Preacherwin’s Weblog

“Let me hear jubilation and joy,

Let the bones that you have crushed rejoice!”

(Psalm 51:10 {Psalm 51:8 in English Bibles})

Just as forgiveness can only come from the Lord, so too does restoration.  True joy cannot be had apart from God, because true joy is something that can only be experienced in relationship with God.  We may chase after many things that bring us pleasure, but it is only God who can bring us lasting joy, and oh, how our sin deprives us of such joy.  Sin is that which drives a wedge in the relationship we have with God, yet oh, how glorious our God is, in restoring that joy as he forgives our sins.

Also, beloved, do not miss what David is showing us in this verse—it is the bones that “you (speaking of God) have crushed.”  So often when we think of the horrid things that happen to us, we immediately blame the devil and his mischief, and there is no question that the devil is at work in this world.  Yet, never forget that our God is sovereign even over the devil and his actions and our God often uses the machinations of the devil to bring about his good pleasure.  It is God who brings about all things, both great and small, good and ill (Isaiah 45:7) either though his direct action or through his permissive will, and it is God who breaks us when we persist in sin, to bring us back to himself.  Yet, even the bones that have been broken and crushed may be restored to rejoicing in repentance.

Beloved, sometimes we get so lost in the rule and instruction of scripture that sometimes we can miss the incredible joy that can be found in Jesus Christ.  Yet, note that joy in Christ can only be had if it is done in submission to Jesus’ lordship.  Loved ones, seek to repent for the sins of your life, but in that repentance, pray that God would restore to you the joy that comes from a close relationship with him.  The closer you walk to your beloved, the easier it is to stroll hand in hand.

“Then you will delight in sacrifices of righteousness—

a burnt offering, even a whole one;

then bulls will go up upon your altar.”

(Psalm 51:21 {Psalm 51:19 in English Bibles})

“Then,” David begins, pointing back to the verse that stands just before it—then, in light of the goodness of God as it is expressed to Israel, then, David suggests, the people will respond in righteousness—not only with proper sacrifices on the altar, but in faithful living.  As David stated above—apart from faith and righteousness and a heart that is broken and supple in God’s hand, sacrifices are of no value to the individual.  And note how I translated the first clause of this verse.  Most of our major translations translate it as “right sacrifices” (ESV, NRSV, NASB, NIV), which implies nothing more than a proper sacrifice of animals on God’s altar.  Yet, the Hebrew literally reads, “sacrifices of rightousness”—righteousness being a noun and not an adjective—and should be translated as such (KJV).  David is not reflecting on the proper sacrifice of animals on the altar—that would contradict what he wrote in verses 15-17 (in the English numbering), David is using parallelism to connect the personal righteousness and holiness of God’s people to burnt sacrifices that are raised to heaven. 

There is also a note that must be said about the sacrifice of bulls.  In the ancient tabernacle and temple worship, many different animals were brought as sacrifice, and the kind of sacrifice that was to be given determined the animals that were to be brought.  One important aspect of the sacrifice of bulls is that they were used as part of the peace offering (Numbers 7:88; 15:8).  Thus, in the context of this psalm, a psalm of repentance where David is seeking to be restored to peace with God, a more appropriate allusion could not have been made.  At the same time, there is a stern warning set before us in that peace with God requires more than just the slaughter of bulls, but it demands righteousness on the part of the believer.

Oh, how we tend to neglect this important teaching as we seek God’s forgiveness for our sins.  How often do we simply apologize to God and then go right back to the sin that has been a part of our lives?  How often do we take for granted the promise of forgiveness that God gives us in His word?  How often do we live carelessly, neglecting the terrible price that Christ paid on our behalf as a result of sin?  How often do we go through the motions without backing up our prayers with righteous living?  How often do we seek God’s help in seeking righteousness?  We could go on, yet, beloved, remember these words of David and be reminded that without righteousness in living, sacrifices will avail you nothing.

Gracious God, my heart renew,

Make my spirit right and true;

Cast me not away from thee,

Let thy Spirit dwell in me;

Thy salvation’s joy impart,

Steadfast make my willing heart.

-from the Psalter of 1912

“Do well, by your grace, in Zion,

you shall build the walls of Jerusalem.”

