Title: Restoration of Joy/Psalm 51:7-12
Content: Restoration of joy/Psalm 51:7-12
“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness, and rejoice in the bones you have broken. Turn Your face from my sin and blot out all my iniquities, God. Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, nor take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me” (Psalm 51: 7-12)
1. Create in me a clean heart (verse 10)
According to a study by a psychologist, the greatest stress a person experiences comes from the death of a spouse. When you lose a husband or wife you depended on, the shock will leave you speechless, laughter, and even your mind empty.
The second strongest stress comes from divorce or the loss of a parent or child. These days, many people are stressed because they lose their jobs or the company goes bankrupt. It is not the specific stress experienced by one or two people, but the group stress has also increased. Teenagers steal a car and go on a frenzy, and they are in a state of extreme collective stress in which the driver in front is brutally murdered just because the car ahead is slowing down.
♣ When do Christians experience the greatest stress?
That is when you sin.
Except for those who do not recognize sin as a sin because of their conscience scorched, most believers feel guilty about the wrong things that happen after they have sinned in connection with that sin. Thus, the stress created by the addition of guilt has formidable power.
There are even cases where the stress can't be overcome and burn-out leads to exhaustion and mental illness.
Such is the case with King David in today's text.
David committed the horrific sin of coveting the woman next door and driving her husband to death. At first, I didn't know it was a 'sin', but after realizing that it was a sin through the prophet Nathan, I was under so much stress that I couldn't sleep at night. He even self-reports, “I was born in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (verse 5), showing the stress of an extreme situation trying to shake up even the very foundation of one's own.
But David did not choose suicide, mental devastation, or exhaustion as people do today because of this intense stress. Rather, he thoroughly examines himself and asks God for hope.
He prayed for God's help, "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean" (verse 7), and further, "Create in me a pure heart, O God" (verse 10), and lose hope.
The word "creation" here is 'para' in Hebrew, and it is used only for the action of God. It is a word about the total will of God that is never used in the Bible in reference to human action.
David, who prayed for the words in the verse “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” in Gen. 1:1, did not ask for another new heart now, but before he was born, he returned to the bosom of the Creator God. You are clearly showing your desire.
He often confesses that "God ordained me before the ages." He knew that if he did not return to his previous existence, he would not be able to attain his present self. After meeting Jesus Christ, he also referred to himself as "unborn" and repeatedly referred to himself as "the chief of sinners." Because he loved himself, who was a sinner, and made him an apostle, it was a desperate confession of faith that he could not even interpret unless he went back to before his birth and thought about the God of creation.
♣ What is 'repentance'?
It's not just about remembering your mistakes and suffering with guilt. To that extent, no matter how much tears you wet the bed, you cannot completely escape from that sin and you cannot enjoy peace.
True repentance is the desire to completely deny oneself and return to the bosom of the God of creation.
'Metanoia', that is, returning to the source of existence. Augustine also confesses, "I had no peace until I returned to the bosom of the Lord."
Confessing that there is no more hope for you and declaring by faith that only God can do this is a form of true repentance that addresses the source of the stress caused by sin that oppresses us.
2. Restore me joy♬ (Verse 12)
When we return to the source of this existence, we experience that the wounds caused by sin are washed away and our hearts are cleansed. There is real joy. This is the assurance of atonement and the assurance of salvation.
Therefore, this joy is the fundamental Christian experience. When he surrenders himself to God's creation, he no longer condemns himself. It is an experience gained through the great love of the Father who takes away and embraces me, and through the encounter with the merciful God who regenerates me from chaos, emptiness, and darkness.
Paul of the New Testament sang this experience like this:
“Who will separate us from the love of Christ Jesus? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword… I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor exaltation. Neither the deep nor the deep will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39).
1) “Do not cast me out of your presence” (v. 11a)
However, it is necessary to maintain the continuity of this experience in our daily life. It is our daily experience that we experience redemption and have the assurance of salvation in Christ, but do not continue to enjoy the joy.
