week of 07/14/11 4th recorded HighQuest Psalm 51:1-19

The passage I read was Psalm 51:1-19

You can find that passage here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+51%3A1-19&version=NIV

The verse that most stood out to me:

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

As I reflect:

This is the psalm David wrote after having committed adultery with Bathsheba. I wonder if we have ever felt this way and if we have been so honest and open with God following our own sins.

He requests mercy following his sin against God. I also request mercy following my sin against God. I noticed though that he goes on to define God in his “unfailing love” and according to his “great compassion”. I think about perhaps us sinning against our fathers here on earth and knowing that when he gets home from work, we will reap what we sowed. And so when he comes in the door and mom says, “don’t you have something to tell your father?”, we begin in a most humble approach to compliment his merciful nature, “well Father, yes I have made a grave error today and would like to bring it to your most merciful attention knowing that you are a dad who is deeply compassionate and forgiving, I’ll not hide it from you.” Now, I’m not saying that David was trying to deceive God. I simply found it interesting that when it comes to confessing his own sin, he seems to only comment on the merciful side of God and not the side that includes wrath or accountability. David doesn’t fear God’s wrath but rather relates to God’s love. I think we all as followers and family members along with David can take from his example that we not only have this great responsibility to confess to our God, but also a great pleasure to come before Him knowing that we are deeply love by him and have no need to fear His wrath as we are saved already by His grace. None the less, we fall on our knees and confess asking him to “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”

David continues in his heart felt confession before God in verse 3- 6 as he states clearly that he is in fact a sinner, born into a sinful nature from the beginning and yet meant for so much more. I too have felt this when before God. I have felt as though everything I have done from birth to that moment was sinful and misaligned with God’s purpose for my life. I have felt even that my sin would separate me from God in a way that would cause Him to not want to hear from me anymore. I think it’s important to state here that that feeling isn’t of God. God wants us to come to him even when we have sinned and may feel far from him. He wants us to confess, and repent. He wants to hear from us. David knew this and didn’t let his sin keep him from approaching God. David longed to feel close to God again as our sin does in fact allow us to feel the gap it creates between us and creator. He says, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” What a beautiful prayer that we too should pray this way with deep longing for the presence of the Holy Spirit and true cleansing and forgiveness for our sins. David says that following his forgiveness and cleansing he would then teach other transgressors God’s ways so that they too would turn from their sins and to God.

As he continues on in verse 14, he request of God to deliver him from the guilt of his sin. This too, we can relate to. In a walk with Christ guilt can be the tool of the devil. The devil tries his hardest to get us to sin, and when he succeeds because our flesh is week, we have a choice to repent and turn from that sin, or to feel sorry for ourselves. The devil will use guilt to keep you from approaching God for forgiveness and to keep you from finding joy in your walk again. David is not ignorant to the dynamic at play here as he request deliverance from this game plan of satan’s. We likewise when feeling guilty for something should not only bring it to the Lord, but also request a renewed spirit that we not feel the weight of guilt that Jesus has already died to remove from our shoulders. Yes, we are guilty. No, we don’t have to carry that load anymore.

In the final portion of this passage, David makes a very realistic revolutionary statement. And many religions have missed this point. Many even of my own lifestyle’s “label” have missed out on this old testament teaching. He says, “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. “ The dynamic being shared here from David’s heart is one that many today still haven’t grasped. God wants all of who we are… Not all of what we can outwardly give. He doesn’t want your possessions, money, pets, or outward signs of faithfulness until he first has your inner person fully broken before Him. He wants your heart of hearts to first be for Him. This is the greatest sacrifice you can give to God, that you first lay down your life in His hands. That you come before a God that delights in your offering of yourself and all that you are for His will. Why would He want your outwards signs of obedience if He had not first a relationship with you? Why would He want your services when your heart is so far from Him. First, let’s focus on the heart of the matter and then build a relationship from that place outward. As that relationship builds, then come the outward signs of that walk of faith.

For me, I can take from my reflection today that It is good to know what the status of our heart is. It is bad to let it keep you from going to God for correction. The joy of our salvation can be so quickly restored if we only will fall on our knees with a broken spirit and contrite heart before God. Let Him build us up.

My response to the Lord:

God, may I never sin against you again. But should I fail in anyway in my walk with you, may I quickly be convicted by your Holy Spirit at work in my conscience and may I be brought to my knees before you with a contrite heart and broken. My Father, I know you are loving and forgiving and so merciful to me. May I not be convinced otherwise by the enemy when I do fail you. May the enemies traps be sprung before I step into them and may guilt never keep me from approaching your throne and bowing at your feet to repent of my sin. Lord, guide me always shining a light unto my path. In Jesus’ name. Amen.