WEBVTT 00:00:09.869 --> 00:00:14.089 Psalm 51, we're going to read verses 7 and 8. 00:00:15.789 --> 00:00:19.850 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. 00:00:20.589 --> 00:00:25.629 Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make 00:00:25.629 --> 00:00:30.489 me to hear joy and gladness. Let the bones which 00:00:30.489 --> 00:00:37.869 you have broken rejoice. Our verse deals in verse 00:00:37.869 --> 00:00:43.310 8. where our exposition will focus today in verse 00:00:43.310 --> 00:00:51.369 8, it deals primarily with joy. You'll notice 00:00:51.369 --> 00:00:57.770 that it uses the term joy and gladness, and then 00:00:57.770 --> 00:01:00.750 in the latter half of the verse it says rejoice. 00:01:02.369 --> 00:01:07.900 So it has to do with joy, gladness. rejoicing 00:01:07.900 --> 00:01:12.439 or praising or worshiping. This is something 00:01:12.439 --> 00:01:19.900 David is petitioning God for in his life. Now, 00:01:19.939 --> 00:01:23.379 when we think about joy and gladness and rejoicing, 00:01:23.579 --> 00:01:28.379 it is difficult to define what joy is exactly, 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:32.500 even biblically. Is it an emotion? Is it a feeling? 00:01:32.659 --> 00:01:35.079 Is it an affection? Is it a virtue? Is it all 00:01:35.079 --> 00:01:42.150 of those things? What exactly is it? But I think 00:01:42.150 --> 00:01:44.430 we can narrow it down and we could call joy, 00:01:44.689 --> 00:01:48.849 gladness, rejoicing, we could call it this, true 00:01:48.849 --> 00:01:58.590 happiness. True happiness of soul. True happiness 00:01:58.590 --> 00:02:05.000 of heart. Not a fleeting, Happiness based on 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:07.760 this world, the circumstances of this world. 00:02:07.879 --> 00:02:11.560 Not a temporary or superficial happiness which 00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:15.080 comes and goes on the whims of our affections, 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:20.699 but something that stays. Something that's meaningful. 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:25.180 A true happiness that we can possess and we can 00:02:25.180 --> 00:02:30.139 experience in the midst of any circumstance and 00:02:30.139 --> 00:02:33.979 in the midst of every circumstance. So I think 00:02:33.979 --> 00:02:37.060 when we think about joy, gladness, and rejoicing, 00:02:37.099 --> 00:02:43.300 we should think in terms of true happiness. There 00:02:43.300 --> 00:02:48.620 are a lot of unhappy folks in the world, aren't 00:02:48.620 --> 00:02:54.219 there? There are a lot of unhappy Christians, 00:02:54.599 --> 00:02:59.680 brothers and sisters. There's a lot of people 00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:05.590 that never express. Joy. There's a lot of people 00:03:05.590 --> 00:03:10.330 that haven't rejoiced for many, many years. There's 00:03:10.330 --> 00:03:12.969 a lot of people that you would never know were 00:03:12.969 --> 00:03:17.270 experiencing gladness within their hearts and 00:03:17.270 --> 00:03:20.090 within their souls, and they are legitimately 00:03:20.090 --> 00:03:29.610 and truly regenerate. Why is that? can it be 00:03:29.610 --> 00:03:36.009 that there are so many unhappy Christians? How 00:03:36.009 --> 00:03:38.969 can it be that there's so many people who know 00:03:38.969 --> 00:03:43.389 the risen Lord Jesus Christ, who have his blood 00:03:43.389 --> 00:03:45.729 covering their life and their soul and their 00:03:45.729 --> 00:03:51.990 sins, and be unhappy and miserable? Today we 00:03:51.990 --> 00:03:55.990 find that David is experiencing this in his life. 00:03:56.879 --> 00:04:02.979 David is legitimately an unhappy man at this 00:04:02.979 --> 00:04:07.360 period in his life. That is evident in Psalm 00:04:07.360 --> 00:04:13.659 51. He's unhappy in his soul. He's unhappy in 00:04:13.659 --> 00:04:16.220 his emotions. He's unhappy in his feelings. He's 00:04:16.220 --> 00:04:18.660 unhappy spiritually in his relationship with 00:04:18.660 --> 00:04:21.600 the Lord. And today we find that he's appealing 00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:29.000 to God for joy. for gladness, that he would rejoice 00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:35.399 and praise God. So today, as we look at this 00:04:35.399 --> 00:04:38.680 text, we need to understand how it's broken down, 00:04:38.839 --> 00:04:41.519 how it relates to joy and gladness, true happiness. 00:04:42.540 --> 00:04:46.699 So verse 8 is really divided into two parts. 00:04:46.779 --> 00:04:49.360 The first part is the first line. The second 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:53.509 part is the second line. And the first part we 00:04:53.509 --> 00:04:58.990 see David making a petition. Make me to hear 00:04:58.990 --> 00:05:04.310 joy and gladness. In the second part of verse 00:05:04.310 --> 00:05:07.610 8, we find that he's really looking for the desired 00:05:07.610 --> 00:05:13.910 result or the desired outcome, the change. That's 00:05:13.910 --> 00:05:18.930 the result of God making him experience joy and 00:05:18.930 --> 00:05:24.800 gladness. He wants God. to make him to hear joy 00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:27.959 and gladness, and as a result, to rejoice instead 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:31.939 of being in anguish and sorrow. He's wanting 00:05:31.939 --> 00:05:35.199 to experience a change. But it's also