Devotional Short Note to
Psalm 51
Ever had members of the church bootstrapped with
sinful actions? All are hurt by the event(s) and it is ongoing and craziness
abounds between two individuals who do not want to stop the foolishness? Wait. The members need to wait but send them out
of the church to solve their problem. Wait and pray. God originally gave them
the seedling of conversion, baptized, love the truth follow it for a few years
and now this disaster. No member can accept the foolishness. This is a case where conversion will have to be
reconversion. A situation that was bad became good and now it
is bad again and in need to get good again. Psalm 51 with David and Batsheba was such a
case. David wrote this song or poem after this awful
experience. The worst of losing ones’ faithful friends is
losing God’s acceptance. How to get back? David has the answer. He wrote down a list of things he needed as ingredient
for a return to God. Knowing well the ins and outs of the Levitical
system, he also knew how the salvation engine of God works and how one should
approach God after sinning. The list of ingredients to this success saga, is
as follows: 1.
Honesty;
2. Eraser; 3. Laundromat; 4. Surgeon; 5. Musician; 6. Advocate in Heaven; 7.
Educator; 8. Washingpowder; 9. Builder; 10. Forgiveness. David knew that before any of these aspects are
going to be applied as tools to a restoration, he has to be honest. Honest to
himself first and then honest to God (verse 4). “For I acknowledge my
transgressions and my sin is ever before me” (verse 3). Can’t run away from
memory. Big problem. Then he needed an Eraser to “blot out” his
transgression(s) of the past (verse 1 and verse 9). The quantity that should be erased is “all”.
Nothing retaining. Nothing to say, “the good that I want to do I cannot but the
bad I do not want to do, I do”. All go down the drain. Erased. Effaced. Clean
totally. He needs a Forgiver in verse 1 “According to
Your lovingkindness, according to Your tender Mercies blot out….” But he also needs a Laundromat and
Washingpowder. First the Laundromat “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and
cleanse me from my sin” (verse 2). The Laundromat needs proper soap: “Purge me with
hyssop and I shall be clean, wash me and I shall be whiter than snow” (verse
7). God does not do half a work. It is thorough and perfect because Jesus is
Perfect on our behalf. How is this transformation going to happen? That
is where the Surgeon comes in. The Holy Spirit is the great Heartspecialist
that is going to remove the old one and transform it into a new one. “Create in
me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me” (verse 10). Why “right
spirit”? Because the Holy Spirit is the right spirit. Any other spirit belongs
to demons and spiritism. The wrong spirit is the problem of David and that
spirit is in need to be removed, like the demons which went into pigs and went
down the cliff in Jesus’ days. When the demons are out the Holy Spirit cleanse
the space and moves in the inner parts (verse 6) “Behold, You desire truth in
the inward parts, and in the hidden You shall make me to know wisdom”. The wisdom
teacher is the Holy Spirit. And that is what is on his list as well:
Educator (verse 13): “I will teach [after the Educator the Holy Spirit is in my
inward parts and knowledge and wisdom are there] transgressors Your ways and
sinners shall be converted unto You.” The Divine Educator will teach David and David
will teach the sinners. In that order only. The wrong spirit that deceive the person is
taken out of the person and is replaced by the right spirit prayed for in verse
12 there was a “wrong spirit before”. That wrong spirit or spirits has to be “broken”
(verse 17). Honesty cannot operate until the wrong spirits are broken in the
person. The heart will not be “contrite” if there are still elements of the
wrong spirit in the person (verse 17). In verse 11 the Holy Spirit is the One involved
here. “Take not Your Holy Spirit from me”. The result of this surgical operation by the Holy
Spirit in the inner parts of the soul, is that he/she is “restored” (verse 12).
“Restore unto me the joy of Your ways, and uphold me, free Spirit.” Why free?
Because sin is enslavement. The smoker is enslaved. So is the drinker. So is
the PC Bang gamer. So is the Smartphone user. So is the sex obsessed
transgressor like David here. Reality of the far-reaching results are only
afterwards considered and then it is too late. The backdoor in this problem is
what David is spelling out with this poem and every sinner needs to follow this
recipe and ingredients. The Laundromat of “washing” in verse 2 is going
to be “Baptism” in order to say to everyone present as witnesses that the Spirit
operation of verses 10-12, did take place. It is a fact for observation in
public. A public display in the sense of Romans 6 symbolically dying the old
man and put on the new. But that is later. This freedom in the Spirit of which verse 12 the
last part is talking about, is a freedom from guilt and transgressions in the eyes
of God and now the Musician is needed. With his tongue he “shall sing aloud of
Your righteousness” (verse 14). The Righteousness of Christ is sufficient to
save the sinner. His lips and mouth shall be opened for praise (verse 15). Musical
instruments will be taken out here and there will be some good sounds in honor of
God. All this happens not just for a good feeling in
his mind or heart like Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung would have argued, a
self-created religion purely human to make the person believe that there is a
God helping him when in fact he helped himself! What utter nonsense from these
scholars. David is spelling out a reality with a God that
really exists. In fact on the list are a couple of more things for David.
Affairs on this earth is not enough for happiness. The context of our living,
says David, is connected to the Advocate in Heaven that will make decisions in the
Investigative Judgment determining his future role. The “blotting out” of transgressions by the
Eraser in verse 1 and in verse 9 is taking place from heavenly Records or Books
in heaven citing all our deeds and actions. Only Christ’s blood can erase it.
No other religion can help. It is a Christ only religion. He is the Lamb of God
on our behalf and liturgical offerings simply at the Tabernacle in David’s day
with the help of Samuel et al, is not going to be enough (verse 16) “for You
desire not sacrifices, else I would have give it…” The Books was opened in 1844 since after the
2300 days as years in Daniel 8:14. It is the “Investigative Judgment” with
Christ appearing as Advocate in heaven before the Ancient of Days of Daniel
7:13. Before the Father. Honesty, Eraser, Surgical operation, Educator,
Forgiveness, Laundromat and Washing powder experience are all necessary for
this single result: the Advocate on our behalf will be able to be “justified
when You speak” (verse 4) in the Investigative Judgment claiming possession of
His sons and daughters in the heavenly court. And finally when Christ comes on the clouds to
bring His decision with Him, He would speak out with a clear loud voice the
names of those in the Book of Life to be resurrected as saved. He judged them
winners of the earthly race (verse 4) “clear when You judge”. David also needs a Builder of the new Jerusalem
and heavenly Zion (verse 18). “Do good in Your good pleasure unto Zion, build
You the walls of Jerusalem”. David finished the Psalm with a God and heaven
where true worship is at play in the New Jerusalem and heavenly Zion with the
saints resurrected and taken to heaven after the Second Coming of Christ. In
that setting there will be sacrifices of right doing or righteousness. The
action of people will be perfect and worshipping God truly. David can imagine
that only saved sinners who were reformed and revised in actions can offer “burnt
offering” and “whole burnt offering” and “bullocks upon Your altar”. Christ was
the Lamb of God once and for all (Hebrews) so that in heaven, what they did in
David’s day will be sufficient what Christ the Messiah did. Many will argue and complain that my interpretation
here is not correct for David had in mind his own little space of Zion in the
southern part of the old city and he wanted the early capital of Israel to be
restored, but the walls were not “wall-less” in his days. Jesus said in John 14
“in the house of My Father there are many mansions”. God the Builder for
heavenly purposes after the Second Coming.
Dear God We wish to follow You in Your ways. Help us to
give our lives to You in honesty and receive revival, reformation reshaping
that we can enjoy the heavenly blessings soon. In Jesus Name. Amen.