{"id":34366,"date":"2007-03-01T13:57:12","date_gmt":"2007-03-01T18:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=34366"},"modified":"2017-08-09T14:06:03","modified_gmt":"2017-08-09T18:06:03","slug":"confession-missional-church-sermon-psalm-51","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2007\/confession-missional-church-sermon-psalm-51\/","title":{"rendered":"Confession and the missional church: A sermon on Psalm 51"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eastern Mennonite Seminary provides this reflection for use in public settings such as worship, Bible studies or Sunday school. Please give credit to the author when using this work.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mary Jo Bowman
\nMarch 1, 2007<\/em><\/p>\n

I. Introduction<\/h3>\n

I\u2019m going to be preaching on Psalm 51, and in a minute or two I\u2019ll be asking you to read the Psalm with me from the hymnal. Please go ahead and turn to that now\u2014it\u2019s #818. 1<\/p>\n

But, first let me tell you a story. It seems that a young priest in the 1970s was so taken with the latest bestseller \u201cI\u2019m Okay, You\u2019re Okay\u201d that he gave it a rave review in one of his sermons. When he was greeting people at the door afterwards, he asked one of his parishioners what he thought of the sermon. The man responded, \u201cI haven\u2019t read the book. Maybe it really is better than the Bible. But as you were preaching I kept thinking of Adam and Eve, Moses and Aaron and the golden calf. And David and Bathsheba. Even more, I kept thinking of Christ on the Cross saying to those who were watching him die: \u2018If everybody\u2019s okay, what am I doing up here?\u2019\u201d2<\/p>\n

If I\u2019m okay and you\u2019re okay, then we don\u2019t need Lent or Easter. We don\u2019t need God\u2019s mercy. We don\u2019t need confession, repentance, forgiveness, and a clean heart. We don\u2019t need Psalm 51! However, I believe none of us is okay. I chose to preach on Psalm 51 because I think we need to recover the practice of confession\u2014as individuals and as a church.<\/p>\n

In some liturgical traditions and monastic communities, Psalm 51 is used frequently\u2014weekly or even daily\u2014in communal prayers. However, I\u2019ve noticed that confession of sin is often not included in the worship services at my church, and I tend to forget to include confession in my personal prayers. I think that needs to change.<\/p>\n

Psalm 51 can serve as a model prayer and help us revitalize the practice of confession. Taking a careful look at this psalm of penitence and lament3 may help us to reflect on our own practices of prayer and worship, and how confession of sin and God\u2019s creative work of cleansing shapes our ministry.<\/p>\n

If you look the psalm in the hymnal, you\u2019ll notice that it\u2019s basically the\u00a0NRSV<\/span>, with a few changes in wording. Notice that the hymnal leaves out vs. 13-14, which is kind of disappointing to me because I think they are especially important. I\u2019ll read them myself as we come to that point, between the last two sections. There are two more verses at the very end that are also not printed here, and because of time I am not going to deal with them, except to say that vs. 18-19 are believed to have been a later addition to the Psalm, after the restoration of the temple.4 These last verses remind us that Psalm 51 has a communal as well as a personal message. I encourage you to look them up on your own.<\/p>\n

As we read the psalm together, I invite you to notice that all the way through, the psalmist speaks directly to God. Notice the rich variety of words about who God is and what God is asked to do, about the reality of human sin and God\u2019s creative work of cleansing and making new. And notice that towards the end the psalm the focus shifts from the inward work of confession to reaching outward in teaching and testimony.<\/p>\n

Please join me in reading the psalm together.<\/p>\n

II.Section 1: vs. 1-2 Plea for mercy God\u2019s and forgiveness (Address to God)<\/h3>\n

