You can be a prisoner in the prison of your own guilt. King David committed adultery and now the married woman Bathsheba was pregnant. David tried to cover up but the husband Uriah was too noble to be with his wife while he was on duty. David will go to any lengths to cover his sin. He sends Uriah with a note for his commander Joab. The note tells Joab to ensure that Uriah is sent to the front of the battle and then isolated so that he is killed. It would appear he died a hero but it was premeditated murder! David then takes Bathsheba as his wife. David has added murder to adultery and seemingly got away with it.

1 – The agony of guilt

One year has gone by and the baby is about three months old. David has carried the guilt but he is about to be brought to account for his sins.

• The silence (Psalm 32:3). David couldn’t talk to the Lord about His sin. He couldn’t talk about anything to God. As a result he became physically ill. When you suffer spiritually, then you can often suffer physically.
• Sorrow (Psalm 32:4) He was King of Israel but he could not command his own conscience. His conscience kept reminding him of his guilt.
• Secrecy – There was no one he could tell other than Bathsheba or Joab. He was reduced in his friends. There was seemingly no one to confide in or ask for advice. It is important to have someone whom we can share our guilt with in confidence.

2 – The accusation of guilt (2 Samuel 12:1-6)

It is possible to feel guilty when you are not guilty of any sin. David felt guilty and he was right to feel this way! He was guilty! God sends Nathan to confront David about His sin and guilt. Nathan is David’s pastoral care! He tells David a story rather than directly confront the King. A smart move! David is outraged by the conduct of the rich man over the poor man. Nathan tells David that he is that man! He has taken Uriah’s wife for himself and killed the man. His sin is now out in the open. What will he do next?

3 – The admission of guilt (Psalm 51)

We can see from the title of the Psalm that David wrote it after Nathan’s confrontation. This was really God confronting David about his sin and bringing his judgment.

• He accepts full responsibility for his sin – No one else is to blame. Notice he uses the words “me”, “my” and “I” throughout. He is finally taking responsibility. You need to do this if you are going to get well.
• He acknowledges the sinfulness of sin – He uses the words “transgression”, “iniquity”, “sin” and “evil”. It is important that sin is dealt with in seriousness. See Psalm 51:17 and Psalm 32:5. There is often a less judgmental correction of sins like lying and cheating. We have to acknowledge we have done wrong.
• He addresses his confession to God (vs. 4). A lot of people have been hurt by David’s sinful actions. The main person who has been hurt is God and only God can forgive sins.

4 – The answer to guilt

There are four things that happen when God deals with our guilt.

• Removing the sin – See Psalm 51:2. David asks God to mask out his sins from His records.
• Restoring the joy – When you don’t deal with sin then joy goes out of your life. See Psalm 51:12. David has lost the joy of his salvation but not his salvation. He is backslidden and needs to get into fellowship with God.
• Renewing the fellowship – See Psalm 51:11. David feared he might be lost.
• Refocusing on the future – See Psalm 51:12. David doesn’t want it to happen again. He wants God to take control of his future. See Psalm 31:1-2. No sin is too great for God to forgive. In David’s case adultery and murder were forgiven.

Categories: Psalms