(Psalm 51:20 {Psalm 51:18 in English Bibles})

As David begins to close this prayer, the focus shifts from his personal guilt and needs to the needs of God’s people.  While David, as king of Israel, does have a responsibility toward the people of Israel, it is important that we not see this part of his prayer as flowing only out of his kingly obligation.  Believers in Jesus Christ are bound together in Christ as one body, and thus, ought to have a mindset that is focused on the whole of that body—something that many people call a “Kingdom mentality.”  When one member of your physical body is hurting, not only is that pain felt in other parts of the body, but also you find that other parts of the body will work to compensate for the weakness of the injured member.  So, too it should be with the body of Christ.  We are to rejoice when other members receive great blessing and our hearts should ache when a member of the body experiences great loss.  Sadly, this is an area in which the church often stumbles and falls.

Secondly, look at what David asks God to be the factor that determines such blessing.  David is not saying, do well to Zion because of your great wisdom or justice, nor is he asking blessings on the basis of Israel’s status as God’s people, their heritage, or good works—he pleads God’s good blessings on the basis of God’s good grace.  In many of our English Bible’s this is translated as “favor,” but the word that David employs, !Acr” (ratson), carries with it the connotation of blessing that can only come from the hand of God, often given in connection with faith.  Thus, the English term “grace” is probably a better translation in this context.  Israel certainly has not earned this blessing from God, yet David asks it for God’s people on the basis of God’s gracious character.

The last clause of this verse has caused some people to stumble, for they ask the question, how could this have been written during David’s time, for the walls of Israel were already built?  Thus, some are quick to attribute this to a much later era in history, after the wall had been destroyed.  Yet, there are two things that should be understood.  The first is the practical observation that during ancient times, city walls were always being added to, either in the area that they encompassed or in height.  The strengthening of the city’s walls was a sign of a city’s productivity and power.  In turn, the Hebrew word hn:b” (banah) is flexible enough to carry the connotations of “building up” in addition to “building from scratch.”  Yet, the best way to translate this is in the recognition that Israel’s safety did not come from stones and mortar but came from the very hand of God.  And with this in mind, particularly in the context of David’s request for blessing in the first part of this verse, we should see this language as a metaphor for peace in Israel and security from her enemies.

I wonder sometimes whether we sincerely long to see Christ’s church blessed and at peace.  We might have a yearning to see our local congregation grow or even our denomination, but what about Christ’s church?  Do you pray for the growth of Christ’s church as a whole?  Do you pray for God’s blessing on the other local churches in your neighborhood?  Do you plead with God that these churches would prosper for the gospel even if your own congregation is facing great trials?  So often jealousy shapes our prayers, and that is a sin we must repent of.  Though we have many divisions in the church as an institution, all true believers are bound together in Christ as a united and unified body—how good it would be if we could learn to let our prayers and actions reflect just that.

I love thy church, O God:  her walls before thee stand,

Dear as the apple of thine eye, and graven on thy hand.

For her my tears shall fall, for her my prayers ascend;

To her my cares and toils be given, till toils and cares shall end.

-Timothy Dwight

“The sacrifices of God are a spirit that is broken and

a heart that is broken and crushed—

O God, these you will not despise.

(Psalm 51:19 {Psalm 51:17 in English Bibles})

There are two ways in which we can look at David’s statement about the “sacrifices of God.”  The first way is the way that this verse is typically seen and that is to say that the sacrifices that are “of God” or are “acceptable to God” are a broken spirit and a broken and a contrite heart.  This interpretation clearly fits the context of the passage as a whole and joins hand in hand with the language about sacrifices that is found in the previous verse, and indeed, those who come before the Lord with hearts that are proud and haughty, filled with a sense of their own achievements, will be sent away in shame.  We are a people who have nothing in our hands to show or offer—our lives and works can only earn us condemnation if it is what we are trusting in to bring us to God. 

