Clean Up My Heart God!
When we say the church is a hospital for sinners, not a mausoleum for saints, this is one of the passages that confirms this saying. David, who God says was a man after God's heart, and the greatest king of Israel, still had to battle his sinful nature. And when he committed adultery with Bathsheba, another man's wife, he definitely had lost the battle.
But today we see the depth of his confession before God. Importantly he says, "against you and you only have I sinned and done what is evil in my heart". Though David's sin had far reaching consequences, fundamentally he has sinned against his Father in heaven. And in the beginning of the psalm he pleas for God's mercy and asks God to "blot out all his transgressions." Sin leaves a stain on us, and it is God who cleans us. David says "wash away my inquity and cleanse me from my sin."
My favorite part of the psalm is when David prays, "Create in me a pure heart in me, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of my salvation, and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me." David knows not only does he need forgiveness, but he is going to need a new and clean heart, which only God can grant him. He is looking for transformation of his heart, and a willing spirit so that he might not fall into this type of sin again. He realizes he is powerless over sin and it has made his life unmanageable. And he realizes the only power that can stem this tide, comes from God alone.
During Lent one of the themes is confession. Like David we have an unclean heart. We often confess in the Lutheran church, "I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed. By what I have done and by what I have left undone." Can you pray the prayer with David, "create in me a clean heart"? Where did you need to be honest with God today. David said his sin took away the joy of his salvation and sapped his spirit. God doesn't want us to live our lives with this weighed down guilt. Confess your sin today! Allow God do create in you a clean heart and a willing spirit. God has given you His Holy Spirit so that you might not sin against Him.
Psalm 51
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
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.
But today we see the depth of his confession before God. Importantly he says, "against you and you only have I sinned and done what is evil in my heart". Though David's sin had far reaching consequences, fundamentally he has sinned against his Father in heaven. And in the beginning of the psalm he pleas for God's mercy and asks God to "blot out all his transgressions." Sin leaves a stain on us, and it is God who cleans us. David says "wash away my inquity and cleanse me from my sin."
My favorite part of the psalm is when David prays, "Create in me a pure heart in me, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of my salvation, and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me." David knows not only does he need forgiveness, but he is going to need a new and clean heart, which only God can grant him. He is looking for transformation of his heart, and a willing spirit so that he might not fall into this type of sin again. He realizes he is powerless over sin and it has made his life unmanageable. And he realizes the only power that can stem this tide, comes from God alone.
During Lent one of the themes is confession. Like David we have an unclean heart. We often confess in the Lutheran church, "I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed. By what I have done and by what I have left undone." Can you pray the prayer with David, "create in me a clean heart"? Where did you need to be honest with God today. David said his sin took away the joy of his salvation and sapped his spirit. God doesn't want us to live our lives with this weighed down guilt. Confess your sin today! Allow God do create in you a clean heart and a willing spirit. God has given you His Holy Spirit so that you might not sin against Him.
Psalm 51
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
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.
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