1. Create in me a clean heart, O God, – Psalms 51:10
A meditation based on Psalms 51 and Reprint 5681

2. For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
In this Psalm, David makes public confession of his sin and asks God's mercy in forgiveness. In Psalm 32, he gratefully records the blessedness of the man whose transgression is forgiven. R2017:5
Indicating that David had this confession chanted in the Tabernacle with the other Psalms. R3254:2

3. "There is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou
mightest be feared." (`Psalm 130:4`.)‏
God is not merciless.
He does not disregard the weak and imperfect condition.
THE BIBLE is unlike any other book in the world. It is the most honest, the most candid, of all books. The one most approved as a man after God's own heart is, when he sins, most severely condemned and heavily punished. There is a lesson, however, in the Scriptural statement, "There is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mightest be feared." (`Psalm 130:4`.)
these are things to take away from this psalm
He gives us credit for our heart intentions, even when the weaknesses of the flesh are reproved and punished.

4. David
We are surprised that one who manifested so many noble traits should also have manifested such weaknesses as adultery and murder.
We think of David the youth, his reverence for God, his faith, his loyalty, his trials, his difficulties; and we wonder how he could become so changed in so short a time. The secret is not far to seek. It is easier to live a wholly consecrated life in poverty than when surrounded by wealth and the pleasures, customs and liberties of the court. The king temporarily forgot that the Ark, representative of God's favor and presence, was now in his city. He realized indeed that the eyes of the Lord were in every place beholding the evil and the good; yet the seeing of the Tabernacle should have brought freshly to his mind the thought, "Thou God seest me."

5. David had been reverent, loyal and faithful.
How could he change so much in such a short time?
We may be sure, however, that King David did not get into so sinful a condition of mind and heart suddenly. The narrative shows that the matter must have gone on for months, gradually reaching a culmination. Nor would it be fair to the king to assume that his heart was as wrong as his conduct. Rather we must assume, from subsequent manifestations, that his heart was still loyal to God and to the principles of righteousness, but somehow his heart had gone to sleep and his flesh had become very much alive.
Let us sing and meditate upon the message in Hymn 3, Come to Me.

6. Psalms 51:1
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: According to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Psalms 51:2
Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.

7. Come To Me – Hymn 3
Ah! my heart is heavy laden,
Weary and oppressed.
Come to me, saith One, and coming,
Be at rest.
Hath he marks to lead me to him,
If he be my guide?
In his feet and hands are wound-prints,
And his side.
Is there diadem, as monarch,
That his brow adorns?
Yes, a crown in very surety,
But of thorns!
If I find him, if I follow,
What’s my portion here?
Many a sorrow, many a conflict,
Many a tear.
If I still hold closely to him,
What have I at last?
Sorrow vanquished, labor ended,
Jordan past!
If I ask him to receive me,
Will he say me nay?
Not till earth and not till heaven
Pass away!

8. It is easier to live a wholly consecrated life in poverty than when surrounded by wealth and pleasure.
Brethren in the impoverished areas of eastern europe had made this very claim; that while we in the west prayed for them in thieir difficult economic and political environment, they prayed for us because of the abundance and materalism of western society.
David did not attempt to justify his course or deny the wrong.

9. THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP. -- LUKE 9:23.
WOULD ye be My disciples? Consider again:
Can ye follow My footsteps through trial and pain?
Can ye throw away pleasure, and glory, and fame,
And live but to honor My cause and My name?
Can ye turn from the glitter of fashion and mirth,
And dwell like a pilgrim and stranger on earth,
Despising earth's riches, and living to bless?
Can you follow the feet of the shelterless?
Can ye ask from your heart the forgiveness of men?
Can ye list to reproaches, nor answer again?
Can ye pray that repentance to life may be theirs
Who've watched for your falling, who've set for you snares?
When ye hear I am come, then can ye arise,
The joy of your heart springing up in your eyes?
Can ye come out to meet Me, whate'er the cost be,
Though ye come on the waves of a storm-crested sea?