important 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:38.899 that we understand in this text, we can't separate 00:05:38.899 --> 00:05:42.600 it from its surrounding context. This is not 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:45.480 an independent truth separate from what comes 00:05:45.480 --> 00:05:48.160 before it and separate from what comes behind 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:51.740 it. That's a very important principle when we 00:05:51.740 --> 00:05:54.920 study the Word of God. We have to take in the 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:57.920 immediate context, the surrounding context, the 00:05:57.920 --> 00:06:00.040 context of the book, and then the context of 00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:02.339 the whole of Scripture, brothers and sisters, 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:07.459 to see how it fits in to that storyline, into 00:06:07.459 --> 00:06:10.959 that narrative, into those ideas, into those 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:14.540 principles. So we can't separate it from verse 00:06:14.540 --> 00:06:18.449 7, and we can't separate it from verse 9. Verse 00:06:18.449 --> 00:06:22.649 7 says, Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be 00:06:22.649 --> 00:06:26.829 clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 00:06:26.930 --> 00:06:32.509 Verse 9 says, Hide your face from my sins, and 00:06:32.509 --> 00:06:37.529 blot out all my iniquities. Verse 7 we spent 00:06:37.529 --> 00:06:42.310 time on several weeks ago. It's David appealing 00:06:42.310 --> 00:06:46.860 to God as his heavenly high priest. desiring 00:06:46.860 --> 00:06:50.540 to be washed and cleansed, desiring to be purified 00:06:50.540 --> 00:06:53.579 with reference to the hyssop, making reference 00:06:53.579 --> 00:06:57.180 to sacrifice and blood, which ultimately we know 00:06:57.180 --> 00:07:00.500 is the sacrifice and blood of Christ, and he's 00:07:00.500 --> 00:07:02.959 appealing to Christ as his great high priest. 00:07:04.360 --> 00:07:08.879 And then in verse 7, or verse 9, We find him 00:07:08.879 --> 00:07:12.220 appealing to God to hide his face from his sins 00:07:12.220 --> 00:07:14.199 and to blot out his iniquities. He's appealing 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:16.720 to God not to treat him in accordance with his 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:21.899 sins, not to act toward David as he deserves 00:07:21.899 --> 00:07:27.300 because of his sins. He's acting, he's crying 00:07:27.300 --> 00:07:30.180 out, and he's appealing for justification and 00:07:30.180 --> 00:07:35.310 external righteousness for himself. That God 00:07:35.310 --> 00:07:37.649 would treat him in some other way than which 00:07:37.649 --> 00:07:40.310 he deserves. And that God wouldn't treat him 00:07:40.310 --> 00:07:42.629 with reference to his own iniquities and his 00:07:42.629 --> 00:07:46.470 own sins. That's the surrounding context. So 00:07:46.470 --> 00:07:50.569 there's two things in this text that we need 00:07:50.569 --> 00:07:54.589 to consider. Following these two items, we'll 00:07:54.589 --> 00:08:00.490 have several applications. The first is the change 00:08:00.490 --> 00:08:06.500 sought. This is the second part of verse 8. Let 00:08:06.500 --> 00:08:12.139 the bones which you have broken rejoice. Now 00:08:12.139 --> 00:08:15.439 when we consider this phrase, let the bones which 00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:18.779 you have broken rejoice, we have to understand 00:08:18.779 --> 00:08:22.459 that David's bones were not literally broken. 00:08:23.379 --> 00:08:29.360 Every bone in his body was not crushed. He's 00:08:29.360 --> 00:08:34.409 using a figure of speech. To convey certain truths 00:08:34.409 --> 00:08:37.629 and certain realities regarding his situation, 00:08:37.970 --> 00:08:41.029 his experience, and what's taking place in the 00:08:41.029 --> 00:08:45.350 life of his heart and the life of his soul. So 00:08:45.350 --> 00:08:50.269 what is this figure of speech that David is using 00:08:50.269 --> 00:08:57.409 conveying to the reader? Conveying to us. It's 00:08:57.409 --> 00:09:02.259 conveying his brokenness. It's conveying the 00:09:02.259 --> 00:09:07.759 fact that he is crushed in spirit. It's conveying 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:13.039 the fact that his soul is as though a hammer 00:09:13.039 --> 00:09:16.320 has come to it and shattered it into a thousand 00:09:16.320 --> 00:09:22.399 pieces. Now what do broken bones do? What do 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:27.059 they communicate to the rest of the body? Pain. 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:35.340 Misery. discomfort, heartache, and uncomfortableness, 00:09:35.480 --> 00:09:41.440 anguish, affliction, and suffering. This is what 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:46.899 is taking place in David's soul. He's in anguish. 