Spiritual Renewal Psalm 51:10-17. When you have wandered away from God. How can you return to loving Him wholeheartedly?
This is a question David faced. When the prophet Nathan exposed the king’s sin. Tradition holds that David composed Psalm 51 after recognizing his guilt. Let’s look at what this psalm reveals about renewing our devotion to God. Read Psalm 51:10-17. 1.Ask the Lord to cleanse your heart & renew your spirit Psalms 51:10-12 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. What sin weighed heavily on David? 2 Samuel 12:7-9 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; And I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Read the psalmist’s request in Psalm 51:10. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Here, David asked God for a spirit of righteousness & integrity as opposed to one of hypocrisy and deceit. Why is it that only the Lord can create a clean heart in us? Before Christ’s death & resurrection. The Holy Spirit rested on people only temporarily according to Ps. 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. David had seen the Spirit depart from King Saul in 1 Samuel 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. Today, the Spirit of God may be grieved by sin according to Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God,whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. It may even withdraw to the point where we do not sense His presence or communication with us. In spite of the fact that we don’t always sense the Spirit’s presence. Then what assurance do we have that He is always with us as followers of Christ? See Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said,I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. What should we do upon realizing that we have sinned?
See 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. David wrote, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation” Psalms 51:12 Why do you think a lifestyle of sin robs us of the joy of our salvation?
2.Anticipate experiencing the Lord’s goodness & mercy Psalms 51:13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. What did David feel would be the result if God answered his cry? Verse 13 and sinners shall be converted unto thee. John Gill’s commentary says that this verse seemingly refers to God’s people. Who have wandered from His ways. Rather than to non-believers who need conversion. The sense here is that because David was pardoned. He would teach others how merciful & gracious the Lord is. What does Isaiah 55:7 reveal about how God responds to repentant sinners? “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Does your perception of the Lord’s character line up. With the description given in Isaiah? If you have a hard time believing it, why do you think that is?
3.Request that God cancel the consequences of your sin Psalms 51:14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. Here we see that David prayed, “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation.” Although he was a warrior, the king didn’t ask forgiveness for acts against enemy troops. Instead, he requested deliverance from capital punishment in his family. Nathan had declared that David ’s family would suffer the consequences. Of David’s murder that he arranged See 2 Samuel 12:10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. When God doesn’t spare us from the consequences of sin. What purpose(s) do they serve? David said that if God would forgive him, he would “joyfully sing of [His] righteousness” Verse 14 and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. Why does experiencing forgiveness awaken our desire to praise the Lord? When you think about your sins. Are there certain ones that make you particularly grateful for God’s forgiveness? 4.Praise the Lord & rejoice in His goodness Psalms 51:15-17 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. In the final verses of this passage, David asked God to “open his lips” Verse 15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. He felt that the guilt of sin had sealed his mouth. So that he could not sing praises of the Lord as he once did.
The Old Testament mode of worship called for sacrifices & burnt offerings. They are to symbolize cleansing from sin. However, the law did not provide a sacrifice for murder or adultery. That may be one reason why the psalm says, Psalms 51:16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
However, there are other clues that God desired more than ritual sacrifices. In each passage below. What does Scripture say is more important to the Lord than sacrifice? 1 Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. Hosea 6:6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. Psalms 69:30-31 I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. Why do you think the Lord values these things more than religious sacrifice? What sacrifice pleases God, according to this psalm? Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. How does the Lord respond to a broken and humble heart? See Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; Isaiah 66:1-2 Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. What does this indicate about the character of our God? Why do you think God considers a broken and humble heart a pleasing sacrifice? In Closing: Take time to assess the state of your heart. Are you broken & humble before God? If a spirit of pride has crept in. You need to ask the Lord to renew your spirit. He will graciously pardon you & restore the joy of your salvation.
Prayer: Father, I am so weak sometimes. I stray from close fellowship with You. Then make foolish, sinful choices. Thank You for willingly forgiving my transgressions. Keep me close by Your side, & help me keep short accounts with You. Amen. The altar is now open for business. As the music plays please come. Salvation, join, or just to spend time with the Lord. As the Bible says in Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (A promise from the Lord to all of us) Please come now!
