Psalm 51:13

Psalm 51:13

Sinners will turn back to you

The entire nature of this Psalm of penitence and confession changes abruptly here in verse 13. So far, we have walked in the shoes of a sinner who pleads for forgiveness, but now David’s heart turns to the future and what he is going to do once he is assured of the Lord’s salvation. The mean-spirited might suggest that these words are a kind of bribe, “Lord, if you forgive my transgressions, I will teach other transgressors Your ways, and these sinners, like me, will then turn back to You.” I don’t think David is quite that disingenuous in his dealings with the Almighty and if he was, the Lord God would see right through him immediately!

The truth is that when we face our sin and failure and come to the Lord for forgiveness; when we have sincerely confessed and repented and laid all of our failure at His feet, there is redemption. Our spirits testify that there has been a positive change, true confession is not just words, it affects our minds and our spirits. David got up from his knees and he felt better. Something had shifted, the weight had been lifted. Confession is not a theological concept or a liturgical tool, true confession is a cleansing process that sweeps clean and restores the inner being. David knows this, he is renewed and guess what? He is committed to telling other sinners that they too can turn to the Lord. 

This is the good news of the Gospel; that sin confessed is sin forgiven, and that sin forgiven is sin removed. Our souls can be cleansed, our relationship with the Lord can be renewed and our consciences can be freed. There is such joy and liberty in this cleansing process. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9. Of course David wants to tell others, this is glorious news, sinners will turn away from sin and back to the Lord if we teach them the power of confession and repentance. 

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