Finding Restoration After a Fall

“Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”
Psalm 51:6-7

This psalm is the first of a series of 15 psalms assigned by their titles to David. They were connected to special circumstances in his life, which are said to have furnished the occasion for their composition.

This psalm consists of four parts: the first is an earnest prayer for mercy and forgiveness (vv.1-4). The second is an entreaty for restoration and renewal (vv.5-12). The third is a promise made if he is restored and renewed (vv.13-17), and the fourth is a petition for God’s blessing (vv.18-19).

This part of David’s prayer comes after God’s acquittal. Justification is the first step and the man of God has sought the Lord for the wiping away of his past transgressions. Oh, what relief this is! Now has come the time for restoration and renewal of spiritual life. David has acknowledged not only that he has committed acts of sin, but also that his sin is thoroughly ingrained in his nature (v.5). He was conceived in it; he was brought forth in it and, therefore, only the strongest remedy can cleanse him from it.

Now to the text: First, David calls for our attention by using the word, “behold!” This is a word of power. It takes hold of us and demands our attention. It marks the seriousness and solemnity of the things that he is bringing before us. Second, David reveals to us what God desires. What God requires is not that which we can obtain by adherence to the law or by ritual. What God desires only He can give. He desires true inward purity of thought and heart. Third, we discover how God gives what He desires: “and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom” (v.6b). God is content with nothing less than true inward purity; He gives this to us by the re-establishment of His authority and fear in the heart, since “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…”(Ps.111:10). Healing that does not penetrate to the root of the disease is vain and deceptive. The heart must be made right or nothing is right (Prov.4:23). This is the work of God through Christ.

Fourth, we discover the means that God uses to restore us: “Purify me with hyssop…” (v.7a). Hyssop was a small bush with thin branches that served as the brush with which the blood of the sacrificial lamb was sprinkled on the doorpost during the first Passover (Ex.12:22). The priests also used it to sprinkle the blood of cleansing on the people of Israel (Ex.24:6-8; Lev.14:4). According to Levitical law, hyssop alone could cleanse an Israelite from contact with a corpse (Num.19:18) or from the defilement of leprosy (Lev.14:4). What David recognizes here is that his impurity is of the most extreme kind and it needs the remedy which has the greatest purifying power. The blood of sprinkling symbolized the blood of Christ.

Fifth, we discover the depth to which we need to be cleansed: “Wash me…” (v.7b) -- as a fuller washes a filthy and foul garment, not as a man washes his skin. A fuller washes a garment thoroughly and completely until it is as it ought to be.

Finally, we learn the level of restoration of purity that can be obtained: “and I shall be whiter than snow” (v.7b). Snow is always set before us to point out its remarkable whiteness. Whether it glistens on the mountain, or blankets the countryside, is there anything that can compare with it? David says there is! There is something whiter. We do not find it in the world of nature, but in the world of grace. We would not find this white holy purity among the angels, although they are pure and holy. This purity can be found on the chief of sinners because of the grace and kindness of God in Christ.

            What can wash away my sin?
            Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
            What can make me whole again?
            Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
            Oh, precious is the flow,
            That makes me white as snow!
            No other fount I know,
            Nothing but the blood of Jesus! ¹
            
            There is a fountain filled with blood,
            Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins
            And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
            Lose all their guilty stains! ²  

            The blood that Jesus shed for me,
            Way back on Calvary,
            The blood that gives me strength from day to day,
            It will never lose its power.

1. Steadfastness is renewed. (v.10)

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”   

Here David is saying, “God do more than purify me; do more than cleanse me. By an act of Your creative power, make me a new clean heart and spirit. Renovate my entire nature, Lord!”

2. Joy is restored. (v.12)

“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.”

Here David cries out for that joy that he was conscious of God’s favor. Then he adds “sustain,” or uphold, me; preserve me from falling by giving me a noble and free spirit.

3. A determination is renewed to promote the glory of God by brings others to Christ. (v.13)

“Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You.”

The truly grateful heart cannot be satisfied without making some return to God for His goodness. However, the most satisfying return is by deeds, not words.

4. The conscience is relieved and praise is unleashed. (v.14)

“Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.”

When the heart and conscience have been cleansed, the tongue is freed to sing aloud the mighty praises of Jehovah!

O for a thousand tongues to sing, my great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace.
He breaks the power of cancelled sin; He sets the prisoner free,
His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood availed for me! ⁴

5. Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, when restoration happens, there remains a deep, yet soft heart that knows the joy of forgiveness, but still feels the pain of past failure. (vv.16-17)

The joy of forgiveness does not diminish the pain our heart feels for sinning against our Savior’s love. We can make no atonement for our sin; we can perform no duty that makes up for it. However, we can offer to God a consecrated and broken heart. That is why this is called “a sacrifice of God,” because by it we glorify God in the full acknowledgement that He is holy, just, and altogether righteous.