Yet, there is a second way that we can understand this verse, and that is as a prophetic statement of the coming of Christ.  For it is God himself who would offer himself up as a sacrifice for the sins of his people—beaten and broken, and suffering not only in his death, but suffering in life as he grieved the state of his covenant people.  Thus, in Christ, God himself offered up the sacrifice of a broken heart as demonstrated in Christ’s suffering and death.  In addition, do not the scriptures speak of our sin grieving the heart of God?  Indeed, out of God’s grieving heart he offered up the sacrifice of his Son so that any who would cling to Him as their Lord and Savior would be redeemed from their sin. 

Oh, loved ones, how the cost of sin should cause us to grieve sin all the more.  Someone else paid the price, took the punishment on our behalf—it cost God what we could not pay.  How, then, knowing this, do we so often take sin so lightly—do we take forgiveness so casually?  Beloved, examine your hearts; see where they are broken and supple, but most importantly, look to find those areas that have gotten proud and hard and pray to God that He will crush those parts to dust.  It will hurt when God does so, but beloved, it is only in brokenness that you can have a heart that is right before God. 

O Cross that liftest up my head,

I dare not ask to fly from thee;

I lay in dust life’s glory dead,

And from the ground there blossoms red

Life that shall endless be.

-George Matheson

“For you do not take pleasure in sacrifice—I would give it—

with whole burnt offerings you will not accept with pleasure.”

(Psalm 51:18 {Psalm 51:16 in English Bibles})

Passages like this one have often caused people to stumble because of the many sacrifices that God required of the people in the ancient times—sacrifices that are given to be a “pleasing” aroma before God.  Yet, here and in passages like Isaiah 1:11-17, God demonstrates his distaste for such offerings—how are we to make sense of these seemingly contradictory teachings?

To understand this, we must first ask the question as to why there was sacrifice made in the Old Testament times, and the answer brings us around to sin.  As we have mentioned above, where there is no shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22).  Thus, as you looked at the ancient sacrificial system, it becomes more and more clear that this system was not meant to stand alone and deal with sins, but was meant to accompany a heart moved by faith to repentance.  What good was the slaughter of a thousand rams if repentance does not accompany the sacrifice!?!  As David will write in the following verse, it is a broken and a contrite heart that is the acceptable sacrifice before the Lord.

In David’s time—and in our own time as well—there are many people that think that a certain act can save them without a God-given change of heart.  In Roman Catholic theology, oftentimes people fall into the trap of saying, “If I just sponsor enough masses” or “if I just say enough ‘Hail Mary’s,” then I will be alright with God.  In protestant circles, we tend to do the same thing, although we package it differently.  Many say, “If I just say the sinner’s prayer just so” or “if I just go down to an altar call at the proper time,” then I will be alright with God. 

Beloved, true repentance requires a change of your heart, and that change can only come as a result of God changing your heart.  It is not about what you do or when you do what you do, but it is all about what God does in you.  Why does David say that the only sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken and contrite heart?  He says such because without a broken and a contrite heart to begin with, sacrifices will serve you no value.

So back to the issue of sacrifices; there is one more aspect that we need to address, and that is the issue of sacrifices as symbols or pointers to the coming sacrifice of Christ.  The temple sacrifices were imperfect in that they were performed by sinful humans and they were but a shadow of the perfect sacrifice that would come in Jesus Christ.  Yet, at the same time, all the blood that flowed on the ancient altars was meant to make us come to terms with the weight and costliness of sins.  Those ancient sacrifices had to be performed over and over; when the perfect sacrifice came in the person of Jesus Christ, it was performed once and for all time with no need of a repetition.

And herein lies our answer—God took pleasure in the sacrifice when it was offered by one who was offering it up in faith and genuine repentance.  At the same time, many people confuse the symbol with the reality.  The bloody sacrifices were symbolic both of the rent heart of the individual and of the greater sacrifice of Christ—in and of themselves, they had no value.  Many people felt that just as long as they offered the right sacrifice, they would be redeemed—it is these sacrifices that God detests—sacrifices offered as ritual and not in faith and repentance.

Loved ones, this applies directly to us today.  Though we are not making altar sacrifices any more, we are claiming to trust in the perfect sacrifice of Christ.  Yet, if this trust is not accompanied by faith and a heart broken by sin, it will avail nothing.  True repentance accompanies true faith, and without true faith, there is no salvation.  Beloved, take this to heart, and come to our Lord in faith, offering to Christ a heart that has been made supple by the work of the Holy Spirit.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,

I cannot close my heart to thee;

I trace the rainbow through the rain,

And feel the promise is not vain

That morn shall tearless be.

