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over the uh the past few weeks we've been looking at the the holy spirit's work in the Old Testament
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and we've talked a lot about um what the Holy Spirit uh the scripture describes some of the things that the holy spirit's Ministry has
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um done in people in their Chang ing their lives but one of the things that I was thinking about and had kind of had it in
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the bottom of my notes for probably three or four weeks um I want to talk about today that the the spirit's Ministry in
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the Old Testament was not limited to directing people to govern with wisdom as we saw with u perhaps someone
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like Gideon enhancing his his leadership and management skills allowing him to um put off uh what would have been might
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have been fear and to uh to stand firm in uh in uh his uh belief and and uh knowledge of
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what God wanted to do um the spirit's Ministry is not limited to gifting men with skills of
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craftsmanship uh an artistic talent that we saw in bezalel for bezalel for example his ministry is not limited to granting men tremendous physical
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strength like we saw with Samson and the spirit's Ministry is not limited to creating a Theocratic
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political Nation as we saw with Moses and the organization of the nation of Israel the the spirit's work does
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involve using these men using these things and it did uh involve the progressive revelation of God's Will and
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how he would work out the um promise in Genesis
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that there would be the seed of woman that there would be a be a messiah but it also involved and I don't
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think we've delved into this very much um yes we see rebuke we see judgment on the nation of Israel and on
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her enemies but it also involved even in the Old Testament a personal renewal of moral and spiritual
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and spiritual nature and the example um probably the the biggest example at least that I could think of is Psalm
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51 with King David and so I want to read that Psalm if you'd like to follow along in your your Bibles I'm going to read Psalm 51 and I don't mean for this to
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sound like um a sermon on psalm 51 but again what I want to demonstrate here or try to show is that the spirit's
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was of giving of giving people and particularly um in a very uh deep and moving way uh
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um thought and the conviction of sin and the need for Holiness and not just again as we see
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the spirit moving these men there is something more than just the activity but it's an issue of the heart
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so I'm read Psalm 51 this is from um New American Standard it says for the choir director a Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet
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came to him after he had gone in to Bath Sheba be gracious to me oh God according to thy loving kindness according to the greatness of thy compassion blot out my
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transgressions Wash Me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin for I know know my transgressions and my sin is ever before me against thee thee
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only I have sinned and done what is evil in thy sight so that thou art Justified when thou Dost speak and blameless when thou Dost judge behold I was brought
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forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me behold thou Dost desire truth in the innermost being and in the hidden part thou Wilt make me know
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wisdom Purify Me me with hisp and I shall be clean wash me and I shall be whiter than snow make me to hear joy and gladness let the bones which thou Hast
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broken Rejoice hide thy face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities create in me a clean heart oh God and renew a steadfast Spirit within
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me do not cast me away from thy presence and do not take thy Holy Spirit from me restore to me the joy of thy salvation andain sustain me with the
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Willing Spirit then I will teach transgressors thy ways and sinners will be converted to thee deliver me from blood guilty guiltiness oh God thou God
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of my salvation then my tongue will joyfully sing of thy righteousness oh Lord open my lips that my mouth May declare thy praise for thou Dost not Delight in sacrifice otherwise I would
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give it Thou Art not pleased with burnt offering the sacrifices of God are a broken Spirit a broken and a contrite heart oh God thou wil not
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despise by thy favor do good to Zion build the walls of Jerusalem then thou wil Delight in righteous sacrifices in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings then young bulls will be
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offered on thine altar the um first line of the the Hebrew Psalms
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um we put in a special little category and don't call it verse one but verse one is actually for the W choir
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director um a Psalm of David and what it brings out here is that
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um according to um this is from from Charles Spurgeon U hadn't really thought about it I kind of skip over it I guess like a lot of us do oh yeah I remember Bast Shea incident and and na Nathan and
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all that but notice for the choir director means it's means it's public um Spurgeon writes it's not written for private meditation only but
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for the Public Service of song and it's about repentance it's not just David because it goes deeper than just
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his individual his individual sin um there are seven so-called penitential Psalms and uh of of all of those uh and
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um the experience of repentance while it may vary from Individual to individual there are things that we as a church and and as individuals can also learn from how
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David approaches um this his prayer um Herman bavik wrote repentance is despite its Oneness in essence
