認罪之詩
詩篇五十一篇1至13節
1（大衛與拔示巴同室以後，先知拿單來見他；他作這詩，交與伶長。）神啊，求你按你的慈愛憐恤我！按你豐盛的慈悲塗抹我的過犯！
2求你將我的罪孽洗除淨盡，並潔除我的罪！
3因為，我知道我的過犯；我的罪常在我面前。
4我向你犯罪，惟獨得罪了你；在你眼前行了這惡，以致你責備我的時候顯為公義，判斷我的時候顯為清正。
5我是在罪孽裡生的，在我母親懷胎的時候就有了罪。
6你所喜愛的是內裡誠實；你在我隱密處，必使我得智慧。
7求你用牛膝草潔淨我，我就乾淨；求你洗滌我，我就比雪更白。
8求你使我得聽歡喜快樂的聲音，使你所壓傷的骨頭可以踴躍。
9求你掩面不看我的罪，塗抹我一切的罪孽。
10神啊，求你為我造清潔的心，使我裡面重新有正直（或譯：堅定）的靈。
11不要丟棄我，使我離開你的面；不要從我收回你的聖靈。
12求你使我仍得救恩之樂，賜我樂意的靈扶持我，
13我就把你的道指教有過犯的人，罪人必歸順你。
信息分享
透過這篇詩，我們得以了解大衛當時認罪的心情。我們若沒有這篇詩，而只有撒母耳記下十一至十二章，我們便只能知悉大衛犯罪和悔罪的經過，而不會知道他實在是何等的深切悔疚，以及他如何徹底地向神認罪求赦。
大衛知道，當他犯罪的時候，他不僅是傷害人，而且更是得罪神(4節)。他承認自己在母腹當中便有罪(5節)，可是，他卻知道自己不能以此作為犯罪的藉口。他承認自己確實犯了大事，愧對神給予他的種種恩典，他必須承擔全部罪責。
他知道，問題是出自他的內心，他需要把內心的罪污徹底清除。他在痛悔之餘，令人感到欣慰的是，神確實赦免了大衛的罪，大衛再次獲得救恩的喜樂。
你如果想知道大衛在蒙神赦罪之後，如何向神發出頌讚，請讀詩篇第三十二篇。請留意它的第一句：「得赦免其過，遮蓋其罪的，這人是有福的。」我們對此亦深有同感，對嗎？當我們來到神的面前認罪時，我們的內心一定是十分沉重；然而，當我們得著神的赦免，與神復和之後，我們的內心就會立時變得輕省，再次被喜樂所充滿。
反思：
我有甚麼隱藏的罪，需要向神立即陳明和徹底認罪呢？
A PSALM OF CONFESSION
Psalm 51: 1 – 13
1 Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.
Message
It also helps us know and understand the heart of David in this situation. If we only had the story of David’s sin and repentance as found in 2 Samuel 11 and 12 we would never know how deeply he felt over it all and how fully he repented before God for what he had done.
David’s sin involved another person, Bath-sheba. But David realised that all sin is against God (v.4). He acknowledges (v.5) that he was born a sinner, but that did not excuse him for what he had done. He did it. He sinned in this way, in spite of all that God had done for him and he only had himself to blame.
He realised that the trouble was in his heart and that he needed to be cleansed again from the inside out. The wonderful part to remember is that God did forgive his sin and David found again the joy of his salvation.
If you want to read David’s Psalm of praise after God has forgiven him, turn back to Psalm 32. Look at how it starts, ‘Oh the happiness of the man who has been forgiven’. We know that ourselves, don’t we? There have been many times when we have had to confess our failures, but when God has forgiven us and fellowship has been restored, what a difference it makes. How happy we can be once more.
Question:
Is there something you need to confess to God today?