I FALL, BUT GOD LIFTS ME UP - Psalm 51:1-12

A sermon by João Soares da Fonseca


In one of the many buildings of the modern city of Rome, Italy, there is an inscription taken from one building of the ancient Rome. Of course it is in Latin: "Concussus, surgo", which means "Shattered, I rise again". [1]

When children are learning how to walk, they usually fall many times. What do you say to them when they fall? In Portuguese we humorously say, "Get up... in order to fall again".

David had a shameful fall in his life: he committed adultery, then, in order to hide his adultery, he committed a murder. But he repented, and "God graciously upheld him and raised him up". [2] This Psalm is a plea.

1. It is a plea for COMPASSION

The sinner here, David, pleads for God's compassion. (v. 1). With his adultery with Bathsheba, David broke five of the ten commandments at once. So much so that in order to describe his sin, David used here all the Hebrew words for sin. He used the word "transgression" (pesháa, "rebellion" v. 1), "iniquity" ( avôn, v. 2a., which is "depravation, or crime") and "sin" (hatáa, v. 2b, which is "to miss the mark"). Being rebellious and depraved, the sinner misses the mark, which is to obey God. That's the way we are: rebellious, depraved and many times we disappoint our Lord. Is there any hope for us?

Matthew Henry says yes:

"We must come to the throne of grace in the posture of penitents (...) David, being convinced of his sin, poured out his soul to God in prayer for mercy and grace (...) His plea is for this mercy: "have mercy upon me, O God! not according to the dignity of my birth, as descended from the prince of the tribe of Judah, not according to my public services as Israel's champion, or my public honours as Israel's king; (...) a true penitent will make no mention of any such thing. "[3]

Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695) was a famous French writer of fables. But he lived a life of moral looseness. Away from God, he published many obscene poems. In 1693, he became sick and forsaken. Under the influence of the priest he turned to for help, he spent his last two years in this life trying to change for the better. He began to use a horsehair shirt under his garment in order to irritate his skin. Why? "To pay for his past faults... going to churches to pray, trying to forget his fear of hell". [4]

Somebody should have said to LaFontaine that it was enough to plead for mercy, and he would have been forgiven by the Almighty God.

2. It is a plea for CLEANSING

In verse 2, David prayed, "Wash me". Whoever says "wash me" is aware of his dirtiness. David looked in the mirror and saw his dirty face, his dirty heart, and did not leave accusing the mirror of being biased.

When he says "Wash me", he is recognizing his failure before God. American author Dean Koontz said in an interview:

"I insist on saying, with unflagging conviction that what is wrong with American society is the fact that we have embraced Freudian psychology as a kind of religion (...). Freud became a religion, and our culture is saturated with it. What is wrong with the Freudian theory is that it says that you are not responsible for your acts. You do what you do because of what somebody else did to you when you were a child, or because of what society did to you. We are raising generations who believe, in a subtle level, that they don't have any responsibility for what they do. For this reason we will have a more and more violent and unbalanced society. The last 100 years brought a deeply distorted and destructive vision of human behavior. In this sense, I agree with [Vladimir] Nabokov, who was violently anti-Freudian. (...) Nabokov used to say that the two great evils of the twentieth century were Marx and Freud." [5]

I am guilty, says the sinner with David. But his guilt does not lead him to despair. He can pray: "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow" (v. 7). Here David mentions hyssop. What is that? "Hyssop was an aromatic herb used for food flavoring, fragrance and medicine". [6] It was used in the ritual of purification of the lepers in Israel (Lev. 14:4) . So David compares his situation that of a leper, a person not worthy to be with God's people. He wants to get rid of his uncleanness, so he prays, "...blot out all my iniquity " (v. 9b).

In order to not continue in the practice of sin, David asked God to give him a new heart, "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me " (v. 10). It is noteworthy that this verb to create here is the same verb used in Genesis 1:1. It is a verb used only in connection with God. Only God can create, because it means create from nothing. God can give us a new heart, created from nothing, by his power.

3. It is a plea for CHEER

David prayed, "Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice " (v. 8). Joy is a result of peace of conscience. Joy is a result of being forgiven. God did not want for us to be sad and crestfallen. Origen, one of the first leaders of the church after the apostolic times, said, "The music God makes in creation is not a dirge but a love song to, for and through creatures".[7] "Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me " (v. 12). Sin robs our joy, but God's forgiveness brings it back to us.

"The 18th-century author Samuel Johnson was noted for his wit, sensitivity, and encyclopedic knowledge. He found solitude depressing, so he often took in the poor and homeless so that he could be surrounded by people. He also confessed that he had a deep fear of dying. An Encyclopedia Britannica article, however, speaks of Johnson's "zest for living." It characterizes him as a "Christian moralist" with a strong conviction of the reality of sin and of the redemption provided through faith in Jesus Christ. It also says that "his faith prevailed," for when he knew he was dying "he refused to take opiates because he had prayed that he might render his soul to God unclouded." The article concludes, "Few men have left finer examples of the art of living than Samuel Johnson." [8]

Friend, the secret of a joyful life in this world is to be in peace with God.

Conclusion

When I first read the inscription of the building in Rome (" Shattered, I rise again"), I thought a good title for this message woud be: I Fall, But I Rise Again. But then it dawned on me that it is not true. In our case, as sinners, we fall and we would die fallen, but GOD, by His unfailing love and amazing grace, lifts us up. " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1Jo 1.9). Confess your sins to Jesus Christ, and you will be forgiven.

[1] GAWLINA, Joseph F. (former Military Bishop of Poland). Sermon on the Fifth Anniversary of the Victory of Monte Cassino. IN: BUTLER, G. Paul, editor. Best sermons – 1951-1952 Edition. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1952, p. 171.

[2] HENRY, Matthew. Available at http://www.ccel.org/h/henry/mhc2/MHC19051.HTM access in Nov 1, 2005.

[3] HENRY, Matthew. Available at http://www.ccel.org/h/henry/mhc2/MHC19051.HTM access in Nov 1, 2005.

[4] FONTAINE, Jean de la. Fables. Paris: Bookking International, 1993, p. 8.

[5] KOONTZ, Dean, interviewed by Edney Silvestre. O Globo, Rio de Janeiro, 27-8-95, emphasis added.

[6] The Nelson Study Bible on Leviticus 14:4

[7] ODEN, Thomas C . The living God — Systematic Theology, vol.1. New York: HarperCollins, 1992, p. 118.

[8] Our Daily Bread, Jan 14, 2001. In website: http://www.rbc.org/odb/odb-01-14-01.shtml access in Nov 3, 2005.



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