Create in me a clean heart

Psalm 51:10-12 (NIV)

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me from your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.  

Evangelist Jimmy Swaggart tearfully confessed his moral failures on February 21, 1988 on his own television show that subsequently was shown on news programs throughout the world.  While perhaps millions witnessed his confession, few would know that his words of confession came from Psalm 51:1-4.  This was the same psalm that David wrote to confess his sin after committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering her husband, Uriah.  After admitting his sin, David prayed for forgiveness and restoration in verses 7-12.  In Psalm 51:10-12 David made six requests as part of his desire to be restored to a right relationship with God:

·  Create in me a pure heart

·  Renew a steadfast spirit within me

·  Do not cast me from your presence

·  Do not take your Holy Spirit from me

·  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation

·  Sustain in me a willing spirit  

God is a creator God.  David asks God to create--to begin anew--a pure heart.  His sin of adultery started with thoughts that entered his mind and heart and so he must be cleansed from the inside first.  Proverbs 23:7 famously states, “As he thinks from within himself, so he is”.  If the inside is clean and pure, the outside will be too.  Jesus condemned the Pharisees for their uncleanness from within. 

If the inside is pure and clean, then a steadfast spirit can be renewed.  To be steadfast is to be on guard against the desire to sin again.  Then David prays that God does not do two things that David knows he deserves.  Please God, do not leave me and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.  Charles Spurgeon describes this verse as “the cry of a penitent child of God”.  It shows a soul that loves God’s presence.  And then David prayed that the joy of his salvation be restored.  It is very important to note that David did not pray for salvation that he lost; he did not lose his salvation.  But, he prayed about the joy of salvation lost.  This is a key learning point.  Sin will not cause you to lose your salvation, but it will cause you to question your assurance of salvation and without that assurance you have no joy and peace of mind.

The last request of these verses was to be given a willing spirit that will sustain David.  What this means is that David needed God’s spirit to enable him to do what God desired him to do even though he will struggle at times.  The spirit of God will sustain David through those times of struggle. 

What David prayed for here is what you can pray for when you know that you have sinned against the Lord and need to change, need to repent, need to turn the other way, need God’s loving and merciful help to give you another chance.  Do you need to pray like this?  Is your conscience telling you that it’s time to change your ways?  Use this prayer as your model and God will grant His love and mercy to you just as He did to David, but He must see in you a sincere desire to change.