This psalm begins with \u201cHave mercy on me, O God.\u201d This is the best place for confession to begin: with an appeal to God\u2019s steadfast love and abundant mercy, or as the\u00a0NIV<\/span>\u00a0translates it: \u201cunfailing love and compassion.\u201d We find the same Hebrew words about God\u2019s mercy in Ex. 34:6, where the\u00a0LORD<\/span>\u00a0responds to Israel\u2019s first major rebellion\u2014their worship of the golden calf (Ex. 32). Even though the people had broken the covenant with Yahweh, God is \u201cmerciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.\u201d5 What does a person or community do in the presence of such a merciful God? We can almost see the psalmist fall to his knees, weighed down by guilt. At the beginning of the psalm, there are three words for wrongdoing, the same words found in Ex. 34:7 6 First, \u201ctransgressions,\u201d which means rebellion, disobedience, defiance or revolt. It implies a willful act of deviating or straying.7 Second: \u201ciniquity\u201d which means \u201cbending or twistedness\u201d8, crookedness, perverseness9 or guilt.10 And third, plain old \u201csin\u201d points to \u201cfailure or missing the mark.\u201d11<\/p>\n

Facing the reality of guilt, the Psalmist asks for cleansing: \u201cBlot out my transgressions,\u201d \u201cwash me,\u201d \u201ccleanse me from my sin.\u201d In the OT, sin was understood as defilement, dirt, or stain that created a barrier between people and God. Purity laws and rituals for cleansing recognized God\u2019s holiness and made provision for cleansing as a regular part of worship.<\/p>\n

III<\/span>. Section 2: vs. 3-6 Confession of Sin (Complaint against self and sinfulness)<\/h3>\n

While a specific sin is not named in Psalm 51, the superscription connects it with the story of David and Bathsheba, one of the greatest OT soap operas\u2014the king of Israel, guilty of adultery (or perhaps rape)12 and responsible for the death of a man and an illegitimate child (2 Samuel 11-12). Whether it was written at the time of David or considerably later,13 Psalm 51 acknowledges the recurring problem of sin in the story of God\u2019s chosen people. David\u2019s story becomes our story, and gives us an opportunity to recall our own personal sins and those of our church communities, now and throughout history.<\/p>\n

The next verse gets more introspective: \u201cFor I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.\u201d Like an honest look in the mirror. As Eugene Peterson (in\u00a0The Message<\/em>) puts it: \u201cI know how bad I\u2019ve been; my sins are staring me down.\u201d14 There\u2019s no getting around it, no place to hide.<\/p>\n

The Psalmist says to God: \u201cAgainst you, you alone, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.\u201d This echoes the words of King David in 2 Samuel 12. When he was confronted by Nathan, David said \u201cI have sinned against the Lord.\u201d (2 Sam. 12:13). What are we to make of these words: \u201cagainst you, you alone have I sinned\u201d? Surely, in David\u2019s case, he sinned against Bathsheba and Uriah, and betrayed the trust of his people. Yet, aren\u2019t all offenses ultimately sins against God? \u2014violation of God\u2019s commands15 and failure to honor God?16<\/p>\n

The Psalmist tells it like it is\u2014\u201cI have done evil in your sight.\u201d He knows he deserves judgment and punishment. As Peterson puts it: \u201cYou have all the facts before you; whatever you decide about me is fair.\u201d17<\/p>\n

In verse 5 we find a troubling concept about guilt: The\u00a0NRSV<\/span>\u00a0says: \u201cIndeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.\u201d This verse has been used by many throughout church history as a basis for the doctrine of original sin, including a negative view of sex. But let\u2019s not get sidetracked with that. A better interpretation of this verse focuses on the universal human condition of sinfulness, 18 as expressed in wording in the hymnal: \u201cI was born\u00a0in the midst<\/em>\u00a0of iniquity;\u00a0in the midst of sin<\/em>\u00a0my mother conceived me.\u201d As the apostle Paul put it: \u201cAll have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.\u201d ( Rom. 3:23)<\/p>\n

Even though this section of the psalm focuses on the reality of sinfulness and God\u2019s judgment, it ends with a message of hope: Sin is not the ultimate reality\u2014God, in divine wisdom, provides a way that brings new life. 19\u201cYou desire truth\u2014teach me wisdom\u201d (v. 6). The focus on \u201ctruth\u201d and \u201cwisdom\u201d here is similar to these words found in I John 1:8-9: \u201cIf we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.\u201d<\/p>\n

