David had missed God in a big way. Why?

1.) He was not “out to battle” as he was supposed to be. He was the leader, and he remained “at home”.

2.) He was not in the right place at the right time. He was instead in the wrong place at the wrong time.

3.) He had been so blessed by God that he thought that he could have whatever he wanted to have. He had been greatly blessed by The Lord.

4.) He was not content with what he already had been given by God. He coveted what belonged to another person. He was covetous, selfish and greedy for more.

5.) He saw something that he should not have seen, and it provoked lust, and he did not flee his lust. Instead, he fed it more and more to the point of adultery and eventually to the deliberate murder of an obstacle to David's total desire.

6.) David was blind sided because even after he had committed these sins; he had to be told of his evil deeds by the Prophet Nathan.

Redemptive Steps by David:

1.) He repented.

2.) He paid the price and he understood the penalty for his sins.

3.) He cried out to God (Psalms 51).

4.) He was restored unto God, but not without great suffering.

5.) He sets the example for us of how God wants to restore the Christian who has committed even the most grievous of sins.

6.) After he had prayed for himself, he prayed to be able to help other sinners, and finally he asked for God's blessings on Israel.

The Bible tells us that we should all repent because we have all fallen short of the glory of God.
The central message of Jesus the Messiah was:

Matthew 4:17, "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

When we repent; we will be converted, cleansed, and then we will be restored unto the Presence of The Lord.

Acts 3:19-21, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began."

Restitution (Strong's) means “Restoration”. Restoration means=bringing something or someone back to his or her former good condition.

However, God's restoration process is limitless as He can restore many times over. He restored to Job twice the blessings.

He has promised one hundredfold restoration for those who leave everything for Christ's sake.

Matthew 19:29, "And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my Name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life."

David's Psalms 51 is a classic model of how to repent and then be restored unto God.

Psalms 51

David cried out for mercy not justice. Our God is merciful because of His loving kindness and goodness.
Mercy consists of God's graciousness which is His unmerited favor.

David knew that his transgressions were severe, and he knew that he could not remove them from himself. Only God could purify David, and he knew it.

A transgression is an act of rebellion against God and His commandments. The actual act can be against a person, a country, a race of people, a group of people, but at its root it is an act against almighty God.

1 <To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.> Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

David realizes that he is filthy because of his perversity, and He is humbly asking God to wash and cleanse him.

2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

David fully understands his sins, and they are before Him. In short, he does not take them lightly.

3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

He completely acknowledges that even though he committed adultery and murder involving human beings; his sins were actually against God. When we sin; we are in rebellion to the commandments and the will of God.

4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightiest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

David knows that sin was his original condition. We are all conceived in sin as we inherit the sinful nature passed down from Adam and Eve.

5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

David knows that the Lord is Truth, and that He requires the total Truth. The Truth He wants is to come from our very hearts and souls. David knows that true wisdom comes from God, and that he did not act in wisdom when he disobeyed God.

6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

David cries out to God to completely remove the sin in his life, and David believes that he will then be whiter than snow.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

David has been in great sorrow and mourning, and he longs to have joy and gladness in his heart. He longs to be made whole again by God's mighty power.

8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

David asks God to look at his sins no more and to blot them out from His sight. He wants a whole new heart and a right spirit before God.

He desires to be born-again anew with the Holy Spirit of God.

9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

He knows that he deserves to be cast away, but he implores God
To keep him close to Him, and to let Him continue to have The Holy Spirit.

11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

David wants to be restored unto God with all of his heart. He wants to return to the Lord, and he wants to regain the joy of his salvation.

He has been in bondage to sin and the sorrowful consequences of sin, and now he wants to be set free.

12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

David now wants to help others. He has pleaded for his own deliverance, but now he is wanting to reach out to all sinners. He now has an empathy and burden for those who are in sin.

13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

David tells God that if he is delivered then he will be able to sing again.

14 Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

He asks the Lord to open his mouth so that he can praise the Lord once again as before.

15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

David has learned a great lesson in his fall. He knows that the Lord loves obedience more than He cares for sacrifice.

Why? Because without obedience; sacrifices are irrelevant.

16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

He has learned a valuable Truth. God loves a humble heart before Him. Pride is one of our worse enemies, and it is the enemy to God's grace in our lives.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

He now is asking God to build His walls round about Jerusalem. He is asking for God's blessings to come to the Jewish people.

18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

He is asking God to restore the blessings of Israel, and the people to Himself.

19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

David suffered so much after his sins. He lost is baby son, and he lost his grown son. He was betrayed, and he was almost destroyed.

However, because David was completely humble and repentant, God had mercy on him, and provided for David until the end. David had learned a great lesson, and this lesson is one that we should take note of.

It is a warning to avoid at all costs the sins that so easily beset us. However, God is a God that restores even those who have fallen so miserably.

Joel 2:25, "And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you."

No matter, how we may fall, God wants to take us by the hand and bring us into His promised land. Repentance is the key, and David has provided us with an example of how to be restored unto God again.

We all have had the enemy use us and abuse us in some way or another. These things can be used by the Lord to teach us His ways, and gain an understanding of God's great love, mercy, goodness and his desire to restore all of us unto Himself.