00:09:47.879 --> 00:09:51.840 He's afflicted. He's in pain. It's as though 00:09:51.840 --> 00:09:55.580 his bones are broken. He can't shake it. He can't 00:09:55.580 --> 00:09:58.779 get rid of it. And bones take a long time to 00:09:58.779 --> 00:10:02.990 heal. He can't get back to what he wants to be. 00:10:03.690 --> 00:10:07.929 His soul is continually afflicted. It's continually 00:10:07.929 --> 00:10:11.669 in discomfort. It's continually hurting and pain. 00:10:13.730 --> 00:10:22.129 But why? What is the source of this brokenness 00:10:22.129 --> 00:10:29.659 that David is experiencing in his soul? What 00:10:29.659 --> 00:10:33.240 is it that has broken his bones? Well, I think 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:38.399 there's two sources for this. There's an initial 00:10:38.399 --> 00:10:41.159 cause, and we're all aware of what that is. That 00:10:41.159 --> 00:10:47.580 is his sin and his corruption. It is his transgressions 00:10:47.580 --> 00:10:51.600 of God's law that has brought this misery into 00:10:51.600 --> 00:10:57.009 his own soul. His breaking of God's law and the 00:10:57.009 --> 00:11:00.169 corruption within him, the heightened sense and 00:11:00.169 --> 00:11:04.769 experience of corruption within his heart, because 00:11:04.769 --> 00:11:08.370 of his volitional transgression of God's law 00:11:08.370 --> 00:11:13.029 for an extended period of time, is what has broken 00:11:13.029 --> 00:11:16.929 him, is what brought him to a place where he 00:11:16.929 --> 00:11:24.259 feels crushed. This uncovers a lie for us. That's 00:11:24.259 --> 00:11:28.320 so prevalent in the world, the flesh, and the 00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:33.559 devil. Doesn't it? This reveals a lie that is 00:11:33.559 --> 00:11:36.340 so prevalent in our society, in our culture. 00:11:36.440 --> 00:11:40.080 It reveals to us a lie that is so prevalent that 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:43.480 we see it all the time. What's the lie? The lie 00:11:43.480 --> 00:11:52.450 is this. If you like it, if you want it, If you 00:11:52.450 --> 00:11:59.470 enjoy it, take it, and that will make you happy. 00:12:01.149 --> 00:12:04.549 Doesn't the world tell us that? Doesn't the world, 00:12:04.610 --> 00:12:06.889 the flesh, and the devil tell us that all the 00:12:06.889 --> 00:12:14.190 time? That if you enjoy it, if it pleases you, 00:12:14.529 --> 00:12:19.829 then take it, and that will introduce... ultimate 00:12:19.829 --> 00:12:24.909 happiness into your life. Does your flesh not 00:12:24.909 --> 00:12:28.450 tell you that, brothers and sisters? Does the 00:12:28.450 --> 00:12:30.809 devil not whisper that in your ear at times? 00:12:31.529 --> 00:12:34.429 Do you not hear that from the television? Do 00:12:34.429 --> 00:12:37.870 you not see that in the world? Oh, brothers and 00:12:37.870 --> 00:12:43.210 sisters, if you don't see that, it is there and 00:12:43.210 --> 00:12:46.850 it is prevalent. It is everywhere. So that's 00:12:46.850 --> 00:12:52.409 a lie. Why is it a lie? Because if it is sin, 00:12:52.490 --> 00:12:56.629 if it is a transgression of God's law, it will 00:12:56.629 --> 00:13:00.049 not introduce and bring about true happiness 00:13:00.049 --> 00:13:02.769 and joy and gladness and rejoicing into your 00:13:02.769 --> 00:13:05.350 life. What will it do? What will it bring about? 00:13:07.309 --> 00:13:14.190 A broken spirit. It will crush your soul under 00:13:14.190 --> 00:13:18.919 its weight. David tested this out, didn't he? 00:13:19.059 --> 00:13:22.440 And actually his son Solomon did as well, to 00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:26.440 a great degree. How did David test out this theory 00:13:26.440 --> 00:13:29.379 with regards to this lie of the world, the flesh, 00:13:29.399 --> 00:13:35.860 and the devil? David saw Bathsheba. He longed 00:13:35.860 --> 00:13:42.159 for Bathsheba. He wanted Bathsheba. He took Bathsheba. 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:50.570 Did it. bring about joy, gladness, and rejoicing 00:13:50.570 --> 00:13:57.750 in his life? No, it did not. It brought about 00:13:57.750 --> 00:14:02.610 the words that we read today, let the bones which 00:14:02.610 --> 00:14:09.509 you have broken rejoice. It resulted in... His 00:14:09.509 --> 00:14:13.509 brokenness, his pain, his misery, and his anguish. 00:14:13.549 --> 00:14:16.470 That's the initial cause of his sin and his transgression. 00:14:16.909 --> 00:14:20.289 But what's the ultimate cause of David's anguish? 00:14:21.070 --> 00:14:24.950 His heartache that he can't get rid of. Well, 00:14:24.990 --> 00:14:28.210 the text says that David's bones are broken and 00:14:28.210 --> 00:14:30.909 it gives us this state and condition of David 00:14:30.909 --> 00:14:34.409 with reference to God, doesn't it? And how does 00:14:34.409 --> 00:14:37.210 it relate God to David and his broken bones? 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:42.840 It says, let the bones which you have broken 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:50.320 rejoice. It's attributing the crushing, the breaking 00:14:50.320 --> 00:14:56.279 of David's bones to God. Now, why is it doing 00:14:56.279 --> 00:15:01.000 that? Because ultimately, the ultimate cause 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:04.200 for David's anguish, his heartache, his pain, 00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:08.919 and his misery is the conscious. and the conscious 00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:12.860 knowledge that was awakened when Nathan the prophet 00:15:12.860 --> 00:15:17.399 came to him through the word of the Lord, that 00:15:17.399 --> 00:15:23.620 God is displeased with him. It's the reality 00:15:23.620 --> 00:15:29.799 that his good, faithful, and mighty God is unhappy 00:15:29.799 --> 00:15:35.679 with David. That is what is casting him down 00:15:35.679 --> 00:15:39.259 into the