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different in form according to the persons in whom it takes place and the circumstances in which it takes place so we he we acknowledge that that this
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doesn't have to be the Playbook but I think if we look at how David approached repentance and what he understood and seems to come to
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understand about understand about repentance um I think it's worthy of our our study our study here um Spurgeon wrote The Great sin of
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David is not to be excused but it is well to remember that his case has an exceptional collection of Specialties in it he was a man of
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very strong passions a soldier and an oriental monarch having despotic power no other king of his time would have felt any compunction of having acted as
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he did and hence there was not around him those restraints of custom and Association which when broken through render the offense the more monstrous
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that's David and he could have acted like the other kings in his day as the Monarch as uh Spurgeon rights they
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wouldn't have felt any compunction of having affair with another man's wife having uh put him in the front lines of
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the army so that he would be killed so that he could lie um or perpetuate the liee um of his sin
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and yet we see David u a man the scripture says after God's Own Heart um but where does that repentance
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come from and I think again as we we read in verses 10 and 11 create in me a clean heart oh God and renew a steadfast
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Spirit Within Me me do not cast me away from thy presence and do not take thy Holy Spirit from me I think that that is
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um again I think it's Sinclair Ferguson who uses that name of the spirit as God's power God's power presence we see that here in verse 11 do not cast me away from thy presence do
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not take thy Holy Spirit from me but why does he ask that how what does he prefaced that with in verse
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heart where was the spirit at creation he was there brooding hovering at creation I think David sees the Holy Spirit as you are the one who creates he
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doesn't say um say um just you know let me be he doesn't say excuse me he says create in me um to me
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that's a powerful word that it is outside of himself it's not something that he can
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do and again uh to me there's the gospel um in Repentance is not something that we generate within
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ourselves Ferguson writes true repentance is quote evoked by the spirit through a sense of who God is and is therefore an awareness of the true
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character of character of sin uh true repentance is a
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change it is a change of heart but it doesn't originate from the person um and again uh the punchline to
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me is the holy spirit as as Ferguson says evoked by the Holy Spirit through a sense of who God is but also an
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awareness of the true character of sin without those two things I don't think you have
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repentance it's a change attitude yes toward toward toward toward yourself but again Ferguson writes it's not limited to the act of the moment it must develop into a permanent
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lifestyle or as one author said he called he called it yeah let me get this right
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um Again David is not looking at this um specifically as the
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as the sin but as something deeper and something greater it is a change attitude a change of heart but it's also
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the change of attitude toward God Psalm 130 um and I I don't I don't remember the specific instance but it was only a few years ago that somehow Psalm 130 in this
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particular passage uh just kind of stood out to out to me if you Lord should Mark iniquities who could
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stand but there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared the life lived in Godly fear with
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the promises and hope of forgiveness is the change I think we see in David um and we ought to see in ourselves
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and the example that I um yeah yeah and the example that I um looked at was from Matthew 27 Judas um Matthew writes then when Judas
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who had betrayed him saw that he had been condemned he felt remorse and returned the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and Elders saying I have
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sin by betraying innocent blood but they said what is that to us see to that yourself and he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and
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departed and he went away and hanged himself that's himself that's self-deception he felt
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remorse he did not have repentance um and I'm not sure that I can slice that any
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differently um but there is uh as we see here a tragic difference between feeling remorse feeling
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regret and having true repentance and so let's look a little deeper at David's response um in this
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Psalm um God sent a messenger he sent Nathan you Nathan you know the the famous phrase you know you are the man and David realizing
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his um I think that might be when he was broken um when Nathan confronted him but again first he appeals to God and His
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Mercy realizing as the psalmist in Psalm 130 again one of these penitential
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there is forgiveness with thee that I would rather throw myself at the mercy of God than the mercy of man so he says be gracious to me oh God
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according to your loving kindness according to the greatness of your compassion blot out my
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transgressions and David realizes that he speaks from a from a very dangerous position if you look at verse 14 he says delivered me from Blood
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guiltiness of God he realizes he's a dead man what he has done is only worthy say it the other way we i' never
