Psalm 51:1-19 (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, we are talking about renewing our walk with God. From David’s prayer in Psalm 51, we can learn many things about what it means to renew our walk with God.

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.

II. RENEWAL COMES WHEN WE CONFESS THAT WE HAVE SINNED AGAINST GOD (v. 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.”

Deep in our hearts, we must concede that we have sinned against someone, and that someone is Almighty God. David had broken God’s laws, flouted God’s will and dishonored God’s name.

Some would say that David was attempting to ignore the many people he had hurt when he said, “Against you, you only, have I sinned” What about Bathsheba and Uriah? What about the little baby which had resulted from David’s illicit union with Bathsheba? What about involving Joab, his army commander, in the plot to kill Uriah? What about those in his kingdom? What about the anger and turmoil in David’s family?

The word “only” in verse 4 also could read “especially.” David wasn’t trying to ignore the many people he had hurt. But, the heart of his sin was especially against God, resulting in sinning against so many others.

David was admitting that sin which hurts others is first and foremost against God. If he had not broken the laws of God, the others would not have been hurt.

Anytime you and I, as believers, sin against someone we must understand that our sin is first and foremost against God. Before we ever seek forgiveness of our sin to someone else, we should first be sure we have dealt with it before our Lord.