IV. Section 3: vs. 7-12 Petition for Cleansing and Restoration<\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s look at the images of \u201ccleansing\u201d here. First: \u201cPurge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.\u201d(7a) \u201cPurge\u201d is a strong word\u2014not a gentle rinsing. It\u2019s more dramatic\u2014like the process for cleaning out the bowels in preparation for a colonoscopy. (I\u2019ve never had that done, but I hear it requires spending all day or all night very close to a toilet\u2014a rather smelly, painful process!) That\u2019s purge! And what is hyssop? It\u2019s an herb used in cleansing ceremonies, as described in Leviticus (14:2-9 and 48-53)\u2014for persons with leprosy, and also for cleansing of contaminated houses. Also, a hyssop brush was used to sprinkle blood on the doorposts at Passover (Ex.12:22).20 So, hyssop is a metaphor for rituals of purification and deliverance. The second image of cleansing is gentler: \u201cWash me, and I shall be whiter that snow.\u201d Or as the hymnal puts it: \u201c_purer_ than snow.\u201d With cleansing comes joy, a kind of lightness, like the fragrance of a spring rain shower or the freshness of clean bed sheets.<\/p>\n

But what does this sentence mean: \u201clet the bones that you have crushed rejoice\u201d? I\u2019m not sure what to make of the suggestion that God is the one who crushed the bones\u2014perhaps that is an expression of being judged and humbled by God. Several Psalms speak of problems with bones. For example, in Ps. 22:14, the psalmist\u2019s bones are out of joint. And in Ps. 38: 3: \u201cThere is no health in my bones because of my sin.\u201d In the ancient world, illness and other misfortunes were often understood to be a result of sin. I\u2019m not sure what I think about this idea, but I do know about bone pain and how deep and excruciating it can be. When I broke my arm and had surgery on it\u2014after the metal plates were screwed onto my bones, and before the morphine was hooked up\u2014I felt like I had a truck crushing my arm!<\/p>\n

Then there is the request: \u201cHide your face from my sins\u201d (v 9a). In OT language, when God hides his face from someone, God is showing disapproval.21 Here, the psalmist asks God to turn away from the sin, not from the person. \u201cBlot out all my iniquities\u201d can be understood as a plea to remove the sins from God\u2019s sight\u2014like removing a stain from cloth, so the sin can no longer be seen or remembered.<\/p>\n

This brings us to the most familiar part of this psalm, and a significant turning point.<\/p>\n

\u201cCreate in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.\u201d The word \u201ccreate\u201d used here is the Hebrew word that is used only for God\u2019s work\u2014the same word used in the creation story in Genesis, and in Isaiah 43:122: \u201cThus says the Lord who created you\u2026, who formed you\u2026; do not fear, for I have redeemed you.\u201d God is able to make us new! Heart and spirit\u2014the core of who we are, our breath, our life, our will. This is a chance to begin again!<\/p>\n

With this cleansing comes a desire to be in God\u2019s presence. \u201cDo not cast me away from your presence. And do not take your holy spirit from me.\u201d (v 11). Don\u2019t reject me. As\u00a0The Message<\/em>\u00a0says: \u201cDon\u2019t throw me out with the trash.\u201d23 (v 12) \u201cRestore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing (or generous) spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

This familiar part of the psalm reminds us God can take our brokenness and make something new\u2014to restore our connection with God, to replace remorse with joy. This good news evokes a voluntary, public response\u2014a vow of praise\u2014on the part of the psalmist. This is typical of laments, but is something I had never noticed before in Psalm 51.<\/p>\n

