Restoring the Joy of
Your Salvation: A Psalm 51:11-13 Devotional
“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 sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will
teach transgressors Your ways and sinners will be converted to You.”
David spent the first ten verses of this Psalm recognizing and repenting
of his sins, declaring his unworthiness to be in God’s presence, and then
petitioning God to re-create His heart - to transform it - so he would be made
in the image of God again. He realized his sins were rebellion against God and recognized
this turning away from God marred his God-given heart so it was no more like
God’s heart. David wanted a God-renewed right spirit so he could and would
stand strong and steadfast in God’s ways.
With verses eleven through thirteen, David recognized God’s holiness did
not permit sin to be in His presence. He realized God cast away from Himself
sinful people. We read of God’s compassion and graciousness in 2 Kings 13:23 where
He did not destroy or banish the people from His presence. He gave them another
chance. In 2 Kings 24:20, a second, even a third and fourth chance, did not
lead the Israelites to return to God. His anger over the people’s sin caused
Him to cast them from His presence. This means they could no longer face God,
see His face, or stand near Him. This banishment is what David pled against
from God. He pled for God’s mercy on His sins and rebellion. David wanted to be
in fellowship with the Lord again. He realized his sins tainted his heart and
removed his spirit from a relationship with God. David wanted to be in the
presence of God. He did not want God to remove His Holy Spirit from himself like
God did to Saul. David remembered well the torment King Saul experienced when
God removed His Spirit from Saul and evil spirits then indwelled him. He had
been the lute player to calm Saul’s spirit. How often do we dismiss sin as just
a little thing that God will forgive? David realized no small sin existed
because all sin is turning away from God. He wanted to be in God’s presence and
have a relationship with Him so he repented and then pleaded for God to create
in him a new heart, renew his spirit, allow him to stay in His presence – to have
mercy upon him – and to allow His Spirit to remain in Him.
Beyond this, David asked for his joy of salvation from God to be
restored. He understood joy comes from a relationship with God. David lived at
times trying to please himself, but realized he was never happy for long.
Happiness due to circumstances is fleeting, but an intimate relationship with
God brings joy. A person can have this everlasting joy because he or she knows
God provides salvation for those who believe and trust in Him. Joy is not
fleeting. David recognized his attempts at happiness did not fulfill his desire.
Only God and His salvation provided full joy that filled him completely. Are
there times when you think, if I could just have a car like that, then I would want
nothing more; that will make me happy? Tangible things may make you happy for a
time, but happiness is fleeting. Joy from the Lord is eternal and does not rely
upon tangible things, things that rust, corrode, crumble, or fade away.
Besides joy of God’s salvation, David asked God to “sustain me with a
willing spirit.” Sustaining anything requires a person to lean upon someone to
uphold them. With this request, David asked God to be His support and strength,
Him upon whom he lived and found his purpose. He wanted to live honorably as
God’s child. David asked God to be his strength and support so he would continue
to willingly and honorably live in His ways. David realized he needed God’s
strength and undergirding to stay faithful to Him. He understood God could give
him the power through His Spirit to continue to choose God’s ways and not his
own. Do we sometimes forget or choose not to pray before going to work, school,
ministry projects, vacation, or any other task or place we have on our agenda?
How is your level of strength not to sin and to walk the way God wants you to
walk – righteously – when you do not pray before beginning? We face choices
each day to walk and follow God’s ways or follow the ways we consider wise. We
should pray before endeavoring anything that we will walk with the strength and
in the wisdom of God so we do not sin and He is glorified. Beginning without
prayer can lead you away from God and Satan will take hold of part of your
life. Beware! David understood this, though we each know he kept relearning certain
lessons just as we each do during our lives.
With verse thirteen, David changed his prayer. He realized his faith in
God required the heart and obedience. In Deuteronomy, Exodus, and Leviticus,
God told the Israelites to teach their children and the foreigners who lived
among them about Him and train them to follow Him and His ways. David
understood he must show his love for God by his obedience to Him and His
commands. He pledged to God in his prayer he would teach transgressors His
ways. He meant he would train people to know God and His laws so they could
recognize Him for themselves and have a relationship with Him. David understood
every person on earth sinned against God and walked away from His ways. He
wanted to show God his love and so told Him he would teach people about God and
how He wanted them to live, not in sin and rebellion. Have you ever before read
the Bible or heard in a sermon something new you had never encountered? When
you found out you were doing or had done something contrary to God’s ways, did
you seek His forgiveness and promise to walk in His strength, which enables you
not to do that thing again? David wanted to make sure people knew God and His
laws so they would not sin against Him and be cast out of His presence. He did
not want them to be separated from God by sin and so pledged to teach
transgressors God’s ways.
The final part of verse thirteen says, “Sinners will be converted to You.”
David wanted people, transgressors, to hear about and understand God’s laws and
God Himself so they would want to have a saving relationship with Him. By this
they could have an intimate relationship with God by turning back to Him from
their own ways. David experienced firsthand what life was like in the presence
of God being sin-free. He understood how hard life was when he sought to
satisfy himself and by it removed himself from an intimate relationship with
God. David wanted transgressors to understand about God and His commands so
they would realize His love for them, turn to Him for their salvation, and
receive joyful intimacy.
What today are you trying to hide from
God? Why do you hide it? It keeps you from a relationship with God and He already
knows about it. He is waiting for you to give it up, confess it to Him, and
accept His forgiveness.
God wants to love you
every day and be in a close, intimate relationship with you.
What is keeping you from the joy of salvation?
Give it to God and let Him mold in you with a willing spirit.
