Written ~ 7-15-2023
Psalm 51:10-12
“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and make me willing to obey you.”
In my Bible at the beginning of Chapter 51 it says, “A Psalm of David, regarding the time Nathan the prophet came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.” This entire chapter shows David seeking God for forgiveness of this sin. He was repentant in his seeking forgiveness. You will find this account in 2 Samuel 12:1-25. In 2 Samuel chapter 11 we find the story of what happened with David and Bathsheba and with Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah.
We know that David is the anointed King of God’s choosing. He sought God in everything he did. But for some reason his eyes diverted from the LORD, and he sinned. God could have destroyed David because of what He did. Instead, we see a mighty, anointed king, humbling himself before the LORD. He is acknowledging the sin, it is inexcusable. David asks for mercy and forgiveness.
It seems by our verses, well the entire chapter, that David must have slipped away from the LORD, he seems to have been in a place of disregard of the commandments of the LORD.
In our verses today the words that stand out to me are:
Create
Renew
Restore
So, it looks like to me, that David had strayed off the path of the LORD and now, through this horrible thing he had done, in his repentance, he is seeking not only forgiveness but also a renewal of his spirit.
A couple of times David asks the LORD to… Purify him (Psalm 51:2 and 7). David knew he was not in a good place. What a wonderful example we have in David, don’t we? To recognize sin and seek forgiveness. But it did take the prophet Nathan to give some very truthful, wise counsel to David for him to see what he had done. Sometimes God will use other people in our lives to show us where our behavior needs to be forgiven. That’s humbling!! Here’s the difficult part, there is consequence for sin.
I don’t know the exact timing of, when David took Bathsheba as his own, then had her husband killed; to when Nathan came to David. But it was long enough for David and Bathsheba to have a son.
In 2 Samuel 12: 13-14 it says,
“Then David confesses to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan replied, “Yes, but the LORD has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin. Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD by doing this, your child will die.”
When sin has entered your life, and there isn’t an acknowledgment for that sin, you may think you’ve “gotten away with something.” But God has a way of exposing sin. Either by the conviction of your own heart or by someone coming to you and revealing it to you.
Either way, there are consequences for sin. When David realizes how far he had drifted from the LORD and had to lose his son because of it, his sorrow was great, but in that sorrow, he confesses what he has done, seeks forgiveness and the chance to get right with GOD.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God.”
Asking for forgiveness is seeking a cleansing from the sin that clouds the heart and mind.
“Renew a loyal spirit within me.”
True repentance is a complete turning away from sin and a dedication to the LORD is renewed.
“Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.”
Coming into the presence of the LORD is a humbling action, asking for the Holy Spirit to fill you and guide you is a very important step when your heart is repentant. We must rely on His wisdom – in everything.
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and make me willing to obey You.”
Somewhere down the line if joy has left your very being – something is wrong. It may just be that you are following the path of your own design. And it has led you to disobedience and sin. Or you are not in tune with the Holy Spirit, the presence of the LORD “seems” to be gone. The restoration of joy through the salvation only God can give you – is where true repentance lies. You can be restored, you can be renewed, God can create a new heart within you.
Each day – we rise from bed- everything is fresh and new… It’s an opportunity to:
Create
Renew
Restore
Starting off the morning with a renewing of our spirits by asking the Holy Spirit to come and fill your heart with His presence, will create in you a joy the restores the obedience to our Father and helps to guide us along His path throughout the entire day!
Lamentations 3: 23 says,
“Great is His Faithfulness; His Mercies begin afresh each morning.”
Luckily, with David’s repentance, though his consequence was losing his son, God did create, renew, and restore David by giving him another son – 2 Samuel 12: 24 – here we see the birth of Solomon!
So, yes, we sin- unfortunately it’s part of being human – we may face varying consequences of that sin. But God forgives! When our hearts are turned back to Him, He welcomes us with open arms! God wants to bless us- but He can’t look upon an unrepentant heart.
So, each morning ask God to:
CREATE
RENEW
RESTORE
Let’s watch God move in His Glory when we come to Him with clean hearts, our spirits aligned with His and our joy is evidence of our obedience to walking God’s path.
~AMEN~