David confesses his sins and looks back on himself. I have loved the temple since I was little and learned the law, and I have lived with a pity that the ark of the LORD is in the tent above the courtyard. But it soon turned into an easy life. They no longer had to go to war and were able to live without regrets. In the midst of this, he became obsessed with the image of the woman next door, not the temple of the Lord, and he began to sin.
David realized this and begged, "Do not cast me out from your presence." He realizes that he has committed these sins because he has left the house of the Lord behind instead of going to and from the temple of the Lord, and is wishing that He will take it completely under the wings of the Lord.
We must maintain a regular spiritual life. Time to pray, time to sing, time to worship, time to read the Word of God, fellowship with saints, and time to participate in the good gospel work and serve. It is to have the experience of self-sacrifice and sacrifice, and to get the joy and joy of returning to the original nature of creation.
We should cherish the hours before the Lord. If you go to the Lord, you will find joy that you cannot get when you are alone. Even if you have a heart and face as desolate as the desert, if you come before the Lord, you will get the joy of an oasis in the middle.
♠ Do you remember Hymn 205? ♠
Come to Jesus and forgive all your sins
I will rest in your arms and rest in peace.
Come before Jesus and receive grace
I will be grateful with joy in my heart
When he stood before Jesus, he was clothed in white,
The way will live in my bright and shining house
(refrain)
If we only believe in our Lord, we will all be saved, and we will surely receive the crown of eternal life.
2) “Do not take your Holy Spirit from me” (v. 11b).
You can rest in peace as long as you come before Jesus. I am overflowing with gratitude.
However, the human will cannot do even this simple thing properly. During the Song Gu-Young Shin worship service, we made a promise to the Lord. Personally, I have made a promise to God. In the new year, I decided to live a more profound life of faith.
Are you keeping those plans and pledges well? We are fragile. We cannot do it in our own strength.
There is someone who leads us completely to the Lord. It is the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.
Without the Holy Spirit, we are simply dust. Let's remember that we became human only when the breath (the Holy Spirit) came in.
It is also no different from any other animal. Genesis 6 says, “The Spirit of God was taken from men, because they became flesh” (verse 3). If we do not have the Spirit of God, we are nothing but 'chunks of meat' that have no choice but to live after the flesh.
The power of sin against us is enormous. When you go out after worship, sin is lying next to the door. We never have the power to do good. We do not have the strength to come before the throne of the Lord in our own strength.
That is why the Apostle Paul said, “I also labor with all my might, according to the work of him who works in me with power” (Colossians 1:29). We cannot do anything unless the Holy Spirit guides us in us.
King David pleaded earnestly, "Do not take your Holy Spirit from me."
He restores the joy of salvation even if he breaks his own bones, and he is earnestly pleading not to withdraw from the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost of the Lord purifies us by the blood of Christ and assures us that we may stand before God. He also leads us to the time of God's creation, heals all our shortcomings and wounds in our lives, and strengthens us so that we will no longer be succumbed to such futility.
3. Let's become saints who enjoy joy♪♬!
A spiritual scholar named Martini meditated on the text and asked us three questions:
1. Do I believe that God can create a new heart in me?
2. Do I believe that God can make other hearts anew?
3. Do you make room for that joy of salvation?
May we always be vigilant to give up our space generously in receiving the seeds of joy that the Lord is planting in us. Let's have faith that the Holy Spirit will come into us and rule us, always creating joy.
Dear ♡ Dear Saints!
Let us be completely captivated by the Spirit
IMF, no matter how much group stress takes over the world, I realize that God is on my side and that the Holy Spirit gives the fundamental joy of creation. I bless you in the name of the Lord that you will overcome and enjoy true peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
"God. There are many stresses in our lives due to the economic and social chaos of the world and our weakness, but the pain we suffer from our sins is great. However, no matter how many sins we commit, we are saved by faith in the blood of Christ Jesus You have given us the gospel that we will receive the gospel, so with this faith, we can overcome the hardships of our lives today. We are weak. We believe that the Holy Ghost gives us the strength to overcome when the Holy Spirit comes to us, so let us have this kind of grace. I pray in the holy name of Jesus, amen."