A Man After God's Own Heart

Good Morning!!!

Psalm 51 (English Standard Version)
Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
5Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.
14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
15O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem;
19then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

It isn’t a pleasant thing to admit that I am a sinner – but it is truth. The Bible tells me that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. That “all” includes me. And I know it – because the Holy Spirit reveals it to me.

One of the enigmas of the Bible is King David. A year or so ago, our Bible study group did the Beth Moore study on David. It was a worthwhile Bible study – but one that revealed some character traits in King David that made us begin to wonder how God could call him a man after God’s own heart. He wasn’t a good husband. He wasn’t a good father. His governing abilities were suspect – shoot, even his own son led a revolt and almost overthrew him. Still God – not man – called David a man after His own heart.

As the banner states in the above Psalm, David wrote this Psalm after having been confronted with his sin of adultery and murder. That’s right, David committed murder. He intentionally set it up so that Uriah would be killed. Why? Because Uriah, being a faithful soldier, would not spend the night with Bathsheba and thus cover David adulterous sin. And this is the man who God said was a man after His own heart!

So what is David saying in this Psalm? He is asking for God’s forgiveness and cleansing. That’s it in a nutshell. David had seen himself as he was and he didn’t like the sight he saw. So David turned to God and asked that God forgive him and cleanse him from the unrighteousness that was in him. I think it important to note that David did not attempt to bargain with God – if You will cleanse me I will do thus and such. No – David recognized his character was needed changing in order for him to be of service. There are several key verses in this passage but I think the most telling for David was verse 17 - 17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Like a wild stallion, until David’s spirit was in accord with God – until David’s heart was right with God, he could not hope to have the forgiveness and cleansing he needed so desperately.

Yes, I am a sinner – I know this to be true. And I know the remedy is to have a broken spirit and a heart that is broken and contrite. Then I can be used of God in a manner most glorious for Him. And maybe God will make the same comment of me … that I am a man after His own heart. Blessings on you this day.

Agape’

Mr. Jim