Psalm 51:1-4 - "You Are the Man"
MAY 03, 2023
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Psalm 51 is King David’s public psalm and confession of repentance! Today, 1,500
years after his reign as king over the nation of Israel, King David is still
known as one of the most famous kings in history. Scripture tells us that David
was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:21-22). But that does not mean that
David was perfect and never did anything wrong. Matter of fact, 1 Kings 15:5 points
this out years later, when speaking of a future blessing on one of his
descendants: “Because David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and
had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his
life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.”


David committed two of the most horrendous, terrible, and awful sins that could be
committed. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband Uriah
killed. Uriah was one of his mighty men, lived next door to the palace of
David, and most likely was one of his best friends.


The title of Psalm 51 also tells us that God sent Nathan the prophet to confront
him of his sin. This happened after about a year of David trying to cover up
his sin from everyone. But God knew and it must have been one of the most
miserable years of David’s life. 2 Samuel 12:1-15 gives us the detailed story
of Nathan’s message to David.


“Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: "There
were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had
exceedingly many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing, except one
little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with
him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup
and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. And a traveler came to
the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to
prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor
man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him."


So David's anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan,
"As the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! And he
shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he
had no pity."


Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel:
'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I
gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and
gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also
would have given you much more! Why have you despised the commandment of the
LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the
sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the
sword of the people of Ammon. …


So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan
said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of
the LORD to blaspheme….Then Nathan departed to his house.”


It is amazing that David was so angry at the rich man who took the poor man’s lamb
when he was guilty of the same thing. 
This reminds me of Romans 2:1 “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man,
whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn
yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. But
we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who
practice such things. And do you think this, O man, you who judge those
practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment
of God?” So often what we are most critical of in someone else is
what we are guilty of in our own life!  


“You are the man!”  You can’t hide your
sin from God! God had warned Israel in Number 32:23, “Be sure your sin will
find you out”. May the Lord help us to look into our own hearts today!


God bless!

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