10. The king temporarily forgot that the Ark, representative of God's favor and presence, was now in his city.
Seeing of the Tabernacle should have brought freshly to his mind the thought, "Thou God seest me."

11. Psalms 51:3
For I know my transgressions; And my sin is ever before me.
Psalms 51:4
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, And done that which is evil in thy sight; That thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, And be clear when thou judgest.

12. King David did not get into so sinful a condition
of mind and heart suddenly.
The narrative shows that the matter must have gone on for months, gradually reaching a culmination.

13. His heart was still loyal to God and to the principles of righteousness, but somehow his heart had gone to sleep and his flesh had become very much alive.

14. His relationship with God had made him keen of intellect; and now, in yielding to temptation, this keenness of mind was all the more effective in the evil course.

15. Psalms 51:5
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; And in sin did
my mother conceive me.
Psalms 51:6
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; And in the hidden part thou wilt make me to know wisdom.

16. Hymn 130 Earnest Watchfulness I want a principle within,
Of jealous, godly fear;
A sensibility of sin,
A pain to feel it near;
I want the first approach to feel
Of pride or fond desire;
To catch the wand’ring of my will,
And quench the kindling fire.
From thee that I no more may part,
No more thy goodness grieve,
The filial awe, the loving heart,
The tender conscience give.
Quick as the apple of an eye,
O God, my conscience make;
Awake my soul when sin is nigh,
And keep it still awake.
If to the right or left I stray,
That moment, Lord, reprove;
And let thy goodness chase away
All hindrance to thy love.
O! may the least omission pain
My well instructed soul.
And send me to the blood again,
Which makes and keeps me whole.

17. David first coveted his neighbor's wife.
He did not rebuke this sinful condition of mind, but allowed it to proceed until he stole his neighbor's wife and arranged for him to be killed on the battlefield.

18. Make me to hear joy and gladness, That the bones
Psalms 51:7
Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Psalms 51:8
Make me to hear joy and gladness, That the bones
which thou hast broken may rejoice.
While the wrong to fellow-creatures was recognized by the king, he recognized a still higher responsibility to God.

19. David seemed unable to bring himself to repentance, therefore God sent the prophet Nathan unto him.

20. “THOU ART THE MAN”
The prophet Nathan wisely brought his reproof in the form of a parable about a poor man with one lamb which was stolen by a wealthy neighbor.

21. Instantly King David's heart was aroused; immediately his conscience was quickened.
The king immediately acknowledged his sin, and prayed, fasted and mourned.

22. Hide thy face from my sins, And blot out all mine iniquities.
Psalms 51:9
Hide thy face from my sins, And blot out all mine
iniquities.
Psalms 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me.
Therefore our need for the robe of Christ's righteousness. HG409:5

23. Psalms 51:11
Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy holy Spirit from me.
Psalms 51:12
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with a willing spirit.

24. I BRING MY ALL TO THEE – Hymn 103
I bring my sins to thee,
The sins I cannot count,
That all may cleansed be
In thy once opened fount;
I bring them, Saviour, all to thee,
The burden is too great for me,
The burden is too great for me.
I bring my grief to thee,
The grief I cannot tell;
No words shall needed be,
Thou knowest all so well;
I bring the sorrow laid on me,
O loving Saviour, all to thee,
O loving Saviour, all to thee.
My joys to thee I bring,
The joys thy love has giv’n
That each may be a wing
To lift me nearer heav’n;
I bring them, Saviour, all to thee,
Who hast procured them all for me,
Who hast procured them all for me.
My life I bring to thee:
I would not be my own,
O Saviour, let me be
Thine, ever, thine alone.
My heart, my life, my all I bring
To thee, my Saviour and my King,
To thee, my Saviour and my King.