V. Section 4: vs. 13-17 Vow of Praise and Public Contrition<\/h3>\n

In the final section of the Psalm, we find a vow to teach others and to praise. Let me read the two verses that are missing from the version in the hymnal: (v 13) \u201cThen I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.\u201d This is a promise to tell others about God, with confidence that they will repent. And vs 14: \u201cDeliver me from bloodshed, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.\u201d Evidently, the psalmist is not quite done with asking for God\u2019s help\u2014\u201csave me from \u2018bloodshed\u2019\u2014rescue me from \u201cguilt\u201d or \u201cviolence.\u201d24 There is a hint of bargaining with God here: \u201cHelp me, and I promise to praise you.\u201d Whatever the motive, the movement is into the public, social arena of testimony and worship: \u201cO Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.\u201d(v 15)<\/p>\n

\u201cFor you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.\u201d (vs 16) This sounds very much like the OT prophets, like in Hosea 6:6 \u201cI desire steadfast love and not sacrifice; the knowledge of God and not burnt offerings.\u201d God wants humility. \u201cThe sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.\u201d (vs 17)<\/p>\n

The kind of worship God desires is for us to bring our whole selves to God, in honest repentance, so that we can be cleansed, made new, and given a message of joy and hope to share with others.<\/p>\n

VI. Conclusion<\/h3>\n

Finally, the practice of confession includes not only looking inward and telling God that we are sinners and naming what we have done wrong. The practice of confession includes affirming that we need God and that we trust God to heal us and make us new. And even more, what I noticed for the first time in Psalm 51 is that confession actually prepares us and equips us for ministry: As verse 13 says: \u201cI will teach transgressors your ways and sinners will return to you.\u201d There is a striking element of reaching out in mission\u2014teaching, calling others to repentance and new life.<\/p>\n

Praying Psalm 51 invites us into mission, to sharing the good news of God\u2019s mercy\u2014participation in what the apostle Paul called \u201cthe ministry of reconciliation.\u201d In the end, Psalm 51 points us to the kind of ministry expressed in Paul\u2019s words found in 2 Corinthians 5:17-20: 25<\/p>\n

So, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (NRSV<\/span>)<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s pray: Have mercy on us, O God. We have sinned against you. Purge us, wash us, make us new creations by your spirit. Then we will teach others about you, as your ambassadors.<\/p>\n

Deliver us from evil and equip us to be your ministers of reconciliation. O Lord, open our lips, and our mouths will declare your praise. Accept our humble prayer, in Jesus\u2019 name, Amen.<\/p>\n

Bibliography<\/h2>\n

Anderson, Bernhard W.\u00a0Out of the Depths: The Psalms Speak for Us Today<\/em>. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000.<\/p>\n

Brueggemann, Walter, Charles B. Cousar, Beverly R. Gaventa, and James D. Newsome.\u00a0Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the Nrsv, Year<\/em>\u00a0A. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995.<\/p>\n

Forest, Jim.\u00a0Confession: Doorway to Forgiveness<\/em>. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2002.<\/p>\n

Hymnal: A Worship Book<\/em>. Elgin, Illinois: Brethren Press; Newton, Kansas: Faith and Life Press; Scottdale, Pennsylvania: Mennonite Publishing House, 1992.<\/p>\n

J. Clinton McCann, Jr. \u201cPsalm 51:1-19.\u201d In\u00a0The New Interpreter\u2019s Bible<\/em>, edited by John J. Collins, 883-89. Nashville: Abingdon, 1996.<\/p>\n

Peterson, Eugene H.\u00a0The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language<\/em>. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002.<\/p>\n

Tate, Marvin E. \u201cA Confession of Sin and Prayer for Forgiveness (51:1-21).\u201d In\u00a0Word Biblical Commentary<\/em>, edited by John D. W. Wattts. Dallas: Word Books, 1990.<\/p>\n

Waltner, James H.\u00a0Believers Church Bible Commentary: Psalms<\/em>. Edited by Elmer A. Martens and Willard M. Swartley, Believers Church Bible Commentary. Scottdale, Pennsylvania: Herald Press, 2006.<\/p>\n

Young, Robert.\u00a0Young\u2019s Analytical Concordance to the Bible<\/em>. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers.<\/p>\n

Endnotes<\/h2>\n

1.\u00a0Hymnal: A Worship Book<\/em>, (Elgin, Illinois: Brethren Press; Newton, Kansas: Faith and Life Press; Scottdale, Pennsylvania: Mennonite Publishing House: 1992).<\/p>\n

