Psalm 51:1-9 (ESV)
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

For the next two weeks, I want to talk about renewing our walk with God. You may be saying, “But I don’t need to renew my walk because I’m walking in a great relationship with God. I’m seeking Him with all my heart and seeking to walk in His ways.”

To this I say, that’s wonderful. But what I have learned over my many years is that our walk, our life with God isn’t static. It tends to ebb and flow. And there will inevitably come times when we realize that we need to renew our life in Christ.

The need for renewal is nothing new. For thousands of years, human beings have been searching for a fresh relationship with God.

One evidence of the need for spiritual renewal may be the presence of personal sin. Five times in these nine verses, David referred to his sin, also using such words as “transgressions,” “iniquity,” and “evil” to describe both his nature and his deeds.

Verses 3 and 4 hint that the psalmist sensed an acute separation from God, which may be another evidence of the need for renewal. Who among us never has felt a great distance between us and God at times? Have you ever felt like your “prayers can’t get above the ceiling?”

In verse 6, perhaps David was referring to his attempts to hide his hideous crime before God. His failure to be honest with either God or himself had resulted in his drastic need for renewal.

When we either attempt to hide something in our lives from God, or refuse to acknowledge our condition, we need renewal.

When we are dry, when our spirits are stale and stagnant, when our prayer lives are powerless
and our resistance to temptation, rotten attitudes and bitterness is at its lowest, how can we receive the renewal desperately needed?

I. RENEWAL COMES WHEN WE CONFESS OUR SIN TO GOD (1-3)
Never once did David blame his sin on Bathsheba.The transgressions, iniquities, and sins to which David referred in this psalm are “MY” transgressions, iniquities, and sins.

He accepted responsibility for his evil deeds.

David looked at his crimes from three angles.
1. First, David pleaded with God: “Blot out my transgressions.”

Transgression means – “a deliberate violation of a known standard.”

David realized afresh that sin is whatever causes a person to willfully disobey God.

2. The second angle is seen in verse 2: “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity:”

The Hebrew word for iniquity comes from a word which means “to bend” or “to twist.”

David’s fresh perspective on his life caused him to realize that his life had become twisted out of proportion.

3. At the end of verse 2, the third angle is revealed: “Cleanse me from my sin.”

The word sin David used here means simply “to miss the mark,” and is similar to a New Testament word. David realized that sin is anything which causes a person to fall short or miss the goal of God’s best.

Without acknowledgment of personal sin, forgiveness has no basis. Without forgiveness, renewal is not possible. We individually must admit, “I have sinned.”