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. … The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. (Psalm 51:10-12, 17 KJV)
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Today, I would like to continue pondering Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent, in our journey to the celebration of Easter—what Jesus did for us in His suffering, death, and resurrection. Most of what follows is an edited and slightly abridged version of a sermon I developed in 2008. To read the other posts in this series please click here: “Ash Wednesday”, “Rend Your Hearts: The Journey Continues”, and “Rend Your Hearts: The Lenten Journey Continues”.
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From our earlier consideration (see links above) of rending our hearts before God and being genuinely repentant for our sins; we know that we can experience forgiveness and cleansing from God. Yes, all of our sins are forgiven through Jesus’ work on the cross. However, that does not mean that we will not end up facing the consequences of our sinful actions and/or behaviors.
The few verses of Psalm 51 that I shared above come from a penitential psalm composed by King David, after the prophet Nathan confronted him regarding his sins with Bathsheba and her husband, Uriah.
David had consequences of his sin with Bathsheba—not only did he commit adultery, he also had her husband killed in battle. The son he had from that affair died as an infant, which caused David great grief. Moreover, David’s family was in chaos of one form or another for the rest of his life.
May we learn from King David what it means to be truly sorry for our actions! Psalm 51 is rich in imagery regarding this. Psalm 51 is a penitential psalm, a prayer of cleansing and forgiveness—a necessary confession after his sin with Bathsheba. If you take the time to read Psalm 51 in its entirety, there is sadness and lament in the opening, which turns to joy in the later verses. Sadness over sins committed; joy from being renewed and restored to favor through confession.
Notice something else about what God desires in this psalm? God does not desire our sacrifices; He requires a broken spirit and a broken and a contrite heart as we read in Psalm 51:17—“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” Sacrifices are meaningless, if our heart is not in correct alignment—it is nothing more than going through the motions. Repentance really is not there. God desires our loyalty and thanksgiving. May we all be as humble and joyful as David in our relationship with God! Humility makes a difference.
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Create in me a clean heart…create in me a clean heart oh God. This is the great King David’s heart cry after he was confronted and rebuked by Nathan, the prophet, regarding his affair with Bathsheba (which you can read about in 2 Samuel 11). We, too, should cry out to God, from the depths of our heart and soul the very same words. Create in me a clean heart…create in me a clean heart oh God. And let us add to that do not take your Holy Spirit from me and restore to me the joy of my salvation. Here is a question for you that must be answered individually: can we truly say from our hearts to God: “create in me a clean heart and restore unto me the joy of my salvation and take not your Holy Spirit from me”?
The Lenten season is a good time to take stock of our lives and to see where we stand with God. Let us consider the sins that we need to confess to God, in the privacy of our own thoughts and mind. Like King David may we truly humble ourselves—opening ourselves up to God—the one who created us and knows us better than we know ourselves! We might as well be honest; God already knows what we have done. What better time then now to admit to God (and to ourselves) the things we need to confess, to get rid of, and to be cleansed of than during Lent?
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I believe that we will be happier and healthier if we allow God passage into our hearts and to cleanse us from unrighteousness. I believe that God longs to give us new, clean, fresh hearts—hearts that will be for Him and Him alone. All it takes, as we see in our Scripture from Psalm 51 and in Joel 2:12-13 is humbly returning to God and rending our hearts—allowing Him to see what is inside.
Yes, the interior of our hearts and lives may be a total mess—fetid, foul, smelly, dirty, messy, and in total chaos. We may be embarrassed to open the door to God just enough to see His face; fearing that He may put His foot in and come in on us against our will. Rest assured, God will not come in without our inviting Him. He is a gentleman; therefore, He will wait until He is invited. God will not force His way into our lives. He is persistent, though, and loves us all far too much to leave us to our own devices without trying to do something. God can handle our fetid, foul, smelly, dirty, and chaotic lives and make something beautiful out of it, if we approach Him with a soft, humble, and contrite heart. After all, look at what He did for David, the great king of the Israelites. He can and will change us! We will never, ever be the same again!
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| From https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2014/11/19/17/03/heart-538009_960_720.jpg |
Trust God—repent of your sins and be wholly cleansed. Allowing the Holy Spirit to convict you of your sins is part of the process of preparing for Easter.
Rend your heart; let God examine it. Confess your sins before God and accept His wonderful forgiveness and mercy. Remember that sin weighs us down; confession of sin frees us and lightens the weight that bogs us down. There is no need to be depressed about what we have messed up; it is time to experience the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus’ forgiveness.
Please take some time and deeply listen to this worship song preformed by Keith Green. Let the words sink deeply into your heart and spirit. Sing them from your heart, not your mind. Meditate upon the words.
What have you learned through rending your heart before God?
Please join with me in prayer:
Loving Lord, Thank You for how willingly You create a clean heart within us; all we have to do is humbly ask You to cleanse us. We know that from dust we came and to dust we will return. Fill us with the desire to crave nothing more than a clean heart and your presence. Direct our focus each day to search our hearts and confess our sins and receive the forgiveness You so richly provide. Help us to see sin from Your perspective, not ours. Thank You for Your forgiveness and the changes that it affects in us. Thank You for the renewing and refreshing presence of Your Holy Spirit within us. Create in us a clean heart—a heart fully and totally devoted to You. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.
From My Heart to Yours,
Kim
Note: Some ideas, thoughts, and concepts are from a variety of
resources including the Cokesbury commentary volume that includes Joel and from
www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=66286
This is one of my favorite psalms, Kim, and I love how you placed it in the context of King David's sinning and seeking forgiveness. It's also important to remember that we do often reap the consequences of those sins later on down the road even though we are forgiven them. You gave us a lot to think about and pray about here today.
ReplyDeleteLove and blessings!
Martha, Psalm 51 is one favorite of mine, as well. It seems to help knowing the background of the psalms to really appreciate what the psalmist is writing about. It's hard to look at the reality that many of our sins, even the forgiven ones, will have consequences. It's a goal of mine in my ministry (preaching, teaching, writing/blogging) to give people a lot to think and pray about afterwards.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Hi Kim! Like Martha, this is one of my favorites. I think we all can relate to feeling like we've goofed up, messed up, crossed the line. And that's just today. To know that David goes from such a terrible place to being 'a man after my own heart' gives me such hope!
ReplyDeleteI have to let God into my mess, no matter how awful I feel about it. I need it gone!
Weekend blessings Kim. Your faith always inspires.
Ceil
Hi Ceil! It appears that great minds think alike when it comes to Psalm 51! Yes, we have amazing hope, because we have a God who loves us so much and wants only the best for His children. David is a great example of what it means to fail, to stumble yet seek God's forgiveness and continue walking with Him. It's not easy to let God into our messes; it is important though, if we want to "get better".
DeleteIt's humbling to know that my faith inspires.
Blessings on this week, Ceil.
Kim
So beautiful. Thank you. I was loving your thoughts about Psalm 51 already, and then when you included "Create in Me A Clean Heart" by Keith Green, I just about lost it. Keith Green was a most favorite singer of my son Matthew, whose birthday is tomorrow, and who also is in heaven since May of 2014. So seeing and hearing this song truly touched my heart. Thank you for touching my heart in a beautiful way today.
ReplyDeletePam, thank you for stopping by and commenting. I'm so sorry for the loss of your son. Birthday celebrations in heaven must be amazing. I'm thankful that I was able to touch your heart in a beautiful way. Scripture and songs based on the Scriptures can be so meaningful and touch us in ways that nothing else can.
DeleteBlessings!