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know how to get the only's in only is one of those words that goes in the wrong place sometimes he's worthy only of death nothing else and yet appeals to God to deliver
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him the god of my salvation he calls him he understands the nature of his sin and there are several and I won't write them all up here uh several Expressions that
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he uses for sin he talks about his transgressions and the underlying thought of transgressions is rebellion
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or revolt or revolt he he he again as he realizes what his sin the message that he's if I could say
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it this way sending to God is I I've rebelled against you and your statutes I've revolted from your lordship his iniquities um he says Wash
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Me thoroughly from my iniquity um the the root there means a Distortion um Distortion um there's sin is a perversion of what is
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right it's a moral evil and so he calls it iniquity or this Distortion of God's um
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desires and then he simply calls it cleanse me from my sin sin is is a failure or an defense against the holy
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God and one of these things I've I've meditated over verse four uh quite a bit over the over the years when we
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sin David looks at it as against thee and thee only I have sinned um I've done what's contrary to your law to your person uh
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to what you have revealed of yourself yes we do sin against others our family friends um other human beings but I
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think David sees it for what it is at the heart my behavior is first and foremost against you and against you only I have sinned
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and done what is evil in your sight and I again I think that's part of the the change of of heart and attitude
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is to realize the one who sees me even if my sins no one else is around my sin is against God whether it's a public sin or
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private sins thoughts words Deeds it's against God and he realizes is how filthy it is
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how dirty in his soul it is a number of times in the psalm we see him saying Wash Me cleanse me Purify
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Me uh realizes the how it's not just a washing it's not just well I've
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ask God for forgiveness and I can know go wash my hands he must be washed he must be cleansed by God and
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God and then he says you desire and uh didn't write down the verse
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um you desire truth in the inward being he realizes that his sin is it lacks true Integrity um and he's living a
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falsehood you desire truth in the inward Parts I've been living a life that is false and he realizes the the danger of
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the sin in verse four uh you are Justified when you speak and blameless when you judge I have opened myself up for your your severest
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judgment and what does he Envision that judgment is is verse 11o not cast me away from your presence do not take your Holy Spirit from me these are gifts these are
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things that you have given and he realizes the danger he's put himself
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in and the refusal of sin to behave any differently or to change change its attitude toward anything verse five behold I was brought
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forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceive me sin me sin is the nature which we have that we're
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born with because of original sin of Adam and he realizes there sin refuses to be any different than
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sin that the human nature cannot change its attitude toward
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anything and what is required he lays it out a broken heart a broken Spirit not self-sufficiency not
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self-sufficiency not self-defense no great emotional meltdown is true
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repentance verse 17 the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart oh God you will not
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despise unless these things take place again it's a it's a self-deception but there we see in David when he realizes these things uh new
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desires um verse seven Purify Me with pip and I shall be clean um he's referencing the
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law that requir the sprinkling the sprinkling of blood with the the hsip but in the context and in his plea to
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God um Purify Me doesn't mean take me to the temple and let the priests do this he's appealing to God you Purify
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Me and what he's saying is I won't be clean unless you do this and I want you to understand I
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appeal to the law is what is required but if God if you do this you go beyond the symbolic you go beyond the
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ceremonial if you purify me I will be cleaned and to me this is David's Faith
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coming Purify Me with his up and I shall clean wash me and I shall be whiter than snow again he's looking at this
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differently as he's progressing through here I shall be clean I will be white yes put me in mind of
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first p first p 3 if he had baptism corresponds to this now saves you not as a remal as an to
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forre okay um no I hadn't thought of that um mine was a little more mundane than that um he says wash me I should be whiter than snow and I I was looking at the pictures yesterday and today you
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know people um Thanksgiving Day Out with their snow blowers and snow two feet high and you know I've lived in New Hampshire for 12
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years there is nothing uglier than dirty snow um pardon me snow in general but he says
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whiter than snow and all I could think of was how snow doesn't stay white it gets really gets really dirty and dingy piling up on you know
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and when it melts especially yeah um I can just remember all those times you know shoveling off my driveway get down to the end of the driveway and it's all
