Nearing the End (2)

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. Psalm 51:10-12 NASB

Renew – David cries for the moon. That’s right. He uses the same Hebrew word for the new moon, hadash. David’s plea is not for improvement or repositioning or repair. It is for renewal, for making what once was into something new again. David needs a new moon in his life.

It’s worth noting that David’s use of hadash carries with it other nuances that he may have wished to reveal. First, hadash is associated with the Hebrew idea of “month” and in particular with the festivals of the Hebrew calendar. Secondly, hadash also implies covenants, objects set apart for holy purposes and mercies after mourning. Finally, this word is used to describe returning to the old ways of God. David needs renewal, alright, but that doesn’t mean he needs remodeling. His use of hadash is a projection of something once pure rebirthed from the ashes of lust.

Eighty-seven days after Yom Kippur we may also need a rebirth from some ashes. It won’t wait the 278 days until the next communal plea for forgiveness. It has to happen now. Homelessness in the world is a terrifying state of affairs. We need a new-moon lease on life under tonight’s sky. Since hadash describes things like songs, names and covenants, David may have used the word to plead for a renewal of God’s promises to him. David makes it quite clear that what he needs most of all, right now, is ruach nakon. The translation “steadfast spirit” doesn’t quite give us the full sense of David’s plea. The word carries with it the idea of preparation, provision, making certain and making right. The word nakon is particularly significant for kings since it is used twenty-five times in relation to dynasties. Its usage makes it abundantly clear that no human efforts alone can establish a perpetual kingship. Only God can do this, and He has promised to do so to David. So David’s use of nakon is also a reminder that what is at risk here is the continuation of the line. It’s a lot more than missing the inner sense of the Spirit. David’s sin put everything at risk. He looks at his future and sees the kingdom about to fall apart. He isn’t pleading for just himself. He is pleading for the Davidic line.

We need to understand the lesson here. Sin has future consequences. What God is doing with you and me is building something that will change the future and when we sin we put all that at risk. We need more than a new moon tonight. We need to get back on the track that will lead to new moons in the lives of all those affected by our obedience or lack of obedience. You and I may be able to repent and return but only God can reshape what we have done so that it is still useful for His purposes. It isn’t just our sin that weighs us down. It is the impact of our sin on all those who will come after us. David asks, as we should, that somehow God will still make it right.

Topical Index: nakon, steadfast, right, hadash, renew, moon, Psalm 51:10