A Clean Heart Should Bring Rejoicing.
It is still summertime and there are parts of the country that have had more than their share of rain. Our prayers go up to heaven asking that God will be with all those that are suffering, whatever their circumstances are. David the Psalmist writes? “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7).
David had committed a great sin that resulted his being deceitful and the loss of life as a good man paid for David’s multiple sins with his life.
You can almost hear the lament of David as he wrestled with the condition of his heart and his desire to be loved by God. And herein lines part of the problem. God does not dislike or hate the sinner, but despises the sin that men commit. If God truly hated the sinner, then there would be no need for Jesus to tell Nicodemus the Pharisee during the Pharisee’s midnight interview with Jesus that “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not parish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
A God that hates sinners would then let the sinners die, but instead, God shows us his great love by having Jesus suffer and die in our place.
So David pleads with God, to wash him with hyssop and then wash me again so that I will be whiter than snow. David continues by pleading with God: “Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities (Psalm 51:7-9)
Then comes one of the most beautiful appeals in all of Scripture. “Create in me a clean heart of God, and Renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me by Your Generous Spirit” (Psalm 51:10-12)
My friends, like David we have all fallen short of God’s glory. Within our heart is the still small voice that explains how we have fallen short of His glory and points us ever back to the sustainer of life that loves each sinner but hates sin.
David when he asked for forgiveness, felt assured he had been forgiven and so the nature of his prayer changes in verse 13: “Then I will teach transgressor Your way, And sinners shall be converted to You.
As we enter this weekend, may I ask when was the last time we experienced the joy of God’s assurances that our sins are forgiven. If we have this assurance, then why are we not teaching others what God has done for us. For if we are truly assured that God has forgiven me, then we may ask that God will deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud for Your righteousness. O Lord open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise.”
God is delighted when we understand the forgiveness He has freely given and what bring joy to his heart is when we rejoice and praise God for the wonderful gift we have received, and like David, our desire should then be to tell others of God’s great love, for after all; “God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not parish but have everlasting life.”
If this is what we believe, then we should be unable to keep still.
Amen
The Bible In Your Hand 