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nice and clear and now I can back out and go to work and the snowplow would come and just you know all all it block off the end of the driveway again um but
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David says I shall be whiter than snow so he's he's not picturing I don't think snow I think he's picturing that the work of God in cleansing the heart is
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beyond um this is this is something that I cannot do to myself and notice that he says make me
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to hear joy and gladness it's as if his sin has
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caused him to just to not want to worship not want to be with the people of God he wants to to
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[Music] um he wants to hear that joy that gladness of the congregation and in his own heart
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but I think at least the thought that came to my mind again make me to hear only the voice that can raise the dead can bring joy make him hear joy and
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gladness again um only that voice could produce the joy and gladness that that he's seeking here and what is the result of this
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creation and renewing in him um and if you were dividing the psalm it would be 1- 12 and then I think 13 Even
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though my Bible divides it at between 13 and 14 I think 13 starts a new section then I will teach transgressors thy ways and sinners will be converted to thee
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there's a new worship is energized I guess I would say then I will teach and then Sinners will be
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converted um there's there's something new here um then my tongue verse 14 the second part my tongue will joyfully sing of thy righteousness um
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righteousness um there's there's a not just a change because he's gotten it off his chest
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there's this with a a motion for Perpetual implications Perpetual walking in this Spirit of um of gladness and joy and so
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again we come to the appeal in verses 10 and 11 um you know do not cast me away from thy presence do not take your Holy
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Spirit from me restore to me the joy of your salvation and sustain me with a willing Spirit [Music] um it does have to do with David's Royal
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anointing what did he see happen to Saul God withdrew his Spirit from Saul and I think that that is part of
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every day yeahh particular yeah well that's that's where I'm going yeah because again it it does have to do with his Royal standing
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he is the king chosen of God he's looking at what happened to Saul and I think he's saying do not remove your spirit from me and there
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is a recognition that what I did was adultery what I did even though I didn't kill him I murdered him that I lied
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about it all that I deceived people and I had this scheme all set up to cover my sin but there's
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more and again I I think I think you're right W without God's holy spirit he doesn't have the restoration he doesn't have the the repentance and
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and there would be no joy in the individual and no fruit of what he talks about in use the word ministry in verse 13 I
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will teach Sinners will be restored that's Ministry among his fellows but I'm thinking what I see here again the creating the renewing and the the
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presence of God the power presence is the Holy Spirit and I think he he realizes that um in Acts
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5 we hear um these words the god of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you had put to death by hanging him on a cross he is
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the one whom God exalted to his right hand as a prince and a savior to Grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins and we Are Witnesses of these
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things and so is the holy spirit whom God has given to those who obey him um it seems that every turn here we
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see with repentance with salvation with regeneration and renewal that the writers of scripture
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acknowledge that you know God has done these things but the holy spirit is witness to them the holy spirit is here GI given by God to those who are
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its people and so a right view of of who God is comes only from the Revelation that he's given us of himself we've been
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talking about that in Thursday nights and seeing the things that the Holy Spirit has done through the prophets it is the only foundation for repentance
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without knowing who God is we wouldn't even think about repentance we would be like those monarchs who had no compunction about doing whatever they
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pleased but it comes through the illumination of the Holy Spirit the groundwork for regeneration of Sinners is already seen in the Old
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Testament in spite of what many people even in modern Christianity you think that people were saved somehow
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differently in the Old Testament than the new the groundwork is here regeneration of regeneration of Sinners faith and repentance come through the ministry of the spirit's
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character and the fruits of his ministry in the lives of people let us
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pray Our Father we do thank you for the scriptures we thank you for the Psalms and the the psalmist whom you worked through and through and inspired and even rebuked
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and caused to be brought low so that we could understand more of who you who you are but also we can understand more
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what sin what sin is and how evil it is how contrary to your character and your Holiness it
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is father I do pray that we might be moved by the holy spirit in these thoughts that we would recognize the
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change of attitude in ourselves can only come from come from you and yet I do pray that as we change as you change us as you cleanse us wash
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us purify by us that it truly would be as the the writer said a permanent change with Perpetual implications for
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our lives that we might continually be being washed being prepared to meet you and to be with your
