Create In Me a Clean Heart

Please turn in your Bibles to Psalm 51.

What circumstances led David to utter the words: “Create in me a clean heart?” And (spiritually speaking) how can you and I, as flawed people, get our hearts cleaned also?

Before David became king, Saul reigned over the kingdom for 40 years. When Samuel anointed Saul as king back in 1 Sam 9. Saul was young and handsome. Although he was a head taller than everyone, he was humble. Once king, however, his humility evaporated fast. His stubborn pride and sneaky defiance to God led to him losing the throne to David.

His replacement as king was David… the youngest of 8 sons. David was described in 1 Sam 13:14 (and Acts 13:22) as a man after God’s own heart.

Which leads me to my first point.

To have a clean heart, we must first pursue what’s on God’s heart.

Like David, our will must pursue God’s will. Our prayer must always be, “Thy will be done.”

By this time, Saul had given up pursuing God’s heart. In fact, most of the Old Testament tells the story of God’s people doing their own thing over and over again, and God rescuing them over and over again.

Isaiah 19:13 says, “this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me.”

Don’t let your heart be far from God. Draw near to Him. Like David, pursue God and His will for you.

Hebrews 10:22 says, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean… from an evil conscience… and our bodies washed with pure water.” And in Ch 11:6, the writer says, “whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

James 4:8-10 “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands… and purify your hearts…. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

So if we want a clean heart, we must draw near to God, and in humility, we must pursue Him and His will.

When we resist His will, what happens to us is what happened to Pharaoh in Exodus 7:3. Our hearts are hardened. Our conscience gets callous. Our judgment gets clouded. Our sins become bold. And that’s self destructive.

Proverbs 28:14 14 Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always,

but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

Don’t distance your heart from God. Don’t resist him. Don’t harden your heart like Pharaoh. Instead, pursue Him.

1 Chron 28:9 “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you…”

Acts 17:26-27 26 And he made from one man [Adam] every nation… 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us…

Seek Him. You will find Him. He’s not far from each one of us.

In seeking God, David had developed such a tenderness toward the Lord, that whenever he sinned, it says his “heart struck him.” 1 Sam 24:5, after cutting the corner of Saul’s robe just to show he could; and in 2 Sam 24:10, after numbering the people to measure the nation’s human strength. In both cases, it says “David’s heart struck him.”

We want a heart so tuned to God’s will that when we fail Him, we feel it. We get uncomfortable in our heart. It feels like we’ve been stricken, and the only relief is to turn back in repentance.

Are our hearts tuned into that signal? Does my heart beat with His?

What does it look like when this happens? Let’s read Psalm 51.

To the choirmaster. A psalm of David,

when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone into 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.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Let 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.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.

14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.

15 O 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.

17 The 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; 19 then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Wash me. Cleanse me (v 2). Purge me. Wash me (v 7). Renew me (v 10). Restore me (v 12). Deliver me (v 14).

What on earth happened?

Time won’t permit us to read the whole story. But in 2 Sam 11 and 12, David had one of his faithful soldiers, Uriah, killed after David had an affair with the man’s wife, Bathsheba. She got pregnant. So David plotted to have him killed in such a sneaky, sleazy way. You should read the story. But I warn you, it’s not PG. David had Uriah unknowingly deliver sealed instructions to General Joab that put Uriah on the most heated battlefront, and then Joab withdrew as the scheme was laid out. So Uriah was struck down. And David got to take his wife. No one was supposed to find out.

But the Lord was displeased (2 Sam 11:27). So God shared David’s secret murder to the prophet Nathan, and sent the prophet to confront David in Ch 12. And Nathan goes to David and tells him a story, as if he is reporting news to the king:

Rich dude with very many flocks and herds had a visitor. Instead of feeding the guest from his own flock, he took the only pet a poor dude had, one little female lamb the poor man had raised in his home like a daughter. But the rich man stole it, slaughtered it and fed it to his guest.

Now David, having grown up as a shepherd, was a lover of sheep. What do you think was his reaction to this news?

Start with 2 Sam 12:5-15.

5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’” 13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child who is born to you shall die.” 15 Then Nathan went to his house.

I bet Nathan’s words echoed in David’s head: “You are the man! You are the man.” Your own words condemn you. You did this thing. Why? I blessed you. I would have blessed you more. Why do this? David, you are the man.

In verse 13, David responds, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

It is in this context that he wrote Psalm 51.

Wash me. Cleanse me. Purge me. Renew me. Restore me. Deliver me… from my sin.

Which brings me to my second point,

Discussion

1. “Thy will be done.” Where is your will actually pursuing something other than God’s right now?
2. David’s heart struck him. Is your heart still sensitive, or has something gone callous?
3. Read Psalm 51 slowly. Which of the seven, wash, cleanse, purge, renew, restore, deliver, is the one you need most?

