Verbs have always intrigued me.
Just like other writers, the Biblical authors often used them to amplify the force of their intentions. And I’m convinced that one of the most profound examples of this is revealed in a Davidic Psalm:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.” [Psa. 51:10-12] [my emphasis]
Some would suggest this is a passage that only need be remembered periodically, available at a moments notice should they fall hard and fast off the wagon along their spiritual journey. They’re words of sincere penitence, reserved for the real bad stuff. You know, like what David did.
I agree. But not completely.
Because an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. According to the narrative recorded in the eleventh chapter of 2Samuel, King David of Israel seemed to be at the top of his game. He was a warrior like no other. However, he sent every soldier out to battle while he “…stayed at Jerusalem.” [vs. 11:1]
What’s up with that?
The text can’t confirm any reason for his decision, but it sounds like he was up to no good. Because the ensuing account of his adulterous relationship and subsequent murder of his good friend eventually drove him into repentance and was [probably] the motive behind his writing the 51st Psalm.
But what if he’d jotted down these penitent thoughts years prior to this event?
More importantly, what if he’d meditated on them in prayer before the Lord his God on a daily [or even hourly] basis? Is it likely that the path of destruction that followed might have been avoided?
Neither prayer nor supplication were created to be a solution in hindsight. The words “create, renew, restore” and “sustain” are undisputed instruments of spiritual maintenance. But, in the context of David’s Psalm, these verbs describe actions that are far beyond any man’s own ability to initiate the regenerative process. They are an exclusive mechanism of the only One who can save, forgive and make new again.
Could it be that, the more I choose to be sustained by Him, the less often I might need to be renewed and restored?
“Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation,
then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.” [Psa. 51:14]