51:18 David extended his request for personal blessing to the nation under his authority. God had promised to protect David from death. He now asked the Lord to protect His people as well.
51:19 If God did so His people could and would continue to worship Him in His appointed ways. This would bring delight to the Lord even as He had brought delight to His people by forgiving and preserving them.
When believers sin against God, we should confess our sins and repent (i.e., adopt a different attitude toward the Lord). We can count on His gracious, abundant forgiveness because He has promised to forgive the fellowship consequences of sin for those who confess their sins. Forgiveness should result in a renewed commitment to worship and serve the Lord.115
There are two types of forgiveness. There is judicial forgiveness that every person experiences when he or she trusts in Christ as Savior (Rom. 5:1). God will never condemn us to eternal damnation for our sins if we trust in His Son. However there is also familial forgiveness. This is the forgiveness believers need because we offend God (Matt. 6:12, 14-15; 1 John 1:9). In one sense God has forgiven all our sins, but in another sense we need to confess our sins to receive forgiveness. Judicial forgiveness makes us acceptable to God, but familial forgiveness makes us intimate with God. Judicial forgiveness removes the guilt of sin, and familial forgiveness restores the broken fellowship caused by sin.
