“Truth for
Truckers” *March 21, 2014* Psalm 51 “Create in me a clean heart O God”
This Psalm of Penitence is the most familiar
of the Penitent Psalms because it deals with king David’s repentance after his
great sins of murder and adultery were committed against Urijah the Hittite and
his wife Bathsheeba. This whole episode is thoroughly discussed in II Samuel
and the I Kings and in brief in the title notes of this Psalm. ‘Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy
loving-kindness: according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my
transgression.’(v.1) The remainder of the Psalm pivots on this initial
request, for without the mercy of God there would be no forgiveness or
elimination of sin. Yes, without the Blood of Jesus, God through His grace
could not shed forth His great love for man and through His eternal mercy
forgive and ‘Blot out’ our sin.
But, praise His holy name, Jesus did in
fact shed His Blood, and make atonement for the sin of mankind, paying the
penalty that a holy and just God required, so that He could be just and the
justifier of the sinful person who believes in Jesus! (Romans 3:26). And,
David, knowing the God of eternal mercy, could cry out in repentance and ask
Him to cleanse him from sin and bestow the blessings of His presence as the
result. These two actions dominate the Psalm. On eight occasions David asks for
God to deal with his sin, and on eight additional occasions he asks for the
power of God’s presence so that he could be able to, once again, accomplish
God’s will in his life.
These requests continue in (v.1) ‘Blot out my transgressions’. David knew
that his God had the power to remove the effects of his rebellion and that was
the purpose of this pointed request. Then he asked God to ‘Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity’. Cleansing from perversion
is the emphasis here with David understanding the type of sinful thinking that caused
him to fall into this wickedness. The next appeal ‘Cleanse me from my sin’ focuses on the need for being purified from
the effects of the offense. Dealing with the offense and its effects is his
concern and he knows that God is able ‘To
do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power
which works within us’. (Ephesians 3:20)
In (v.3-6) David makes a thorough
confession indicating against Who the sin was committed, the source of the sin
nature, and God’s desire for truth within him, knowing this is the antidote for
all believers for overcoming sin. This short phrase ‘Thou desires truth in the inward parts’ is filled with meaning
encompassing the Bible doctrine of memory and meditation of Scripture which are
the means to victory over indwelling sin. After these four verses on
confession, he immediately returns to his series of requests dealing with
cleansing from sin. The next request ‘Purge
me with hyssop, and I shall be clean’ (v.7a) indicates the application of
sacrificial animal blood with the plant, hyssop, used in cleansing leprosy, a
type of sin, during the cleansing ritual performed in Leviticus 14.
Then, he asks God to ‘Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow’.(v.7b)
The deep stain of sin upon his heart must have driven him to use this
descriptive word picture knowing that God alone could remove this horrible
imperfection from his soul. ‘Hide Thy
face from my sins’ (v.9a) demonstrates his understanding of God’s holiness
for He can not be in the presence of sin, therefore, David’s request concerns
his desire for God’s reaction to keep Him from seeing these acts of
unfaithfulness. He repeats the words ‘Blot
out’ but now attaches them to ‘Mine
iniquities’ (v.9b) which deals with the perversion of attitude toward the
commission of sin. This progression in the offense shows how the mind is
corrupted and perverted laying the groundwork for the actual act or acts of sin
to be committed.
The final plea David makes has to do with the
murder of Uriah the Hittite in II Samuel 11:15 and confronted by Nathan the
prophet in II Samuel 12:9. ‘Deliver me
from blood-guiltiness, O God.’(v.14a) David knows he needs God to deal with
this horrible sin of murder, which in fact is the greater of the two sins
committed in this affair. However, God is able to forgive the most heinous of
sins as shown by David’s great repentance and return to God’s favor in the
following days of his life. These eight thorough heart- rending pleas of David
provide us with guidance when we approach the throne of grace, regardless of
the depth of our sin.
But the good news this Psalm brings are
the eight requests David makes of God for renewed service which occurs on the
other side of forgiveness. The first of these focused and positive pleas is found
in (v.8) ‘Make me to hear joy and
gladness; that the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice.’ David
recognizes his crippled spiritual condition not unlike the crippling that must
occur when the shepherd breaks the leg of a wayward sheep in order to keep them
in the fold so that they will not lose their life to a predator when they stray
from the protection of the shepherd. This is the reference here as David a
veteran shepherd experiences the crippling stroke of a loving God in the same
manner as he the wayward saint must now come under the healing protection of
the Master. David knows that this is the only avenue to renewed joy and
gladness that comes in the wake of repentance.
