Turn away from sin, and towards God
In this chapter, we read about how David, a man after God’s heart, finally realised the gravity of the sins he had committed against God.
After Nathan shared the parable and revealed David’s sins, David immediately acknowledged his sins and sought forgiveness. He did not make excuses for his own actions, nor did he become angry at prophet Nathan for rebuking him, the King of Israel. Instead, he took full responsibility for his wrongdoings. This was something that the previous king Saul failed to do when Samuel pointed out his mistake of not obeying God in the matter of destroying the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15).
Psalm 51 describes the prayer of repentance that David offered to God. His repentance was heartfelt, filled with pleas for God’s mercy, lovingkindness and cleansing of his heart. He knew that he could sacrifice nothing else but a broken and contrite heart which God will not despise (Psalm 51:17). His repentance involved a complete emptying of himself to the Master. We see how he demonstrated this not just through his prayers, but his outwardly behaviour of fasting and praying for his child. This serves as a good example of the attitude and action we ought to take when we seek God’s forgiveness of our sins – one full of sincerity and humility.
As part of his repentance, David also fully acknowledged and accepted the consequences of his actions, including the tough news of the death of his child. After hearing about his child’s death, he proceeded to arise, wash and anoint himself, went into the house of the Lord and worshipped Him. While he fully submitted to God’s punishment, he also made the conscious decision to continue loving and returning to God despite the deep sorrow he experienced. If we sin against God, we need to be aware of the consequences we would need to face as He chastises us. Even so, will we still return to our heavenly Father and continue to trust and love Him, just as David did?
Let us pray that God will guard our hearts and minds against evil deeds and wrongdoings, and grant us sensitive hearts that are aware of our sins, so that we can turn back to Him in humble repentance.
Reflection questions:
How would we respond if we were in David’s position and were rebuked by someone? What can we learn from David’s response?
What can we learn from David’s attitude as he sought God’s mercy and forgiveness?
