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.