened heart
The treat can become addiction
pride becomes anger
anger becomes murder
a sexually immoral thought becomes a view, becomes a habit, habit becomes adultery.
But no sin is little and every sin grows, and it leads to death… that is just how it works…
For everyone except for me right? And you?
The truth is there are no exceptions, everyone will have to give an account one day for the sin in our lives…
Verse 3
The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
When we start to realize that we in fact canNOT handle said sin...
We lie to cover it up
We manipulate to hide
We DECIDE how we will maintain our reputation, how we will hide again.
We plan to cover it up
When David raped or coerced Bathsheba we saw this play out
Verse 4
He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good;
he does not reject evil.
It's so easy to look at this and gasp at planning to do evil...to think that we are above that.
But the truth is we do this too.
If we believe that getting drunk is a sin… then planning to get drunk is planning to do evil
If we are going to steal something and we don't want to get caught, we have to PLAN for it.
If we are going to look at something we shouldn't and we need to be alone, we have to plan for it.
When David sent someone to get Bathsheba he had to PLAN for it, and when he tried to cover it up he committed to a direction of evil (or set himself in a way that was not good)
Verses 1-4
Focuses on his sin…
He owns it. He looks inward and takes an honest look at himself and he is not making excuses. But now, watch as he shifts his focus to God in verses 5 and following.
Verse 5
Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. 6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O Lord. 7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light. 10 Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart! 11 Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. 12 There the evildoers lie fallen; they are thrust down, unable to rise.
In verses 5 and following he does what we all should do after looking inward… and that is to lok upward…he shifts his focus to the character of God
David in verses 1-4 says this is who i am… and then the rest he says this is who YOU are God. Quite simply David, the sinner worships.
He says Your promised love reaches the heavens
You are faithful!
You are savior
You are protector
You are an awesome Host (something that was a super big deal in those days because a host was responsible for the comfort and well being of the guest)
3x he mentions God's Steadfast love the word he uses here means loyalty; joint obligation; faithfulness, goodness, graciousness; godly action. This is a promised, and covenantal love
11 Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. 12 There the evildoers lie fallen; they are thrust down, unable to rise.
In verses 11 and 12 I read it like this, though to be clear i am not 100% convinced this was how he meant it
Please LORD, dont let me screw this up . dont allow my arrogance to drive me away from you. Don't let me fall with evil and not be able to rise up and find you again.
Take some time to pray
Find a tree, or a stream, or anywhere peaceful and ask God to show you where you need to repent. Repentance gets such a bad rep. But check this out, we GET to repent.
We dont HAVE to be stuck in our ways. If we have done wrong, we get to see it for what it was, drop it at the foot of the cross and move different… what a gift.
Next week we will talk about repentance a little more as we look over Psalms
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