"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." — Psalm 51:10
When King David committed his grievous transgression with Bathsheba, it laid the foundation for this great penitential Psalm. The spirit manifested here is, among other things, a major component of a true conversion experience.
Contemporary proclamation of the gospel emphasizes faith as essential to salvation, and rightly so; but there is comparatively little emphasis on repentance. When the apostle Peter recounted his experience with the Roman military officer Cornelius and his associates before the church council at Jerusalem, those present "When they heard these things… held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life [Acts 11:18]." In his second epistle he declared, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance [II Pet. 3:9]." And when the apostle Paul gave charge to the elders of the church at Ephesus he remarked, "…I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ [Acts 20:21-22]." Clearly repentance has a significant place in the appropriation of salvation and in forgiveness of sins, according to the scriptures, and it is wonderfully illustrated in this Psalm.
What our text for today teaches in particular is that true repentance involves more than simply a desire for forgiveness of a transgression. It includes a passion for righteousness. The sinning Psalmist, convicted of his transgression, cries, "Create in me a clean heart… " His desire is not merely for pardon, which can arise from essentially selfish motives, but he wants purification. There is a clear recognition of his guilt as a transgressor and awareness that he has spiritual heart trouble. He asks not for a pain killer, but for a heart transplant. He is not seeking renovation of his old heart, but the creation of a new one, which alone will suffice to meet his need.
The word of the Lord says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it [Jer. 17:9]?" The hand, the foot, the eye, the tongue— any of our members may be the instruments of sin, but it is the heart that motivates them. For example the Savior says, "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh [Luke 6:45]." When Simon the sorcerer made an outrageous request for selfish ends the apostle Peter responded, "… thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee [Acts 8:21-22]."
The truly penitent sinner not only wants a clean heart, but he cries, "… renew a right spirit within me." He wants the impartation of new motivation and direction; a sustained righteousness, not just a clean slate.
David's prayer is directed, "O God." God alone can create a new heart and empower the spirit in a new direction. Jeremiah put it this way: "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps [Jer. 10:23]." The new creation is found in and through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new [II Cor. 5:17]." That faith must rest upon a "broken and a contrite heart." (See Ps. 51:17)
For the "whole truth,"
"Pastor" Frasier
When King David committed his grievous transgression with Bathsheba, it laid the foundation for this great penitential Psalm. The spirit manifested here is, among other things, a major component of a true conversion experience.
Contemporary proclamation of the gospel emphasizes faith as essential to salvation, and rightly so; but there is comparatively little emphasis on repentance. When the apostle Peter recounted his experience with the Roman military officer Cornelius and his associates before the church council at Jerusalem, those present "When they heard these things… held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life [Acts 11:18]." In his second epistle he declared, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance [II Pet. 3:9]." And when the apostle Paul gave charge to the elders of the church at Ephesus he remarked, "…I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ [Acts 20:21-22]." Clearly repentance has a significant place in the appropriation of salvation and in forgiveness of sins, according to the scriptures, and it is wonderfully illustrated in this Psalm.
What our text for today teaches in particular is that true repentance involves more than simply a desire for forgiveness of a transgression. It includes a passion for righteousness. The sinning Psalmist, convicted of his transgression, cries, "Create in me a clean heart… " His desire is not merely for pardon, which can arise from essentially selfish motives, but he wants purification. There is a clear recognition of his guilt as a transgressor and awareness that he has spiritual heart trouble. He asks not for a pain killer, but for a heart transplant. He is not seeking renovation of his old heart, but the creation of a new one, which alone will suffice to meet his need.
The word of the Lord says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it [Jer. 17:9]?" The hand, the foot, the eye, the tongue— any of our members may be the instruments of sin, but it is the heart that motivates them. For example the Savior says, "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh [Luke 6:45]." When Simon the sorcerer made an outrageous request for selfish ends the apostle Peter responded, "… thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee [Acts 8:21-22]."
The truly penitent sinner not only wants a clean heart, but he cries, "… renew a right spirit within me." He wants the impartation of new motivation and direction; a sustained righteousness, not just a clean slate.
David's prayer is directed, "O God." God alone can create a new heart and empower the spirit in a new direction. Jeremiah put it this way: "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps [Jer. 10:23]." The new creation is found in and through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new [II Cor. 5:17]." That faith must rest upon a "broken and a contrite heart." (See Ps. 51:17)
"It takes God to be godly." — Maj. Ian Thomas
For the "whole truth,"
"Pastor" Frasier
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