Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10 (NASB)
Psalm 51 is a remarkable psalm, which takes us to the heart of a repentant king David who has been exposed as an adulterer and sinner against God. It is David’s humble prayer of repentance to God, laying his sins before Him. David seeks God’s compassion and cleansing, even though he has sinned against Him rather than just against himself. This is the work of a compassionate God who seeks to save all sinners, whether they be kings or commoners – His Spirit touches the sinner’s heart directly or indirectly through another, as in the case here with Nathan and David.
David pleads “create in me a clean heart” with God knowing it was going to be painful; “create” is to be effectively cut down to be rebuilt anew (bârâ in Hebrew). “Clean” is ṭâhôr in Hebrew, meaning to be morally and ceremonially pure – something that only God could do and still can do today. He further pleads for the renewal of “a steadfast spirit within” him; which is “a right spirit” in the KJV. Such a spirit is kûn in Hebrew: erect, stable, and perfect. David’s repentant prayer to God is from the heart of a man who has lost the ‘crown jewels’ of God’s presence in his life; one cannot help but be moved when reading it.
Dear Reader, have you been where David was in this prayer – I have. It is a painful situation to be in, but praise God He sent someone (Nathan) to guide David back to Him. He also sent someone to me once to guide me back to Him; is He sending someone to you today, or maybe even sending you to someone?
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Devotional Treasures
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