Going Deep

Therefore, let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity (Hebrews 6:1).

Of the books I own, I can think of only three that can be read in one minute. What I mean is, the author states the book’s message so powerfully and succinctly in the first paragraph that the following pages are little more than footnotes. Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline (1978) is an example of what I’m talking about. Although the entire book is excellent, you don’t need to read any further than the first three lines to grasp the explosive message he wants to share.    

Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people. (p. 1). 

At a crucial moment in my own spiritual development, the Holy Spirit used these words to change the trajectory of my life. I realized that the Lord was not calling me to be smart, gifted, or successful. No. He wanted me to go deep. The exhortation that Jesus gave to Peter seemed to be aimed directly at me: “Put out into the deep and let down your nets.” (Lk. 5:4). As I have sought to obey this command, few passages of Scripture have been more helpful than Psalm 51.

David is about fifty years of age when he commits adultery with Bathsheba (see II Sam. 11). Prior to this, his life is an almost unbroken illustration of spiritual victory and godly behavior. It is difficult to understand how such a spiritual giant could fall into such perversity, duplicity, and wickedness. One explanation is that he had been living in the shallow end of the pool. His understanding of God’s grace and of his own capacity for sin was real, but superficial. This left him unprepared and vulnerable to the subtleties and deceitfulness of temptation and sin. In the aftermath of his moral failure, as he experiences confession, repentance, and restoration, David writes Psalm 51. Here, he describes his deep dive into the profundities of his own sinful nature and God’s marvelous grace. 

Deep Sin

As David reflects on his moral collapse and spiritual fall, he realizes, perhaps for the first time, that his sin is a deeper problem than he had previously thought – much deeper. Before his failure, he assumed that sin was a behavioral issue. But now he comes to the sober realization that sin is primarily an issue of the heart. He is not a sinner because he sins. Rather, he sins because he is a sinner! Sin is not what he does; sin defines who he is. “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (v. 5). David is not suggesting that his birth is the result of his parents’ sin. No. He has discovered that there is something twisted, perverse, and out of alignment at the very core of his being (see Gen. 6:5; Jer. 17:9; Matt. 15:19; etc.). David has finally learned that a superficial understanding of sin makes him vulnerable and leaves him unprepared when temptation comes in like a flood.  

Deep Repentance

As David brings his sin into the presence of God, he goes deep. Not only does he regret the naughty things he has done. Now, he grieves the wicked person that he is. He had assumed that his problem was sinful behavior. But now, he discovers that his real problem is his sin nature. His outward sins (plural) are symptomatic of his inward sin (singular)! “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin…My sin is ever before me… Purge me… Deliver me…” (vv. 2-3,7,14). David realizes he needs more than forgiveness for the bad things he has done. He needs cleansing from the moral pollution that defines his innermost being.

Deep Grace

As David comes face to face with the beastly sinful nature that resides deep in his soul, he discovers another reality that goes even deeper; the profundity of God’s grace, which stands ready to not only blot out David’s transgressions but to create in him a “clean heart” and to renew “a right spirit” within him (v. 10). He realizes that salvation is about so much more than behavior modification, washing one’s hands. God intends to purify David’s heart! Though David’s sin problem was deep, God’s grace solution went even deeper (see Rom. 5:20; II Cor. 5:17)! 

Deep Faith  

David realizes that he is going to have to trust God to do what he cannot do for himself; perform heart surgery! This is a level of faith he has never exercised before. “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.… The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (vv. 12-13, 17). When we live in the shallows, we imagine that justification is by faith and sanctification is by works. But when we jump in the deep end of the pool, we make the joyful discovery that our hearts are cleansed in the same way that our hands are washed; by grace through faith (see Gal. 3:3; Col. 2:6). 

Conclusion

We can only imagine what history might have been like if David had jumped into the deep end of the pool earlier in his journey. But even if he got there late, we can be thankful that, in Psalm 51, he has given us a powerful expression of what it means to go down deep in discovering the capacity of our own hearts for sin and God’s readiness to redeem. An old gospel song expresses beautifully the reality of what David discovered when he finally went deep. Written by Adger McDavid Page (1882-1959), the song is named “Deeper than the Stain Has Gone.”  

Dark the stain that soiled man’s nature,

Long the distance that he fell.

Far removed from hope and heaven,

Into deep despair and hell.

But there was a fountain opened,

And the blood of God’s own Son,

Purifies the soul and reaches 

Deeper than the stain has gone!

Praise the Lord for full salvation,

God still reigns upon his throne.

And I know the blood still reaches

Deeper than the stain has gone.

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