-George Matheson

“Oh Lord, my lips you will open,

and my mouth will declare your praise.”

(Psalm 51:17 {Psalm 51:15 in English Bibles})

Loved ones, hear these words of David, and hear them well.  When it comes to your worship, and what the writer of Hebrews calls your “sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15), the value and quality of it has nothing to do with the skill that is demonstrated.  The value of it lies within the origin of the praise.  Is the praise that you give a product of the work of the Holy Spirit in your life, or is it a product of men?  You may have the voice of a world-class operatic singer, but if your song is not powered by the movement of the Holy Spirit, you are but a noisy and lifeless instrument.  Yet, you may have no more skill than a school-child, but if your praise is lifted up by a sincere heart before the Lord, and is empowered by the Holy Spirit, such a song is considered sweet in the ears of God.

Friends, do not forget who it is that is writing these words—it is David the songwriter.  Yet, David understood clearly that the power behind his songs was the working hand of God in his life.  It is God who must open our lips so that praise may flow forth.  At the same time, sometimes our lips become closed in the wake of great sin, yet David sets these words forth in confidence, knowing that in his repentance, God will restore him in faith and will once again give him a voice to sing God’s praises.

Beloved, do you sing to God?  I mean, do you really sing with your whole heart?  Are you intimidated because you have difficulty holding a tune?  Are you afraid that you will be off-key with the person in the pew next to you?  Do you worry what that person will say of your singing behind your back?  Beloved, there may be a hundred reasons why you do not sing your praises to God, but there are an infinite number of reasons to praise him with your whole voice!  Loved ones, we are a people who have been redeemed from sin and death—how can we spend a moment of our lives not praising God?  Yet, if you are one of those who are gifted in voice (something that I am not J), make sure that you are not singing because of the praise of your audience—if you sing thus, it will serve no other purpose.  Rather, sing praise that points to God and use your gift to point others heavenward.  Lastly, loved ones, praise God both inside and outside of His sanctuary.  Praise him when you go to and fro; praise him in your homes and in your cars; praise him in your waking and sleeping—praise him, praise him, praise him in all that you do.  Give God the glory, for great things he has done!

To God be the glory, great things he has done!

So loved he the world that he gave us his Son,

Who yielded his life an atonement for sin,

And opened the life-gate that we may go in.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

Let the earth hear his voice!

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

Let the people rejoice!

O Come to the Father through Jesus the Son,

And give him the glory, great things he has done!

-Fanny Crosby

“Save me from bloodguilt, O God,

God of my salvation;

My tongue will exult in your righteousness!”

(Psalm 51:16 {Psalm 51:14 in English Bibles})

What an amazing picture David paints for us in this verse!  Yet, to understand what he is showing us, we must understand the concept of “bloodguilt” in the Old Testament.  To begin with, blood represented life—it was seen as the life of a man and as the life of a beast (Genesis 9:4); hence the restriction against eating any flesh that still has the blood in it (Deuteronomy 12:23, Acts 15:20).  And, so that we do not end up being smug in our scientific advances, let it be said that there is great truth in this idea that life is in the blood, for when blood is lost, life ebbs away.  If you lose a little, say from a cut, it may be of little consequence, but when a pint is lost, one tends to get a little weak in the knees and light-headed.  And if too much is lost, one will die.  You can commit many crimes against another person, but the shedding of his blood is the most destructive, for it is one he may never recover from.

Hence the idea of “bloodguilt.”  If you are guilty of shedding the blood of another, you are guilty of his blood.  To take this idea one step further, in ancient Jewish practice, there was a member of the family who was seen as the “avenger of blood” (Numbers 35:19).  Were one of his relatives murdered, it was his role to put the murderer to death.  Note that this is not meant as a means of revenge, but as a means of exacting justice.  The blood avenger had rules and restrictions that he had to abide by, and this was simply one means by which capital punishment was carried forth in ancient Israel.  At the same time, God established places in Israel called “Cities of Refuge” where the guilty could flee if the murder committed was not premeditated (Numbers 35:11).  If you made it to the city of refuge before the avenger of blood could kill you, you were given sanctuary.  In turn, you were required to stay in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest; when the high priest died, you would be free to return without fear of retribution.