25. Many Christians have had experience along this line
Many Christians have had experience along this line. God does not continue to treat them as sinners; but, accepting their heart contrition, He forgives them in that sense of the word; yet true to His arrangement, "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

26. Psalms 51:13
Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; And sinners shall be converted unto thee.
Psalms 51:14
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation; [And] my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
If we would realize the influence of our minds over our own bodies what a great thought-reform movement would speedily begin in us. R2322:1
The world's need is thus foreshown. D450

27. Psalms 51:15
O Lord, open thou my lips; And my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
Psalms 51:16
For thou delightest not in sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering.

28. Hymn 56 The Mercy Seat 1 From ev’ry stormy wind that blows,
From ev’ry swelling tide of woes,
There is a calm, a sure retreat;
‘Tis found beneath the mercy seat.
2 There is a place where Jesus sheds
The oil of gladness on our heads;
A place than all besides more sweet;
It is the blood-bought mercy seat.
Hymn 56
The Mercy Seat
3 O! whither could we flee for aid,
When tempted, desolate, dismayed?
Or how would hosts of foes defeat,
Had suff’ring saints no mercy seat?
4 There, there on eagle wings we soar,
And sin and sense molest no more;
And heav’n comes down our souls to greet,
While glory crowns the mercy seat.

29. Psalms 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Psalms 51:18
Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: Build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

30. The lesson applies to all who have ever been in covenant relationship with God.

31. The important lesson here is that we shall keep close accounts with God.
No child of God should go forth in the morning without an earnest petition to Him for Divine supervision of his affairs and for help to walk in the right path.
No child of God should retire at night without a retrospective glance on all the day's pathway, to discern to what extent it has been a profitable one and has brought him a day's march nearer the Heavenly Home.
No child of God should retire at night without a retrospective glance on all the day's pathway.

32. If perchance something has occurred of which he should feel ashamed, it is none too soon to go at once to the Throne of Heavenly Grace to obtain mercy and find fresh help for future times of need.
Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the
throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help [us] in time of need.

33. Then will thou delight in the sacrifices of
Psalms 51:19
Then will thou delight in the sacrifices of
righteousness, In burnt-offering and in whole burnt-offering: Then will they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
David's language should not be understood to teach the restoration of the literal, bloody, typical sacrifices, is evident, for in the same connection he says, "Thou desirest not sacrifice [either typical or antitypical-- full atonement for sin having been accomplished by that time "once for all"]...The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." All these sacrifices must be of the free will and desire of the offerer. Lev. 1:3 -- T96

34. The child of God thus keeping daily accounts with the Father and with the Redeemer, will abide in Their love and not be in danger of falling into any such great sins as these noted in this lesson. Even King David, we may be sure, would have fallen into no such sins had he not allowed gradually to arise earth-born clouds of fleshly hues between the Lord and himself.

35. Hymn 273 The Lord, A Sun And Shield
1 Sun of my soul, my Father dear,
I know no night when thou art near.
O! may no earth-born cloud arise
To hide thee from thy servant’s eyes.
2 Shield of my soul, tho’ tempests rage,
And ‘gainst me hosts of foes engage,
My refuge and my fortress thou,
Before thee ev’ry foe must bow.
3 Thy grace and glory thou dost give
To those who near thee ever live;
And no good thing dost thou withhold
From sheep which stray not from thy fold.
4 Thy choicest treasure, e’en thy Son,
Thy well beloved and only one,
Freely thou gavest once for me,
From sin and death to set me free.
5 Yea, thou who sparedst not thy Son,
Whose sacrifice our ransom won,
Shalt, with him, all things freely give;
He lives, a pledge that we shall live.

36. O SOUL OF MINE!
O SOUL of mine, be calm, be still,
Submit thyself to God,
In all thy ways yield to His will,
Nor faint beneath the rod.
O soul of mine, like potter's clay
Within the Master's hand,
O let Him mould thee day by day,
Till faultless thou shalt stand.
O soul of mine, have faith, believe,
Nor count the cost of strife,
Fight on, faint not, thou shalt receive
At last the Crown of Life!