"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." Psalm 51:10-12
By nature, all of our hearts are full of "evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies" (Matt. 15:19). Instead of loving the LORD and desiring to do His holy will, our thoughts, as a result of our sinful nature, are "only evil continually" (Gen. 6:5).
As Christians, who trust in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for salvation, the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts and gives us love for God and holy thoughts and desires. As the Bible says, we are "washed ... sanctified ... and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Cor. 6:11). Our "body is the temple of the Holy Ghost" (1 Cor. 6 19).
Yet in this world, we are still sinners. Like David, we need to acknowledge our sins, turn to the LORD for His grace and forgiveness, and pray that God would create "a clean heart" and "renew a right spirit" within us.
When we consider how we continue to come short and fail to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit through the Word, we deserve to be cast away from the presence of the LORD and have His Holy Spirit taken from us. How we grieve God's Spirit when we go our own way and sin rather than give heed to the admonition and warning of God's Word (cf. Eph. 4:30)! With David, we all have reason to pray, "Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me."
When we turn aside from following the Holy Spirit -- when we turn into sin and evil -- the joy which comes from being an heir of salvation and walking with the Lord is overshadowed by guilt and despair. We feel God's wrath upon us. We know that we have failed again and are deserving of His everlasting punishment (cf. Ps. 32:3-4; 51:3-5).
But, like David, we look to the LORD God for mercy, acknowledging our sins and failures to the LORD and turning to Him for pardon and forgiveness for the sake of the Son, Jesus Christ, and His innocent sufferings and death in our stead.
We pray with David in Psalm 51:1-9: "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities."
And, we also pray with David: "Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free Spirit."
Only God's Spirit can restore in us that joy of knowing that in Jesus we have forgiveness for all our sins and eternal salvation! Only the Holy Spirit can uphold us and keep us in the true and saving faith!
Let us then pray: "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." Amen.
[Devotion by Randy Moll. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.]
Religion on 08/21/2019