dust, brothers and sisters. The conscious 00:15:39.259 --> 00:15:43.759 knowledge that God doesn't approve and God is 00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:49.139 not pleased with his behavior. That God is unhappy 00:15:49.139 --> 00:15:53.600 and God is frowning upon David and his lust. 00:15:54.220 --> 00:15:58.220 Upon David and his adultery. Upon David and his 00:15:58.220 --> 00:16:04.190 unrepentant sin. That is why he has such a sense 00:16:04.190 --> 00:16:08.730 of heartache and crushed spirit. How can he experience 00:16:08.730 --> 00:16:12.169 joy and gladness? How can he rejoice in his soul 00:16:12.169 --> 00:16:15.149 when God is displeased with his very actions 00:16:15.149 --> 00:16:20.490 in his very life? Will God bless his soul? Will 00:16:20.490 --> 00:16:23.230 the Spirit of God increase the virtue of holiness? 00:16:23.370 --> 00:16:25.730 Will the Spirit of God increase the virtue of 00:16:25.730 --> 00:16:30.250 joy and peace? and love in one's life, he was 00:16:30.250 --> 00:16:35.710 willingly sinning against God? When one refuses 00:16:35.710 --> 00:16:39.190 to repent, and they continue willingly laying 00:16:39.190 --> 00:16:41.570 hold of that sin which God is displeased with, 00:16:41.649 --> 00:16:44.470 how can the Christian soul, the saintly soul, 00:16:44.629 --> 00:16:52.090 as David, continue in sin when they know God 00:16:52.090 --> 00:16:57.700 is displeased with their sin? This is why Christians 00:16:57.700 --> 00:17:04.460 cannot indefinitely continue in sin. This is 00:17:04.460 --> 00:17:08.640 why Christians cannot indefinitely and perpetually 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:14.259 go and go and go and go and go and keep on and 00:17:14.259 --> 00:17:18.140 keep on and keep on in volitional, willful, unrepentant 00:17:18.140 --> 00:17:23.380 sin. Because that Christian knows that God is 00:17:23.380 --> 00:17:28.500 being grieved, that he is mourning over their 00:17:28.500 --> 00:17:35.380 wickedness. The child of God, ultimately, has 00:17:35.380 --> 00:17:39.799 a longing and a desire that's implanted within 00:17:39.799 --> 00:17:42.259 them through regeneration and the indwelling 00:17:42.259 --> 00:17:46.019 Spirit of God to please their Heavenly Father. 00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:53.319 The Christian cannot and will not indefinitely 00:17:53.319 --> 00:17:58.259 continue in sin because they know their heavenly 00:17:58.259 --> 00:18:08.259 father is displeased with them. So David obviously 00:18:08.259 --> 00:18:14.759 is not experiencing a great deal of joy and gladness 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:19.410 within his heart, is he? And we know why. We 00:18:19.410 --> 00:18:22.829 know the cause of it. We know the source of his 00:18:22.829 --> 00:18:26.690 brokenness. Now, what does he want to experience? 00:18:27.150 --> 00:18:30.069 We know what he wants to be brought out of, don't 00:18:30.069 --> 00:18:33.289 we? This anguish, this sorrow, this distress, 00:18:33.589 --> 00:18:35.829 this brokenness. He wants to come out of this, 00:18:35.910 --> 00:18:38.250 but what does he want to experience? What does 00:18:38.250 --> 00:18:40.250 he want to be changed? What's the experience 00:18:40.250 --> 00:18:44.430 he wants to be changed into? Well, the text says, 00:18:45.960 --> 00:18:48.619 That he wants the same bones which are broken, 00:18:48.660 --> 00:18:53.660 the same bones which are crushed, he wants those 00:18:53.660 --> 00:18:59.140 bones to sing with joy. Look in the text. It 00:18:59.140 --> 00:19:04.279 says, let the bones which you have broken rejoice. 00:19:04.779 --> 00:19:10.680 He wants the bones to rejoice, doesn't he? That 00:19:10.680 --> 00:19:14.759 which is so broken, he wants that same thing. 00:19:16.269 --> 00:19:20.930 to experience the heights of joy and adoration 00:19:20.930 --> 00:19:27.069 and praise of God. Now how in the world can David 00:19:27.069 --> 00:19:33.650 possibly pray such a prayer? How can David pray 00:19:33.650 --> 00:19:38.240 such a thing? This man who has done such... Such 00:19:38.240 --> 00:19:42.059 things and such sins. How can this man pray such 00:19:42.059 --> 00:19:44.799 a prayer that he's so broken that he can pray? 00:19:44.839 --> 00:19:49.759 I want to jump with joy, Lord. I want to rejoice. 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:52.619 I want to praise you. I want to glorify you. 00:19:52.740 --> 00:19:55.960 I want my heart to be involved in it. I want 00:19:55.960 --> 00:20:00.759 my whole being to rejoice. How is it that he 00:20:00.759 --> 00:20:04.779 can pray such a thing? Well, it's because of 00:20:04.779 --> 00:20:09.730 verse 7. It's because of verse 7. This leads 00:20:09.730 --> 00:20:14.009 us to the second thing we have to consider this 00:20:14.009 --> 00:20:20.410 morning. The petition made the first part of 00:20:20.410 --> 00:20:25.130 verse 8. David can pray such a prayer because 00:20:25.130 --> 00:20:30.710 of his confidence in God's cleansing of him. 00:20:32.069 --> 00:20:35.890 David can pray such a prayer. A bold prayer, 00:20:36.109 --> 00:20:40.710 we might say, because he's so confident in the 00:20:40.710 --> 00:20:44.009 reality when he says, I shall be whiter than 00:20:44.009 --> 00:20:50.869 snow. When he says, I shall be clean in verse 00:20:50.869 --> 00:20:57.609 7. He's so confident in God's cleansing and purification, 00:20:57.950 --> 00:21:04.240 his work, his actions toward him. With reference 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:08.299 to hyssop, with reference to the blood, with 00:21:08.299 --> 00:21:11.900 reference to the sacrifice that he can ask, he 00:21:11.900 --> 00:21:14.720 can pray, he can plead, he can appeal and petition. 