Then, he appeals to God to ‘Create in me a clean heart O God’ (v.10a)
knowing that the next step to service for his God depends on purity of heart.
The Lord Jesus Christ said: ‘Now ye are
clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you’ (John 15:3). David
understood the cleansing power of the Word of God and it’s ability to bring
victory over sin. ‘Wherewithal shall a
young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy Word...Thy
Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee. (Psalm 119:9, 11)
The third request: ‘Renew a right spirit within me’ (v.10b) shows the need for God’s
supernatural working within David’s spirit. There must be a renewal of
righteousness from within spoken of in Ephesians 4:23, 24 ‘And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new
man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.’ This
renewal emphasizes a renovation from within performed by the supernatural
working of the Holy Spirit through the indwelling Word of God producing the
miracle working power of faith which is the operating power of God. His action
in our lives is energized by our faith! ‘Cast
me not away from Thy presence’ (v.11a) reveals David’s awareness of his
need to be in the presence of God. But, he is totally dependent upon the LORD
to make it happen, here again, the operator is faith which is dependent on the
Word of God, for ‘Faith comes by hearing
and hearing by the Word of God’ (Romans 10:17)
The next request David makes ‘Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me’ (v.11b)
shows David’s recognition of the power of the fullness and presence of the Holy
Spirit in order for him to serve the LORD. According to I Samuel6:13 ‘The Spirit of the LORD came upon David from
that day forward’ which was after Samuel anointed him. Therefore, David experienced the blessing of
the presence of the Holy Spirit much like the New Testament believer is indwelt
by the Holy Spirit upon being saved. Therefore, he requested for the continued
presence of the Holy Spirit’s here in Psalm 51:11 which he enjoyed from the day
he was anointed, but lost when he sinned against God.
Next, he asked God to ‘Restore unto me the joy of my salvation’
(v.12a) which he also lost due to his sin. The absence of the Holy Spirit
means the absence of love, joy, peace, longsuffering...and David’s loss of joy
and his dependence on the LORD to supply it shows the working of the Spirit in
his heart. Another loss when sin enters the life of the believer is the freedom
and liberty we have through the Spirit: ‘Uphold
me with Thy free Spirit’ (v.12b) indicates David was lacking this same gift
of the Holy Spirit which provides the ability to communicate freely with others
concerning the Gospel. (v.13) verifies this fact as ‘Teaching transgressors....sinners shall be converted’ are the
direct result of receiving freedom and liberty from the Holy Spirit. David is
eager to continue his ministry to those who are without the LORD.
And
finally, the eighth positive request shows his complete dependence on the Lord
even in worship: ‘O Lord, open Thou my
lips; and my mouth shall show forth Thy praise’ (v.15). David fully realizes that true worship must
be accomplished in Spirit and in Truth and therefore he asks the Lord to supply
the Spirit that he might praise God with the power of the Holy Spirit and
accomplish true worship for His God!
The remaining four verses of this
priceless Psalm describe God’s desire for worship: ‘For Thou desire not sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou delight not
in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and
contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.’ (v.16, 17). These spiritual
sacrifices mirror the heart condition of David at this very point in time. He
was fully repentant, his heart and spirit were broken over his sin, he was
fully contrite in his spirit and therefore was offering the spiritual
sacrifices which are the very sacrifices God always has desired.
In (v.18, 19) David brings this Powerful Psalm
of Penitence to a conclusion by appealing to God twice on behalf of the city of
Jerusalem in his day: ‘Do good in Thy
good pleasure unto Zion: build Thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then thou shall be
pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole
burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon Thy altar’ and
referring to the long instituted rituals of animal sacrifice which served to
cover sin in the Old Testament and not eliminate it as the Blood of The Lord
Jesus Christ accomplished in the New Testament. It is significant that David
realized the spiritual sacrifices of heart repentance for dealing with his sin
and is a direct foreshadowing of the good things to come in Christ!
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