And in this ancient practice, we have a wonderful picture of Christ.  Beloved, our sin makes us guilty of blood—not just the blood of bulls and goats through the generation, but of the blood of one another, and most importantly, of the blood of Christ.  It was Christ, whose sacrifice was planned and set since before the beginning of creation (1 Peter 1:20), who shed his own blood as atonement for our sins.  The penalty for sin is death (Genesis 2:17)—thus sin cannot be forgiven without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22).  Our own blood, being tainted by sin, both inherited and actual, is tainted and ineffectual in atoning even for our own sins, let alone for the sins of another, and thus, the necessity for another to provide a sacrifice for us.

Yet, the picture does not end there in terms of the idea of bloodguilt, for it is in Christ that we have our city of refuge—it is in Christ and in Christ alone that we who bear the bloodguilt of sin can flee for refuge.  And what is even more glorious is that is that Christ, the great High Priest, went to his death so that we might be forgiven, no longer convicted criminals hiding for their lives, but forgiven men and women forgiven and adopted as sons and daughters.  Oh, beloved, what a picture of Christ we have in the Old Testament laws of bloodguilt, and here, King David is crying out to God in faith that he would be delivered from the bloodguilt that his sin has brought him—forgiveness that only comes from God through Christ.  This is something that David understood well and looked forward in hopes for the day of seeing the Messiah come.

And as a result of the salvation that is given by God, David rejoices and exults in the righteousness of God.  The verb that David uses to describe his praise is !n:r” (ranan), which means, “to sing,” yet the verb is in the Piel construct, which, in Hebrew, intensifies the verb and gives it a sense of ongoing repetition.  Hence, the idea that David is conveying is of an exuberant, ongoing praise of God, rejoicing in song over and over again in praise.  Oh, were this to describe the praise that we give to God in the salvation that he offers us!

Beloved, in the wake of the forgiveness that God offers us, let us rejoice loudly and with every fiber of our soul.  Let praise flow from our tongues and let joy fill our countenance!  We are redeemed of God!  Christ has provided both a city of refuge and a sacrifice for our sins.  He has done for us what we could never dream of doing for ourselves.  And in Christ we are free and able to proclaim the good news to all that would hear.  And when those around us ask us why it is that we are filled with such joy, let us simply respond, “because Christ is my salvation!”

O worship the King all glorious above,

O gratefully sing his power and his love;

Our shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,

Pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.

-Robert Grant

“I will teach rebels your ways,

and sinners will return to you.”

(Psalm 51:15 {Psalm 51:13 in English Bibles})

What then should be the outward response of the believer to the forgiveness of God?   While praise is usually the first thing that comes to mind—and it is an essential response, and part of David’s psalm—there is another response that is oftentimes missed.  That response is to begin to work to teach others of the ways of God.  And notice, this is not just telling others how God has blessed you, but it is teaching them God’s ways.  That means deliberate application of God’s holy law as a teaching tool to guide others in the ways of holiness.

Yet, there is a catch—how is it that you can teach others to live a holy life if you are not modeling it yourself?  How is it that you can model it if you do not study the scriptures and diligently apply them to yourself?  Beloved, be well aware that God is a forgiving God, but never forget that in repentance, our God expects us to turn from our sinful ways and walk a path that glorifies him in every way.  And then, in walking on that pathway, teach others the ways of God—by word and deed.

Friends, spend some time thinking about what it means to be genuine in your testimony before the world.  What do unbelievers believe about God as a result of getting to know you?  What would your co-workers or your neighbors say about the way you live out your faith in all aspects of your life?  What would your spouse or children say?  Do your actions match the words that you speak?  Dear loved ones, so often in our lives there is not parity between our words and our actions, yet Christ needs to be the reason and the motivation behind everything we do.  It is our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior that defines who we are, down to the very fibers of our innermost being, and it is this relationship that must define all our actions, and our actions need to be visible enough to point others to Christ.