00:21:15.579 --> 00:21:21.079 Make me to hear joy and gladness. He can cry 00:21:21.079 --> 00:21:23.539 out for such a change in his life and his soul 00:21:23.539 --> 00:21:27.440 and his state and his own experience because 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:36.119 he knows. The purifying power of the Spirit of 00:21:36.119 --> 00:21:40.240 God at work in his life. Because he's so confident 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:45.720 in God's treatment of him with reference to the 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:49.440 hyssop and the sacrifice and the blood that he 00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:54.660 will be declared clean. So we see that David 00:21:54.660 --> 00:21:59.970 is passive. this petition in the first part of 00:21:59.970 --> 00:22:05.589 verse 8. Make me to hear joy and gladness. He's 00:22:05.589 --> 00:22:08.910 not wanting to do it himself. The text could 00:22:08.910 --> 00:22:13.410 be read literally, which says, cause me to hear 00:22:13.410 --> 00:22:19.829 joy and gladness. How is it in this text that 00:22:19.829 --> 00:22:27.240 God is the active cause? of David's experience 00:22:27.240 --> 00:22:33.339 of joy in his life. It's because the effect, 00:22:33.519 --> 00:22:37.720 which is not mentioned in verse 7, is mentioned 00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:42.299 in verse 8. What's the effect of being made whiter 00:22:42.299 --> 00:22:46.940 than snow, brothers and sisters? What's the effect 00:22:46.940 --> 00:22:53.920 of purification with hyssop? What's the effect 00:22:53.920 --> 00:22:59.339 when God purifies and cleanses his people? Great 00:22:59.339 --> 00:23:07.940 joy. You see, David wants God himself to cause 00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:14.759 him to experience joy in his life. It's God's 00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:19.059 treatment of David as his high priest. If you 00:23:19.059 --> 00:23:23.440 recall, when we looked at verse 7, we considered 00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:29.079 how David was looking to God as his heavenly 00:23:29.079 --> 00:23:33.799 priest to administer the true substance and the 00:23:33.799 --> 00:23:37.799 true meaning of this sacrifice with regards to 00:23:37.799 --> 00:23:45.380 hyssop and the blood. So David is looking to 00:23:45.380 --> 00:23:51.660 God as his priest. And ultimately we know That 00:23:51.660 --> 00:23:54.480 this is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ 00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:59.599 as the great high priest who ministers to his 00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:05.359 people through his spirit. And it's through his 00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:11.720 ministry to his people that he produces joy and 00:24:11.720 --> 00:24:20.299 gladness and rejoicing in their life. David petitions, 00:24:21.289 --> 00:24:27.730 To hear joy and gladness. Notice that word in 00:24:27.730 --> 00:24:36.529 verse 8. Make me to hear joy and gladness. He 00:24:36.529 --> 00:24:41.430 wants to hear a new message, we could say. What 00:24:41.430 --> 00:24:45.650 has he been hearing up to this point? Judgment. 00:24:46.750 --> 00:24:52.680 Condemnation. Discipline. Fearfulness. He wants 00:24:52.680 --> 00:24:57.819 to hear a new song. He wants to hear a song of 00:24:57.819 --> 00:25:00.460 rejoicing, a song of hope. He wants to hear a 00:25:00.460 --> 00:25:03.980 song of grace, a song of mercy, a song of compassion. 00:25:04.259 --> 00:25:08.839 He wants a word of assurance regarding the forgiveness 00:25:08.839 --> 00:25:13.660 of sins in his life. And where is he looking 00:25:13.660 --> 00:25:16.660 to for this? He's looking to God's treatment 00:25:16.660 --> 00:25:21.940 of him and the hyssop. He's looking to God in 00:25:21.940 --> 00:25:27.400 the hyssop for joy and for a word of assurance, 00:25:27.460 --> 00:25:31.880 and he wants to hear it. This means that joy 00:25:31.880 --> 00:25:36.559 and other virtues and characteristics like it 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:44.059 play a unique role in the restoration and renewal 00:25:44.059 --> 00:25:50.059 of penitent sinners. What does that mean? How 00:25:50.059 --> 00:25:53.640 does joy play a unique role in the restoration 00:25:53.640 --> 00:26:00.200 of someone who repents? What does it mean to 00:26:00.200 --> 00:26:03.539 experience joy? Where does joy come from? Why 00:26:03.539 --> 00:26:06.079 is it significant? Why is it important when we 00:26:06.079 --> 00:26:08.859 turn to God, we repent of our sins, and we trust 00:26:08.859 --> 00:26:12.920 in Christ as believers? And we desire and we 00:26:12.920 --> 00:26:15.480 long to walk in fellowship and communion with 00:26:15.480 --> 00:26:17.779 him. And we desire and we long to walk in holiness 00:26:17.779 --> 00:26:21.140 and godliness. What does joy have to do with 00:26:21.140 --> 00:26:28.680 it? David knows that there are experiential realities 00:26:28.680 --> 00:26:35.160 that a person experiences in their heart as a 00:26:35.160 --> 00:26:41.339 result of Christ's priestly ministry in their 00:26:41.339 --> 00:26:47.940 life. And joy is one of those things. So joy 00:26:47.940 --> 00:26:57.140 and other virtues like it are tokens of God's 00:26:57.140 --> 00:27:03.660 continual work in your life. Brothers and sisters 00:27:03.660 --> 00:27:08.589 are you experiencing joy? If you're experiencing 00:27:08.589 --> 00:27:11.650 joy and it's increasing and it's growing and 00:27:11.650 --> 00:27:14.230 it's developing and it's maturing and you know 00:27:14.230 --> 00:27:17.069 it's there, it's obvious, then that means you're 00:27:17.069 --> 00:27:19.630 living a holy and a godly life because the Spirit 00:27:19.630 --> 00:27:21.569 of God is increasing those things in your life. 00:27:23.390 --> 00:27:27.109 That's what joy means. It's assurance of faith. 