David feared God and devoutly served Him throughout his lifetime. Therefore, the Bible again and again depicts David as a man after God’s own heart. David, however, never forgot the transgression he committed in his moment of weakness; David was a person who often blamed himself with a sorrowful regret to the Lord. He wrote, "I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me" (Psalm 51:3). This is a life full of regret. May we never be caught in this state!
The revival of our faith begins with the knowledge of our sins, sincere confession, and self-examination. Only an intimate knowledge, confession, and self-examination of ourselves and what we have done can lead to the forgiveness from God. Finding out the cause of our sins helps prevent us from committing the same sin again. Once our sins are forgiven we should no longer be a slave of sin, for we are a new creation in the Lord. The old person has passed away, and the new person has arrived.
David knew the importance of repentance in the life of the sinner, but he also knew the cause of sin needs to be examined as well. David realized he had sinned, not because he was unwilling to obey God’s commands, but because he had fleshly desires he did not control. Therefore, David implored God in the psalm, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me."
Once some Pharisees invited Jesus to eat, but upon seeing Jesus they were surprised that Jesus did not wash His hands before eating. Jesus said to them, "You cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside may be clean also " (Mt 23:25–26).
Pharisees were particular about outward purity, while the Lord emphasized inward purity. For the reflection of a pure heart is naturally pure, while the reflection of an evil heart is a decadent lifestyle.
We often fall into sin as Christians, but what is vitally important to us is to follow David’s example—we must ask God to create a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within us. As Christians, we are not to resign to sin but to overcome it. Only with a heart-cry like David’s—a heart tired of the life of sin—can we succeed in our battle with the old self to proceed to a bright and better transformation with our Lord Jesus Christ.
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