To have a clean heart, we must face our sin and repent.

David calls them “my transgressions. My iniquity. My sin.” He says, it’s “ever before me” (Ps 51:3). He faced it. He didn’t hide from it. He didn’t minimize it. He owned it. And he repented of it.

2 Timothy 2:19-26 19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”

When confronted by Nathan, David came to his senses. He acknowledged his sin, and turned from it. He fled from his passion; in order to (once again) pursue a pure heart.

1 John 1:5-10 5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

To have a clean heart, we can’t walk in darkness. We must face our sin and repent. If we say we have no sin, we are deceived. If we confess our sins to Him, the Lord Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

So Point 1, To have a clean heart, we must first pursue what’s on God’s heart.

Point 2, To have a clean heart, we must face our sin and repent.

Which leads me to Point 3:

Discussion

1. “You are the man.” What does it take for someone to hear that and not defend themselves?
2. David owned it, did not minimize it, and repented. Which of those three is hardest for you?
3. 1 John 1:9 promises cleansing after confession. What keeps you from taking Him up on it?

To have a clean heart, we must be mindful of God’s Word

Psalms 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

Our thoughts and our words matter. They make a huge difference in the purity of our heart. Are my thoughts and words acceptable to God? That question should always be on my mind.

Psalms 119:9-16

9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. 10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!

11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

12 Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes!

13 With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth.

14 In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.

15 I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.

16 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.

Want a clean heart? Guard it with God’s Word. Store the Scriptures in your heart, and it cleans out the plaque of our own sin nature.

Solomon said in Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

With all your heart, trust in the Lord. Acknowledge Him.

Solomon did.

1 Kings 3:5-10

5 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. 7 And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. 9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” 10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.

And in the next chapter, it says, “29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, 30 so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser than all other men…”

Jesus says in Matthew 6:21, “Where your treasure is, your heart will be also.”

For Solomon, his treasure was with knowing God like his father, David, and discerning good from evil to best serve the nation. He asked for wisdom not riches, and God gave him both.

But Solomon understood that it is God who grants wisdom. And his father David understood that it is God alone who can create a clean heart.

And that’s my final point.

Discussion

1. “Are my thoughts and words acceptable to God?” When did you last actually ask that in the moment?
2. Psalm 119:11 says stored-up word, not read word. What is the difference?
3. Solomon asked for discernment instead of riches. What would you ask for if the question came tonight?

God creates a clean heart in us, if we only ask Him.

David prayed through words of remorse and discomfort, “Create in me a clean heart.” He acknowledged this is a miracle that only God can perform.

The word create in Psalm 51 is בָּרָא ḇârâ’. It is the same word used in Genesis 1:1. “God created the heavens and the earth.”

God does this miraculous work, when we ask Him. And every follower of Christ must ask him.

Oh God, create in me a clean heart.

Wash me, as only you can.

Cleanse me, as only you can.

Purge me, as only you can.

Renew me. Restore me. Deliver me, as only you can.

Create in me a heart that is pure. A heart that is after yours.

Remember in John 13, when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples? He poured water in a basin and wrapped a towel around his waist. He said (v.7), “What I’m doing, you don’t understand now. But afterward, you will.”

Peter said to him (John 13:8), “You shall never wash my feet.”

What did Jesus say? “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”

Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!”

Lord, create in me a clean heart. As only You can.

Discussion

1. Bara is the Genesis 1:1 word. Why does it matter that David asked for a creation, not a repair?
2. Peter said never, then said everything. What made him change his mind?
3. “As only You can.” What have you been trying to clean up yourself?

Something to Sit With

How can you and I, as flawed people, get our hearts cleaned also?

• To have a clean heart, we must first pursue what’s on God’s heart.
• To have a clean heart, we must face our sin and repent.
• To have a clean heart, we must be mindful of God’s Word.
• To have a clean heart, we must simply ask, and let Him do the rest.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the context of Psalm 51?

David wrote Psalm 51 after the prophet Nathan confronted him about his affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah. The psalm is a prayer of deep repentance, asking God for forgiveness and a renewed heart.

What does “create” mean in Psalm 51:10?

The Hebrew word is bara, the same word used in Genesis 1:1 for God’s creation of the heavens and the earth. It refers to divine creation, something only God can do. David is asking God to do a creative miracle in his heart.

How did David get a clean heart after such serious sin?

David pursued God’s heart, faced his sin without minimizing it, stored God’s Word in his heart, and asked God to do the work of cleansing. His repentance was genuine and immediate when Nathan confronted him.

What does it mean to be “a man after God’s own heart”?

It does not mean perfection. David sinned grievously. It means his will pursued God’s will.

When he strayed, his heart “struck him.” When confronted, he repented. His orientation was always back toward God.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway.