Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away (Rev 21:1-4).

One of the most dreaded words in the English language is cancer. And, if one receives this diagnosis, a second dreaded question arises: Has it spread? We all know that, if a tumor is malignant, it is critical to remove all of it.

In the beatitudes, Jesus paints a portrait of spiritual vitality and health into which Christ’s kingdom members are being transformed. But at the root of that transformation process is cutting out the cancer of sin. Such excision of sin requires both confessing it, the first beatitude, and grieving over it, the second beatitude. The combination of these two attitudes is called repentance.   

The problem is that Christians can be lured into a kind of shallow, incomplete repentance that is destructive. It might be compared to surgery to remove the cancerous tumor that misses part of the tumor. Paul calls it “worldly sorrow that leads to death.” In contrast,” says Paul, is “godly sorrow leading to repentance.” This godly sorrow corresponds to getting all the tumor and then using chemotherapy to destroy what is microscopic and missed. This kind of sorrow is the heart attitude Jesus refers to in the second beatitude. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” It is an attitude that is exhibited by David. It is described in unmistakable detail in Psalm 51, which he wrote after being confronted with his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband, Uriah. It is chemotherapy for sin.

As we saw last week, in Jesus’ portrait of kingdom living in Matthew 5-7, Jesus identifies eight foundational heart attitudes that characterize his kingdom members, introducing each one with the Greek word, MAKARIOS, which scholars translate, blessed. But “blessed” is inadequate to capture the meaning of MAKARIOS. “Blessed” sounds like God will like me better if I have these attitudes. But MAKARIOS means much more than favor with God. It describes the richest possible fullness, happiness, and contentment. Right off the bat, Jesus teaches us that happiness, i.e. pleasantness in life is NOT determined by our circumstances. It is determined by our inner attitudes. This truth is expressed in Proverbs 15:15, All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast. Cheerfulness is an attitude choice as is complaining or thankfulness. We might ask, “why is choosing the attitude of sorrow for our sins, i.e. heartfelt contrition, a life-giving attitude?” I believe that fully grieving over our sins, as David demonstrates in great detail in Psalm 51 cleanses us. It is like chemotherapy, completing the process of full repentance.

Last week, we began to put a magnifying glass over this heart attitude that David revealed in Psalm 51. We continue to examine the structure of this Psalm with a review of last week:

David Recognizes the Awfulness of His Sin

Verses 1-6

We observed five components of this admission in verses 1-4.

• Our sin is too severe to ever excuse, leaving us no hope but the mercy of God.
• We feel dirty in the presence of a holy God because we ARE dirty, the only detergent for our cleansing being the blood of Jesus.
• Our sin was not a slip up. To the contrary, sin has spread to every part of us including our desires.
• Our sin is not merely breaking an impersonal law in some rulebook but a personal violation of our relationship with our God.
• God is 100% justified in his punishment of our sin, which means that the more we grasp the depth of our sin the greater will be our love for Jesus because he who has been forgiven much, loves much.

In verses 5-6, David summarizes these four verses, saying “Instead of being one in whom truth and wisdom dwell, I am one in whom sin dwells.” I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

David Seeks Restoration of His Relationship with God

Verses 7-9

Sinful choices not only destroy us, they put a wall between ourselves and those we’ve offended. This fact of human life rests beneath Jesus’ command to his followers. If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. It is interesting that this command comes in the context of Jesus’ warning against anger, and sharp, demeaning words that cut into the tenderest part of a human— his self-esteem. As husbands and fathers, we need to remember that when we sin against our wives or kids, asking God’s forgiveness is not enough; we must seek theirs. We need to keep the pathway between our hearts open, not blocked by wrongs we’ve never owned and apologized for or resentment will build incrementally, putting permanent distance between us and our loved ones hindering our leadership.

But, of course, Psalm 51:7-9 addresses the wall David’s sin built that stops access to the Holy God. This break is experienced ultimately and permanently with the non-believer who refuses to repent and trust Jesus’ death alone for his salvation. But it is also true that the failure to repent puts a distance into our fellowship with God in this life. David addresses the break in fellowship. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow (7). One commentator observes:

“Purge me with hyssop alludes to the cleansing of the leper, sprinkled seven times with the sacrificial blood into which the bunch of hyssop was dipped as a sprinkler. Or it may refer to ritual cleansing for those who had come into contact with a dead body. In either case, it ended with the forthright pronouncement, ‘and he shall be clean’ a promise which David takes up in the first person.”

In both cases the unclean person who was cut off from the assembly was restored to fellowship. David continues in verse 8, Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Think of all the Psalms David had written that were filled with the joy of praising and worshipping God. e.g. Psalm 100. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and  we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!  Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

That was the kind of joy David was missing because of his offensive sin to his God. David’s phrase, “Let the bones that you have broken, rejoice” refers to a custom of Palestinian shepherds. When they had a strong-willed lamb who kept going astray, who would not listen and follow the shepherd, they had to take drastic measures, or the lamb would be eaten by predators.

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