Psalm 51:10–19 (ESV)
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; 19 then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Last week and now this week, 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.

Last week, we examined David’s prayer of confession.

This week, we have been looking at the results of renewal.

1. GOD GIVES US A NEW MAKEOVER (10)

2. THE HOLY SPIRIT’S PRESENCE AND EMPOWERMENT RETURNS TO US (11)

3. THE JOY OF GOD’S SALVATION IS RESTORED TO US (12)

4. ABILITY FOR CONSISTENCY IS PROVIDED (10,12)

5. God can use us to teach others how to walk with Him. (13)

6. WE WILL SPEAK FREELY TO GOD AND ABOUT GOD

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

When one is right with the Lord, he cannot but help from speaking of the God who loves him and the God to whom he loves.

7. WE WILL BE DELIVERED FROM THE GUILT OF OUR SIN

David cried out, “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation.” (14)

After speaking about the heavy hand of God that was upon him because of his hidden sin, David declares what God did for him when he confessed his sin.

Psalm 32:5 (NIV)
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

There it is. Complete forgiveness is not only having our sins forgiven, but having the guilt of our sins done away with. When David said God forgave the guilt of his sins, he is saying that God canceled the guilt.

Let’s talk for a moment about the difference between guilt and regret. God does not want us to live with guilt. Guilt is there to drive us to the forgiveness of our sins. When we are forgiven, our guilt is removed also. However, regret is the emotion and the affirmation that helps us to not do that sin again. We should have regret over having done wrong. It is a safeguard for us.