Create for me a pure heart, O God! Renew a resolute spirit within me! – Psalms 51:10
1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.
2 Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.
3 For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.
4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.
7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me – now let me rejoice.
9 Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
11 Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.
16 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
One of the most precious possessions in life is a pure heart. A remarkable, complementary spiritual effect is manifested when the heart is clean and pure. People feel loved, wanted, and secure. There are no hidden agendas or intentionality. The Father uses us as a channel to express Himself and accomplish His purpose.
A Pure Heart (Hillsong)
A pure heart, that’s what I long for
A heart that follows, hard after Thee
A pure heart, that’s what I long for
A heart that follows, hard after Thee
A heart that hides Your word
So that sin will not come in
A heart that’s undivided
But one You rule and reign
A heart that beats compassion
That pleases You my Lord
A sweet aroma of worship
That rises to Your throne
After Nathan confronted David, he was deeply grieved by his sin. Rather than turning away from the Father, he ran towards Him and prayed his heart out. He was forgiven and restored. His walk with the Father continued in Psalm 51 was one of the most beautiful outcomes. When any child of the King does the same, our sins will be evaporated like the morning mist (Isaiah 44:22). We will know the Father and experience His presence in ever-growing delightful ways. The Father extends His remarkable grace and lovingkindness to all who come to Him.
REFLECT & PRAY
“Although we can never lose our salvation once we genuinely come to Christ by faith, we can lose the joy of our salvation through our sin. Only through confession and reliance on His Spirit can we return to joy” (Stanley).
Dear Father how my heart aches knowing that I have caused sadness to the heart of the One I love the most. The guilt and shame would crush me had You not removed them from me. Thank you, Abba!
INSIGHT
David is a broken man! His heart is broken because David has hurt the heart of his King, the Father God, his closest, dearest companion. Sin grieves God. The Father is kind, loving, and forgiving. He is approachable and reaches out his loving arms to all children of the King. He seeks cleansing and purification. He seeks restoration and forgiveness.
Psalms 51:1-4
1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins.
2 Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.
3 For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.
4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.
Most people think that when the children of the King sin, God gets mad. Instead, the Father becomes sad. The Father seeks to restore and heal broken relationships. David knew this more than most people ever will. How grievous it is to hurt the heart of someone who loves you deeply. But that is precisely what David did. Ultimately, all sin is against the loving heart of our heavenly Father God.
David has been sorely convicted and experienced great regret and shame over his overt sin and attempt to cover it up. But he is not merely sorry for what he has done. He has truly and sincerely repented. He has done a complete 180.
Psalms 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
He is determined for the rest of his life never to fail his best friend and all of the world, the Father.
The heart is pictured as the hub of David’s motives and moral character. Having grievously sinned, he desires to be free from moral impurity. He wants a clean, clear, undivided, unmixed heart, or as we might say in modern terms, laser-focused on purity. He desires his spirit to be reliable, steadfast, unshakable and marked by firm resolution and determination.
He walked away from the Father in rebellion. Now he has turned and walked back. He wants to experience the sheer exhilaration and joy of the presence of God and his salvation again.
Psalms 51:11-12
11 Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.
David throws himself upon the mercy of his loving Father. He recognizes that there is nothing he can do to make things right. Only the Father can make things right. Human effort and sacrifices don’t cut it when you break someone’s heart. The law of Moses stipulated no gift for either willful sins such as adultery or murder. Restoration and forgiveness are only possible through those whose hearts have been bruised and wounded. David is well aware of this. All David has to offer the Father is a broken spirit, a broken and repentant heart.
Psalms 51:16-17
16 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
“God desires no sacrifice from David, else he would give it. All he has to offer is a broken and a contrite heart. And this God will not despise because it is precisely the kind of heart that He can bless and forgive, giving it a new life and beauty.”
“Someone has advised: ‘Submit your life to God. He can do more with it than you can.’ This is what David had to do. David the sinner! David the murderer!” (Tesh and Zorn).
David shows us the way to get back into a right relationship with God when we have sinned willfully, deliberately, and grievously. He knows and understands the heart of the Father God.
Isaiah 44:22 I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.”
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
© Dr. H 2023
Dr H Reflections 