2. Jim Forest,\u00a0Confession: Doorway to Forgiveness<\/em>\u00a0(Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2002), 2. Adapted.<\/p>\n

3. This Psalm is typically classified as the most important of the seven penitential Psalms in the Psalter. It is also usually considered a lament, with the structure of address to God (v. 1-2), complaint [against sinful self] (v. 3-6), petition (v. 7-12), vow of praise (v. 13-17).<\/p>\n

4. James H. Waltner,\u00a0Believers Church Bible Commentary: Psalms<\/em>, ed. Elmer A. Martens and Willard M. Swartley, Believers Church Bible Commentary (Scottdale, Pennsylvania: Herald Press, 2006), 260.<\/p>\n

5. Jr. J. Clinton McCann, \u201cPsalm 51:1-19,\u201d in\u00a0The New Interpreter\u2019s Bible<\/em>, ed. John J. Collins (Nashville: Abingdon, 1996), 885. It is interesting to note that Ex. 34:7 does include a judgement on future generations.<\/p>\n

6. Ibid.<\/p>\n

7. Marvin E. Tate, \u201cA Confession of Sin and Prayer for Forgiveness (51:1-21),\u201d in\u00a0Word Biblical Commentary<\/em>, ed. John D. W. Wattts (Dallas: Word Books, 1990), 15.<\/p>\n

8. Ibid.<\/p>\n

9. Waltner,\u00a0Believers Church Bible Commentary: Psalms<\/em>, 257.<\/p>\n

10. J. Clinton McCann, \u201cPsalm 51:1-19,\u201d 885.<\/p>\n

11. Waltner,\u00a0Believers Church Bible Commentary: Psalms<\/em>, 257.<\/p>\n

12. Walter Brueggemann et al.,\u00a0Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary Based on the Nrsv, Year<\/em>\u00a0A (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995), 176. Text is ambiguous about nature of David\u2019s encounter with Bathsheba.<\/p>\n

13. Waltner,\u00a0Believers Church Bible Commentary: Psalms<\/em>, 256-57.<\/p>\n

14. Eugene H. Peterson,\u00a0The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language<\/em>\u00a0(Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002), 975.<\/p>\n

15. Tate, \u201cA Confession of Sin and Prayer for Forgiveness (51:1-21),\u201d 17.<\/p>\n

16. J. Clinton McCann, \u201cPsalm 51:1-19,\u201d 885.<\/p>\n

17. Peterson,\u00a0The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language<\/em>, 975.<\/p>\n

18. Tate, \u201cA Confession of Sin and Prayer for Forgiveness (51:1-21),\u201d 19.<\/p>\n

19. J. Clinton McCann, \u201cPsalm 51:1-19,\u201d 886. \u201cGod desires not sinfulness but faithfulness or \u2018truth\u2019; see Pss 26:3, 45:4). The wisdom the psalmist requests consists of openness to Go and dependence upon God (see Pss 37:30, 49:3, 90:12, Prov 1:7, 9:10).\u201d<\/p>\n

20. Tate, \u201cA Confession of Sin and Prayer for Forgiveness (51:1-21),\u201d 21.<\/p>\n

21. Ibid.<\/p>\n

22. Robert Young,\u00a0Young\u2019s Analytical Concordance to the Bible<\/em>\u00a0(Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers), 210.<\/p>\n

23. Waltner,\u00a0Believers Church Bible Commentary: Psalms<\/em>, 259. The term \u201choly spirit\u201d (with a small h) is used only one other place in the OT, in Is. 63:10-11, in a communal psalm of lament about Israel\u2019s history with God\u2014\u201cThey rebelled and grieved his holy spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

24. J. Clinton McCann, \u201cPsalm 51:1-19,\u201d 887.<\/p>\n

25. Various commentators point to this New Testament corollary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eastern Mennonite Seminary provides this reflection for use in public settings such as worship, Bible studies or Sunday school. Please give credit to the author when using this work. 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