Today, Saturday May 06
“Restore To Me the Joy…”
Psalm 51:8-12
“Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.”
Psalm 51 is King David’s public confession of his sin! David “acknowledges his transgressions and his sin” (v. 3) of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah. In verses 1-12, David prays to be “washed and cleansed” from his sin (v. 2). He constantly felt the guilt, the filth and dirt of sin upon him (v. 3).
Sin will at first fascinate us, but then it assassinates us. It first thrills us, but then it kills us. Jesus warned us in John 10:10 that the “thief has come to steal, to kill and to destroy…”. Our sin will rob us of so much! My friend, the devil will rob you of your joy in Christ and in life. He will take you down a broad path that always leads to destruction. This is exactly what happened to David, and now in verses 8-12 he prays for restoration.
Remember later in life David wrote about the Good Shepherd and he said, “He restores my souls…” (Psalm 23:3). Today we can believe and find forgiveness for all our sins through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and find restoration for what we have lost by our sin. Sin always brings a curse upon us, but forgiveness will cure us and heal the many wounds of sin. The curse or wounds of sin that cause loss are many and, in this chapter, include:
Loss of peace. "My sin is ever before me" (Psalm 51:3). The guilt of sin sticks like glue. The sinner has no rest, but his conscience is constantly assaulted by the guilt of his sin. “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. "There is no peace," Says my God, "for the wicked." (Isaiah 57:20-21).
Loss of pleasure. "Make me to hear joy and gladness... Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation" (Psalm 51:8, 12). Sin does not bring joy, but it brings sorrow. It takes away joy. Sin promises pleasure but the pleasure it gives is only for "a season" (Hebrews 11:25) and that season is short.
Loss in physical. "Bones which thou hast broken" (Psalm 51:8). Sin is hard on the physical health. David illustrates that truth by speaking of his bones being broken by sin. In his case it was a figure of speech, but sometimes it is a literal experience. David knew how a good shepherd in love would break the front legs of a little lamb that refused to quit straying away from the flock, and then he would carry it on his shoulders and keep it close to him until it was healed.
Loss of presence. "Cast me not away from thy presence" (Psalm 51:11). The loss of Divine presence is a real loss. Moses so valued the presence of God, that he would not go on before Israel without it (Exodus 33:15). The presence of God speaks of fellowship with God. Adam and Eve lost that fellowship through their sin. Fellowship with God is so precious, but sin kills it.
Loss of assurance. "Take not thy Holy Spirit from me" (Psalm 51:11). Sin takes away our assurance. We do not lose our salvation nor the seal of our salvation which is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13, 14). But sin can make us think we have lost it. Sin is fatal to assurance. It cannot destroy the certainty of our salvation, but it can destroy confidence and sureness of mind.
Loss of freedom. "Uphold me with thy free spirit" (Psalm 51:12 OKJ). The word "thy" is not substantiated by the Hebrew text. The text simply says "Uphold [support] my free spirit." which means to give me my freedom back. Freedom comes through forgiveness. The world accuses the redeemed of being bound and restricted because the redeemed will not do sinful things, but it is the world that is bound—by evil habits, foul appetites, and oppressed by the weight of sin. David wants his freedom back. He wants the guilt and burden of sin removed. Real freedom is not doing what we want to do but the freedom and power to do what we ought to do!
Yes, the thief will rob and destroy us with sin, but Jesus went on to say in John 10:10-11, “…but I am come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd Who gives His life for the sheep”. Thank the Lord that today that we can find forgiveness and restoration through the death of our Lord Jesus Christ and His resurrection life!
God bless!
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