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:32.059 It's assurance of the reality of the active presence 00:27:32.059 --> 00:27:36.119 and influence of the divine spirit at work in 00:27:36.119 --> 00:27:48.000 your very soul. But if joy is not present. If 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:54.859 you are habitually unhappy. If you are habitually 00:27:54.859 --> 00:28:04.470 not. or not at peace, then ask yourself the question, 00:28:04.730 --> 00:28:11.809 why is there no joy in my life? What's happening 00:28:11.809 --> 00:28:13.829 in my soul? What am I doing? What am I saying? 00:28:13.970 --> 00:28:20.210 How am I treating? What am I not doing? How am 00:28:20.210 --> 00:28:23.089 I breaking the law of God? What do I need to 00:28:23.089 --> 00:28:27.660 repent of? What sin do I need to turn away from? 00:28:27.700 --> 00:28:35.160 What sin do I need to forsake to be restored? 00:28:36.579 --> 00:28:39.460 What sin do I need to abandon in my life that 00:28:39.460 --> 00:28:42.559 I might experience the heights of joy yet again 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:47.859 in my own soul? Do you want to experience joy? 00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:53.609 Do you want to experience peace? And gladness, 00:28:53.670 --> 00:28:56.650 do you want true happiness and contentment in 00:28:56.650 --> 00:28:59.009 your heart regardless of what's taking place? 00:29:00.630 --> 00:29:04.589 Then ask yourself, brothers and sisters, there 00:29:04.589 --> 00:29:07.089 are many other causes and sources. This is just 00:29:07.089 --> 00:29:11.250 one of many. This is not the only reason that 00:29:11.250 --> 00:29:15.549 someone might not lack joy. But within the context 00:29:15.549 --> 00:29:20.970 of this message, ask yourself, is there sin? 00:29:21.519 --> 00:29:28.579 in my life that I'm not repenting of, that is 00:29:28.579 --> 00:29:32.440 grieving the Spirit of God, and thus I'm not 00:29:32.440 --> 00:29:40.579 experiencing joy as I ought to be. Joy is a token, 00:29:40.720 --> 00:29:49.019 it's a sign, we could say, of good, holy fellowship 00:29:49.019 --> 00:29:56.119 with God. It's a sign of true repentance in one's 00:29:56.119 --> 00:30:04.380 life. It's an urgent question. We all should 00:30:04.380 --> 00:30:09.079 consider it. Let me offer you several applications 00:30:09.079 --> 00:30:16.259 with regards to this text. We learn of the relationship 00:30:16.259 --> 00:30:20.859 between true happiness and holiness, don't we? 00:30:22.349 --> 00:30:26.309 Is there a relationship between holiness, godliness, 00:30:26.349 --> 00:30:33.089 and true happiness in someone's life? This text 00:30:33.089 --> 00:30:39.250 tells us there is. Why do you talk about holiness 00:30:39.250 --> 00:30:46.750 and godliness so much? Why do you emphasize the 00:30:46.750 --> 00:30:53.140 pursuit of mortification in your life? The killing, 00:30:53.200 --> 00:30:55.880 the weakening, the removal of strength of sin 00:30:55.880 --> 00:30:58.759 and transgression, of corruption and the remnant 00:30:58.759 --> 00:31:02.920 of sin that remains within you. Why do you put 00:31:02.920 --> 00:31:06.240 on Jesus Christ? Why do you make no provision 00:31:06.240 --> 00:31:10.380 for the flesh with regards to its lusts? What's 00:31:10.380 --> 00:31:14.099 the purpose of this? Why is obedience and doing 00:31:14.099 --> 00:31:16.819 the will of God so happy personally in our lives, 00:31:16.859 --> 00:31:23.750 brothers and sisters? Because... there's a correlation 00:31:23.750 --> 00:31:29.670 between holiness and true happiness in this life. 00:31:33.910 --> 00:31:40.289 We learn also then that there's a correlation 00:31:40.289 --> 00:31:48.049 between unholiness and unhappiness. Are you truly 00:31:48.049 --> 00:31:54.220 a happy individual? joy, gladness, and rejoicing. 00:31:58.079 --> 00:32:02.500 Or does it appear as though bitterness, anger, 00:32:02.660 --> 00:32:10.660 a short temper, foul mood, ongoing frustration 00:32:10.660 --> 00:32:16.740 dominate your life all the time? Then consider 00:32:16.740 --> 00:32:22.720 that there's a correlation between Holiness and 00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:27.000 true happiness. I'm not going to point out what 00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:28.980 those things might be, but there is a correlation, 00:32:29.220 --> 00:32:33.559 brothers and sisters. It is God's will for our 00:32:33.559 --> 00:32:38.299 life to pursue holiness and godliness according 00:32:38.299 --> 00:32:43.680 to the scriptures in relation to Christ. In the 00:32:43.680 --> 00:32:52.039 context of fellowship and community. He those 00:32:52.039 --> 00:32:55.539 who honor the pursuit of godliness and holiness 00:32:55.539 --> 