Create in Me a Clean Heart

Psalm 51:7–12, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free spirit.”

Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of repentance.

He is not trying to defend what he has done. He is not blaming someone else. He has come face to face with his sin, and he knows that only God can cleanse what sin has polluted.

Listen to the words David uses:
Purge me.
Wash me.
Blot out my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart.
Renew a right spirit within me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.

David understood that he needed more than better behavior.

He needed God to work in his heart.

We sometimes concentrate so much on correcting the outside that we forget where the real problem begins. If the heart is wrong, eventually the life will show it.

David does not ask merely to feel better about himself. He wants fellowship with God restored.

Sin steals joy. Sin disrupts fellowship. Sin makes the heart cold toward the things of God.

But repentance opens the door to restoration.

There may be things we cannot undo. There may be consequences that remain. But there is no sin we need to hide from the God who already sees our heart.

We can come to Him honestly and pray:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God.”

Act Today: Pray through Psalm 51:7–12 slowly and personally. Do not rush past anything the LORD brings to your attention. Ask Him not only to forgive you, but to renew your heart and restore the joy of walking closely with Him.