City Life Starter

Written by Paul Lane

The Word

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.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    so that sinners will turn back to you.
¹⁴ Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
    you who are God my Savior,
    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
¹⁵ Open my lips, Lord,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
¹⁶ You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
    you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
¹⁷ My sacrifice, O God, is^{[Or The sacrifices of God are]} a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart
    you, God, will not despise.

¹⁸ May it please you to prosper Zion,
    to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
    in burnt offerings offered whole;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Psalm 51:1-19 (NIV)

Reflection

Keep this psalm close at hand, for it is an excellent guide for sinners to find their way back to the Lord.  Perhaps that is why it is used in the standard order of worship for so many mainline denomination churches.  I remember singing “create in me a clean heart, Oh God, and renew a right spirit within me” week after week, in my Lutheran church during high school.  It wasn’t until much later that I learned that it was actually from the Psalms.

From the header we learn that this Psalm was written by King David after he had committed his worst sins: adultery and murder.  He appeals to God’s compassion when asking for forgiveness, he acknowledges his sin, and he ask to be cleansed in the most complete way possible.  He also asks that something be created within him, a clean heart.  In this he is asking to be a new person.  For if he were to remain the same person, there would be no reason to expect that his behavior would improve.  So, he is not looking to fix himself.  He believes that the fix to this problem must come from God.

After that, David explains that false gestures like burnt offerings would not be of interest to God, and that he understands that God is looking for a broken and contrite heart.  Sin is not just an issue of behavior modification; it is an issue of heart transformation.  So, a new heart condition is needed.

Finally, David looks forward to returning to a right relationship with God.  In verse 16 David points out that God does not delight in burn offerings, yet in verse 19 he tells God that he looks forward to returning to giving burnt offerings.  What seems to be a contradiction here is actually a clarification.  In verse 16, David is making clear that he is not offering a burnt offering bribe for his sins, for this is not how sins are forgiven; however, in verse 19 he is pointing to his return to a right relationship with God, where he will give offerings out of the joy of his fellowship with the Lord.  Burnt offerings do not suffice for the forgiveness of sins, but they can be useful in expressing thankfulness to the Lord.

Application

As with most Psalms, the best way to read them is to read them slowly and take a moment with each complete thought.  Meditate on what God might be saying to you.  Confess your sins and agree with the Lord as He puts things on your heart.  Let the Lord work in your heart, that He might create something new within you.

Prayer

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.

Psalm 51:10-12 (NIV)

Amen