One last note on sin and transgression:  it is rebellion against God.  Do not downplay sin in your life or in the life of those around you.  Don’t simply say, “well, it was just a little lie” or “everyone else does it.”  When you justify sin like this, what you are really communicating is that God is as capricious as you and I are, and were he capricious, he could not be holy.  God cannot condemn one sin as rebellion and pass over other sins as if they were not, that is the behavior of sinful men and not of a holy and righteous God.  Sin is sin and it must be condemned and punished, and loved ones, if you are a born again believer in Jesus Christ, he bore that punishment for you.  When you say that your sins are not so bad, you are also saying that Christ’s sacrifice and death is not so important, and oh, loved ones, what a wretched statement that is.  Such a statement can only come from the pits of hell and the children of the evil one.  Do not let your actions make you smell of the sulfur of the Lake of Fire.  Live for Christ and His holiness and proclaim his righteousness and grace in all that you do.  Let your witness guide others in the paths of righteousness for Jesus’ name’s sake—Amen!

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation;

and with an honorable Spirit you shall uphold me.”

(Psalm 51:14 {Psalm 51:12 in English Bibles})

So often when we read this verse, or hear this verse cited by people in the wider church community, it is cited in a way that is almost totally centered on man.  They place all of the emphasis on the joy that they seek, and while looking for joy in the salvation that God has granted is not a bad thing—indeed, it is a wonderful thing—it is not the focus of this verse.  The entire focus of this verse is on God and upon God’s work.  David is reflecting on the misery that he has endured as a result of his sin and pleads with God that God would restore to him the joy he takes not just in his personal salvation, but in God’s redemptive work.  David does not say restore to me the joy of “my salvation” as Habakkuk does (Habakkuk 3:18), but he says, “your salvation,” reflecting on the redemptive work of God. 

I wonder, do we praise God enough for all of the giants of the faith that He has raised up before us that have guided and marked a way for us in this life.  Do we praise God for King David, who has given us such wonderful psalms?  Do we praise him for the Apostle Paul, who has given us so much of our New Testament?  How about some of the faithful early church fathers like Irenaeus and Augustine?  Names like Calvin, Knox, Luther, Zwingli, Owen, Ryle, and Hodge fill our libraries and have shaped the way we understand our scriptures.  How much light has been given to us by the likes of Matthew Henry?  What about the call to evangelism and holy living that came from the likes of George Whitefield and John Wesley?   The names of Charles Wesley, Isaac Watts, and Fanny Crosby have become synonymous with hymns of praise.  What of missionaries like David Brainerd and William Carey?  Oh, beloved, we could go on and on with the role call of men and women of faith who have gone before us and given us so many riches from their insights into God’s word, but what about those countless, nameless Christians who have set an example for us in their simple daily faith?  What about those Sunday School teachers who have planted seeds of truth in our heart?  What about faithful preachers who opened up God’s word to us week in and week out?  What about the dear saints who have upheld us in prayer through the years?  What about the believer with the servant’s heart who quietly gives and gives so that the church may be about its work.  Oh, beloved, how we do not thank God nearly enough for the work of his salvation!  How our lives would be darker and duller without so many wonderful testimonies of faith!  How sad it is that we tend to look only to ourselves and neglect the shoulders of those upon whom we stand.

Now the question that is posed, depending on the translation that is used, is whether this spirit that is mentioned is the Spirit of God or the spirit of David.  Most of our modern English translations imply that David is asking to be upheld in his own spirit (ESV, NASB, NIV, RSV), and the King James Version seems to stand on its own in clearly attributing this to the Holy Spirit.  As we look at the context of the passage, what we find is that this passage comes on the heels of a plea to God that His Holy Spirit would not be removed from David’s presence.  Now, in this verse, the prayer seems to intensify, and the plea becomes one that not only includes fellowship but being upheld as well.  In addition, the verse that follows is basically a response to God’s restorative work.  David says that in the wake of God’s provision for him, he will teach sinners the ways of God so that they might turn back to the path that leads to salvation—how might that be done unless you are upheld by the Holy Spirit?

