A Truly Repentant Heart: How David Dealt With Sin (Part 4)
Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.
Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you.
Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;
Then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.
Unseal my lips, O LORD, that my mouth may praise you. Psalm 51:11-15
As David continues to pour out his heart before the LORD, we see glimpses of the things that are dearest to him in his relationship with God. We also see David's eagerness to share his story with others who might be contemplating going down the same regrettable path he had placed himself on.
Let's follow his prayer:
First: Do not banish me from your presence, and don't take your Holy Spirit from me.
This seems to be a central cry in the plea of David. All through his life, David had enjoyed a very close relationship with God. He never went to battle without consulting God. He dwelt in the very presence of God at all times. His foremost desire was to continue to enjoy the Presence. We see this passionately expressed in Psalm 27, "One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple." The Presence was everything to David.
David was keenly aware that all the exploits he undertook were due to the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit who enabled him to slay Goliath. If he was cast away from the presence of God and the Holy Spirit withdrew from him, then his life would be an empty shell. David understood what was at stake. Dwelling in the Presence and being empowered by the Spirit, meant everything to David! This was the very crux of his relationship with God. This was what enabled him to know and hear from God. This is what enabled him to know the heart of God and dialogue the way he did with God all through the Psalms.
Question: As you reflect over the words of David, can you truly say that you have the same craving for the Presence? Are you that eager to enjoy the same close relationship with the Holy Spirit of God? Does His Presence mean that much to you? Is your heart at all troubled when you grieve the LORD? Do you seek to walk in the conscious presence of the Holy Spirit?
Second: "Restore to me the joy of your salvation and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you . . . then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you."
David is not only asking for forgiveness; he is eager to let others know that they need not stay in the guilt and wreckage of their sins because God is willing to forgive them as well. David is eager for God to restore him so that he can testify to others and sing praises to God!
What a prayer! What a heart! No wonder David was "a man after God's own heart!" He wasn't hiding his sins and struggles. He didn't sanitize his prayers. He called a spade a spade and cried out transparently before God! Question: How transparent are you as you cry out to God?
Let's follow his prayer:
First: Do not banish me from your presence, and don't take your Holy Spirit from me.
This seems to be a central cry in the plea of David. All through his life, David had enjoyed a very close relationship with God. He never went to battle without consulting God. He dwelt in the very presence of God at all times. His foremost desire was to continue to enjoy the Presence. We see this passionately expressed in Psalm 27, "One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple." The Presence was everything to David.
David was keenly aware that all the exploits he undertook were due to the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit who enabled him to slay Goliath. If he was cast away from the presence of God and the Holy Spirit withdrew from him, then his life would be an empty shell. David understood what was at stake. Dwelling in the Presence and being empowered by the Spirit, meant everything to David! This was the very crux of his relationship with God. This was what enabled him to know and hear from God. This is what enabled him to know the heart of God and dialogue the way he did with God all through the Psalms.
Question: As you reflect over the words of David, can you truly say that you have the same craving for the Presence? Are you that eager to enjoy the same close relationship with the Holy Spirit of God? Does His Presence mean that much to you? Is your heart at all troubled when you grieve the LORD? Do you seek to walk in the conscious presence of the Holy Spirit?
Second: "Restore to me the joy of your salvation and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you . . . then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you."
David is not only asking for forgiveness; he is eager to let others know that they need not stay in the guilt and wreckage of their sins because God is willing to forgive them as well. David is eager for God to restore him so that he can testify to others and sing praises to God!
What a prayer! What a heart! No wonder David was "a man after God's own heart!" He wasn't hiding his sins and struggles. He didn't sanitize his prayers. He called a spade a spade and cried out transparently before God! Question: How transparent are you as you cry out to God?
Prayer: Lord, my life is an open book before you. Please help me to own up to my transgressions and transparently cry out before you in brokenness. Amen.