00:33:00.359 by blessing them with joy, by the Spirit of God 00:33:00.359 --> 00:33:03.940 increasing the fruit of the Spirit in their life. 00:33:07.099 --> 00:33:11.900 We learn of the relationship between true happiness 00:33:11.900 --> 00:33:17.220 and repentance. When we consider this text, we 00:33:17.220 --> 00:33:21.980 have to recognize that David petitions for joy 00:33:21.980 --> 00:33:28.039 at the appropriate time, does he not? He doesn't 00:33:28.039 --> 00:33:33.039 open up Psalm 51 with an appeal and petition 00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:40.839 for joy, gladness, and rejoicing. No, it's important 00:33:40.839 --> 00:33:45.099 to recognize that he makes an appeal, he petitions 00:33:45.099 --> 00:33:47.559 for joy, for true happiness in his heart and 00:33:47.559 --> 00:33:55.500 his soul following True repentance. So what clears 00:33:55.500 --> 00:34:02.740 the way, we could say? What ushers in true joy, 00:34:03.019 --> 00:34:08.239 true happiness in one's life? True repentance. 00:34:09.460 --> 00:34:17.199 Are you unhappy, brothers and sisters? Maybe 00:34:17.199 --> 00:34:21.230 it's because you're unhappy. Repentant in some 00:34:21.230 --> 00:34:26.909 area. Is there sin you need to forsake and give 00:34:26.909 --> 00:34:32.909 up that you're unwilling to let go of? Truly 00:34:32.909 --> 00:34:38.150 happy people are people who repent of sin and 00:34:38.150 --> 00:34:46.150 trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. True joy is rooted 00:34:46.150 --> 00:34:51.110 and grounded in repentance. Toward God and faith 00:34:51.110 --> 00:34:55.530 in the Lord Jesus Christ as our great and mighty 00:34:55.530 --> 00:35:05.289 prophet, priest, and king. I want you to be truly 00:35:05.289 --> 00:35:11.030 happy. That's why we have Psalm 51, brothers 00:35:11.030 --> 00:35:17.639 and sisters. God gives us Psalm 51. So that we 00:35:17.639 --> 00:35:21.079 know how to come out of our sorrow to the heights 00:35:21.079 --> 00:35:26.460 of joy. He gives us Psalm 51 so that you can 00:35:26.460 --> 00:35:28.860 be truly happy in your life. So that you're not 00:35:28.860 --> 00:35:35.840 a miserable Christian. Listen to the word of 00:35:35.840 --> 00:35:40.019 God and truly consider this. Don't be hard hearted. 00:35:41.610 --> 00:35:44.210 Don't reject this because you think it sounds 00:35:44.210 --> 00:35:49.670 dogmatic or pharisaical. But hear the word of 00:35:49.670 --> 00:35:56.590 God. Consider your life and your sin. Is there 00:35:56.590 --> 00:36:04.550 things in your life you need to repent of? Brothers 00:36:04.550 --> 00:36:06.969 and sisters, repent of them so that you can be 00:36:06.969 --> 00:36:10.030 joyful and happy and gladness and filled with 00:36:10.030 --> 00:36:15.019 heart. filled with gladness of heart. It's for 00:36:15.019 --> 00:36:19.179 your good. It's for the good of your family. 00:36:19.239 --> 00:36:21.420 It's for the good of your children. It's for 00:36:21.420 --> 00:36:28.659 the good of your church. This isn't to be mean 00:36:28.659 --> 00:36:33.840 and harsh. It's for your good and for your godliness 00:36:33.840 --> 00:36:38.440 and for your holiness. It's for the edification 00:36:38.440 --> 00:36:44.239 and strengthening. of the body of Christ. We 00:36:44.239 --> 00:36:48.719 learn of the relationship between true happiness 00:36:48.719 --> 00:36:55.239 and the word of God. In God's providence and 00:36:55.239 --> 00:36:57.739 in his sovereignty and giving us the scriptures, 00:36:58.039 --> 00:37:05.000 we read in verse 8, make me to hear joy and gladness. 00:37:05.860 --> 00:37:08.380 I'm sure in the back of David's mind he's thinking 00:37:08.380 --> 00:37:10.519 of the Torah, he's thinking of the law of God, 00:37:10.699 --> 00:37:15.980 he's thinking of the reading of God's law, the 00:37:15.980 --> 00:37:22.320 announcement of God's law. We know that the only 00:37:22.320 --> 00:37:28.099 place we can go to find a word of assurance with 00:37:28.099 --> 00:37:31.360 regards to the forgiveness of sins with regards 00:37:31.360 --> 00:37:34.239 to the sacrifice of Christ, with regards to the 00:37:34.239 --> 00:37:37.219 hope of our Lord and our Savior, is the blessed 00:37:37.219 --> 00:37:49.559 word of God. True happiness is experienced by 00:37:49.559 --> 00:37:56.880 those who read their Bibles, who study their 00:37:56.880 --> 00:38:01.489 Bibles. who meditate and take in the scriptures. 00:38:03.230 --> 00:38:07.469 True happiness of heart and of soul, of life, 00:38:07.510 --> 00:38:11.510 true joy is not experienced apart from the word 00:38:11.510 --> 00:38:19.389 of God, brothers and sisters. Truly happy people 00:38:19.389 --> 00:38:25.989 are people who spend time in God's divine self. 00:38:26.579 --> 00:38:28.639 revelation in the holy word of God that he's 00:38:28.639 --> 00:38:32.860 given to his people. There's no other book like 00:38:32.860 --> 00:38:37.800 it. There's no other written source like the 00:38:37.800 --> 00:38:40.780 word of God. No other book can stand next to 00:38:40.780 --> 00:38:45.940 it. How much time and how much energy do you 00:38:45.940 --> 00:38:49.739 pour into reading other things that have no benefit 00:38:49.739 --> 00:38:55.420 on your heart and upon your soul? that will strip 00:38:55.420 --> 00:39:00.679 you and take away your joy. Yet if you would 00:39:00.679 --> 00:39:03.519 give time to reading the Word of God, to studying 00:39:03.519 --> 00:39:05.860 the Word of God, to meditating on the Word of 00:39:05.860 --> 00:39:09.840 God, to memorizing the Word of God and considering 00:39:09.840 --> 00:39:15.500 it, oh, the joy you would experience in your 00:39:15.500 --> 00:39:21.980 soul on a continual basis. Truly happy people. 