Loved ones, the language of joy is fairly strong within this verse and it is found throughout the psalms—the words “joy” or “rejoice” occur more than 80 times in the psalms alone.  So often we get so caught up in sin that we neglect the joy that comes with being redeemed in Christ.  Beloved, rejoice!  Rejoice for though you were dead in your sins and trespasses, Christ loved you enough to call you to himself and to bear the penalty for your sins!  Beloved, you were the sons and daughters of paupers and now, in Christ, you have inherited paradise!  You are promised perfect fellowship with God, and in the mean time, Christ dwelling in you through his Holy Spirit and making continual intercession on your behalf before the Father.  Loved ones, there is much to rejoice over, so why do we so often wear such sour faces when we come to church?  Rejoice, beloved, rejoice—for our Savior reigns!

Hail, the Lord of earth and heaven!  Alleluia!

Praise to thee by both be given; Alleluia!

Thee we greet triumphant now; Alleluia!

Hail the Resurrection, thou!  Alleluia!

-Charles Wesley

“Do not send me away from your presence,

and your Holy Spirit—do not take him from me.”

(Psalm 51:13 {Psalm 51:11 in English Bibles})

In this verse, David returns to a chiastic structure.  The verses that have gone before have been largely arranged in a simple parallel structure and this change is designed to add emphasis.  And the emphasis that David is making strikes at the very heart of the human condition:  sin has driven us out of relationship with God.  In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve walked in communion with God; sin changed that.  Because of sin, man and woman were driven out of paradise and out of the relationship that would make even the most hellish place a paradise to be in—they were driven out of their intimate and personal relationship with God in his presence, and all of the struggles and difficulties we face in our fallen nature when we seek to commune with God all have roots back to this origin.

How could a Holy God remain in communion with those who rebelled in sin?  Indeed, sin must be punished, and the wrath of an infinite, Holy God was the only punishment suitable to the crime.  Beloved, facing someone’s anger is one thing—it is rarely a pleasant thing to do, but it is something we have all done and will likely do again—this kind of anger can be weathered.  But righteous anger is something altogether different—especially when we are in the wrong.  Facing the righteous wrath of a man who has been wronged is a heavy thing to deal with and is grievous to endure.  But what about the righteous anger of an infinite God who is perfect in his holiness and perfect in his righteousness?  No man could stand.  We would be utterly lost—even the best and most noble human being—we would be forever consigned to the fires of hell; and, in doing so, God would be vindicated.

Yet, in God’s unfathomable richness and mercy, he chose to redeem a people for himself.  Sin had to be dealt with, but rather than putting a burden that could not be borne upon men, he allowed his Son to become flesh and to bear that penalty on behalf of those who would cling to him in faith as their substitute, mediator, and paraclete.  Indeed, this is the demonstration of the infinite love of God, that he would give his only begotten son to die and bear the penalty of sin for those whom he would call in faith, that whosoever would believe in him would not perish but have eternal life and those who would reject the offering made by Christ would be forever consigned to their reasonable fate, paying the penalty for their sin in eternal condemnation (John 3:16-21).  There is no other way and no other path to the paradise of God but through Christ.  Adam and Eve lost access to it and Christ has shed his blood to offer it back to humanity once again—what good news that is to a dark and dying world!

Thus, in Christ, communion is restored through the work of the Holy Spirit, and David, recognizing the great blessing connected with God’s presence before him, clung to that above all else.  Though his sin may have caused him to deserve to be forever cast out of God’s presence, the work of Christ allows the prayer offered in faith to be heard and answered.  And though God may remove our sense of assurance for a time as a means of disciplining his children, he will not leave or forsake us because he has called us his own and adopted us as sons and daughters in Christ.  God paid too dear a price to abandon those for whom his Son died.  Thus, David pleads that God not remove from him the closeness and presence of communion that they had enjoyed, and indeed, how this should guide our own prayers of repentance, recognizing that God will not let his people be forever lost, but recognizing how essential that it is that we remain in daily—moment by moment—communion with God.  Loved ones, cling to this promise, and cling to Christ.

O love that will not let me go,

I rest my weary soul in thee;

I give thee back the life I owe,

That in thine ocean depths its flow

May richer, fuller be.

-George Matheson