Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit. (Psalm 51:10-13, ESV)
One of the more fascinating statistics on the PGA Tour is “bounce back” birdies. Most golfers are familiar with this category. A professional golfer makes a bogey or worse and immediately makes a birdie on the next hole; hence they “bounce back.”
How to explain this phenomenon is up for debate. Perhaps they tend to focus more. Perhaps they have an adrenaline rush and just accomplish extraordinary things. Maybe, just maybe, these guys are that good. Wherever the truth is found, we marvel at a good comeback.
For instance, the year that Dustin donned the green jacket, “’Twenty-Twenty,” Tiger made a ten on number twelve—a par three. Then, he proceeded to make five birdies on the last six holes. That, my friends, is bouncing back.
In today’s scripture, we are reminded of a very different kind of bounce back. King David, as you will recall, had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Then to cover his sin, he had her husband, Uriah, murdered.
As the story unfolds, Nathan the prophet wisely constructs a parable to expose David’s carefully-crafted cover-up. David, the man once described by God as “a man after my heart” (Acts 13:22), eventually owns his massive, moral failures and repents.
Psalm fifty-one is David’s psalm of repentance. As the “poet laureate” of Israel, it is here that David shines in humility and contrition.
In this magnificent song, David gives us an inside look at his personal repentance, his reconciliation with God, and his restoration to the throne. It begins with heartfelt repentance. The first eleven verses detail his crying out to God and then beautifully depict him receiving forgiveness.
Keep in mind, it might appear that he makes six requests, but Hebrew poetry doesn’t work that way. More times than not, the Psalter uses repetition for effect, to emphasize his point. This is known as parallelism. David cries out to God for three things:
First, David cries out that God would “create in me a clean heart.” Then, he follows that with a request to “renew a right spirit within me.” Essentially, he is saying the same thing with different words. He is asking God to create (bara in Hebrew) in him a new heart. This word is used in Genesis when Moses says God created (bara) the heavens and earth. The idea is this—God created something entirely new. David is not primarily asking for moral reform. He is asking God to create a new “inner man” with new desires and new motives. The New Testament would describe this as being “born again” (John 3).
Second, David appeals to God to “take not the Holy Spirit from me” and “cast me not away from your presence.” Space doesn’t allow a lengthy exposition. Suffice it to say, David is saying, in poetic fashion, “God, your nearness is my good. Your smile is my motivation. Your approval is the fuel of my life.” The life of the Spirit of God is our connection to his presence and his love.
Finally, he petitions God to “restore the joy of your salvation,” and “uphold me with a willing spirit.” David is desperate to know that which he once enjoyed before chasing that which could not and would not satisfy. He wanted to experience yet again the “joy of the Lord.” He desperately needed to rediscover the sustaining power of God energizing his will to serve Yahweh. The joy of the Lord is, indeed, our strength.
If you find yourself in moral failure, like David, turn or return to Yahweh! If you find yourself defeated in life, return to your Lord, Savior, and Friend—Jesus the Christ. He will forgive you; he will breathe the breath of life into your spirit and strengthen you to continue the journey.