00:39:23.630 --> 00:39:28.809 are people of the book, people of the word of 00:39:28.809 --> 00:39:33.469 God. They have given themselves to God's divine 00:39:33.469 --> 00:39:44.329 revelation. Is that you, Christians, do you claim 00:39:44.329 --> 00:39:50.349 to be rejoicing that you haven't picked up the 00:39:50.349 --> 00:39:57.940 word of God in months? Brothers and sisters, 00:39:58.099 --> 00:40:01.239 it is meant for your good, for your soul. God 00:40:01.239 --> 00:40:06.480 has given us his word to know him better, to 00:40:06.480 --> 00:40:09.480 know the revealed will of God, how to live our 00:40:09.480 --> 00:40:11.880 lives, how to pursue godliness and holiness, 00:40:12.059 --> 00:40:18.599 how to walk in fellowship with him. The only 00:40:18.599 --> 00:40:20.679 place we're going to receive a word of assurance, 00:40:20.940 --> 00:40:23.400 a word of grace, and a word of compassion, a 00:40:23.400 --> 00:40:29.510 word concerning Christ is in his word. Go to 00:40:29.510 --> 00:40:38.250 it. Find joy in its words, in its pages. Turn 00:40:38.250 --> 00:40:47.610 the page, read more, and get more joy. We learn 00:40:47.610 --> 00:40:52.130 of the relationship between true happiness and 00:40:52.130 --> 00:40:56.880 prayer. We have to remember that Psalm 51 is 00:40:56.880 --> 00:41:01.559 all in the context of prayer. It's all in the 00:41:01.559 --> 00:41:08.039 context of David praying to God. He's seeking 00:41:08.039 --> 00:41:13.619 out the face of God in prayer. Thus, he is seeking 00:41:13.619 --> 00:41:21.360 out joy in and through the act of prayer. One 00:41:21.360 --> 00:41:26.199 of the vital means. of being truly happy in this 00:41:26.199 --> 00:41:29.519 fallen and sinful world, brothers and sisters, 00:41:30.139 --> 00:41:37.940 is spending time with God in prayer. Truly happy 00:41:37.940 --> 00:41:48.519 people are those who pray to God. They seek out 00:41:48.519 --> 00:41:53.289 his face. They're humbled. They recognize his 00:41:53.289 --> 00:41:57.889 glory. They talk to him as he talks to them in 00:41:57.889 --> 00:42:02.250 his word. They commune and fellowship with their 00:42:02.250 --> 00:42:06.530 God. This delights the soul of the believer in 00:42:06.530 --> 00:42:12.969 which the Spirit of God dwells. This brings joy 00:42:12.969 --> 00:42:15.969 to the Spirit of God, brothers and sisters, when 00:42:15.969 --> 00:42:23.280 we fellowship with God. Will he withhold peace 00:42:23.280 --> 00:42:29.840 and joy from those who regularly seek the face 00:42:29.840 --> 00:42:34.619 of God? No, he will be generous and give it in 00:42:34.619 --> 00:42:46.519 abundance. Truly happy people. Pray to God. Lastly, 00:42:46.639 --> 00:42:53.139 we learn a superficial. These are all in the 00:42:53.139 --> 00:42:56.500 context of being a justified man, woman, or young 00:42:56.500 --> 00:43:03.500 person. True joy is the possession of those who 00:43:03.500 --> 00:43:08.739 know Christ through faith and repentance. Yes, 00:43:08.760 --> 00:43:13.380 we can have a superficial, temporary, fleeting 00:43:13.380 --> 00:43:19.880 joy that we get from things in this world. Maybe 00:43:19.880 --> 00:43:24.619 relationships. Maybe experiences. Maybe some 00:43:24.619 --> 00:43:28.440 sort of pleasure. Maybe some other area or some 00:43:28.440 --> 00:43:35.659 other way. Maybe discussions. Maybe wives and 00:43:35.659 --> 00:43:38.719 children. Maybe a husband or a career or a job. 00:43:38.840 --> 00:43:42.000 Yes, these things will bring you little bitty 00:43:42.000 --> 00:43:46.400 tastes of joy. But it goes away really, really 00:43:46.400 --> 00:43:50.480 fast. And then you need another fix. It never 00:43:50.480 --> 00:43:54.059 lasts. It never stays. It comes and it goes. 00:43:54.179 --> 00:43:59.260 It's always fleeting. It's superficial. It's 00:43:59.260 --> 00:44:04.840 false joy. It doesn't actually make the soul 00:44:04.840 --> 00:44:11.000 glad. What it does is it makes the soul hungrier 00:44:11.000 --> 00:44:16.519 and hungrier for more superficial happiness and 00:44:16.519 --> 00:44:21.320 more superficial joy. But it cannot satisfy. 00:44:22.500 --> 00:44:29.699 The reality is, those who put their faith in 00:44:29.699 --> 00:44:33.260 the Lord Jesus Christ, and they repent of their 00:44:33.260 --> 00:44:38.260 sins, and they're in union with Christ and God 00:44:38.260 --> 00:44:42.519 through Christ, those people will be in possession 00:44:42.519 --> 00:44:51.739 of true, lasting, eternal happiness. But you 00:44:51.739 --> 00:44:55.780 cast off and you refuse all of that as you cast 00:44:55.780 --> 00:44:59.019 off and you refuse Christ and his good grace. 00:45:01.599 --> 00:45:06.659 As you reject Christ, you reject true happiness. 00:45:07.780 --> 00:45:16.300 True joy. Christ is of greater value. And greater 00:45:16.300 --> 00:45:20.619 worth. And it is a greater joy to serve him as 00:45:20.619 --> 00:45:28.300 master than anything else on this planet. Than 00:45:28.300 --> 00:45:34.239 anything else in this world. So the call is the 00:45:34.239 --> 00:45:36.599 trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, his life and 00:45:36.599 --> 00:45:40.159 his death and his resurrection. That his spirit 00:45:40.159 --> 00:45:47.039 might dwell within you and manifest. true joy.