Joy And Gladness

Our Bible passage, introduction to Sunday 9th February service and hymns are below.

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Our principal verses are:

Psa 51:8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

Psa 51:9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

Psa 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Psa 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Psa 51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Psa 51:13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

 Joy And Gladness

David teaches us what all believers discover in this life: iniquity curtails our spiritual joy and unconfessed sin deprives the soul of fellowship with the Lord. This was David’s experience. It seems likely David had not known the joy of the Lord for some time, perhaps a year. For sure, the Lord never wholly removes His Spirit from a believer or cuts him off from union with Christ, nevertheless, the felt gladness of grace can be lost. When the Holy Spirit convinced David of his sin the beloved psalmist began to feel the cold state of his soul.

A false façade

No doubt the King of Israel had gone through the motions of regular religious duty, worshipping at the ark with formal offerings and public sacrifice. The outward smile hid a heavy heart. David’s soul was sad and his fellowship with the Lord was broken. In his apathy David may not even have realised the happiness of peace was gone. His sin was forgiven in Christ but a full sense of forgiveness was not felt. David acknowledged his fall and pleaded for mercy but joy would not be his until the Saviour’s cleansing was applied.

The heart of joy

All sin is offensive to our Father but God’s children are highly blessed to know and believe the gracious gospel teaching of imputed righteousness and Christ’s suretyship for all our transgressions. Paul says, Blessed, or happy, is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin (Romans 4:8). Yet a believer overtaken in a fault may feel great agony of soul for a time; a brokenness and a shame for sins committed. David interpreted these miseries as being from the Lord and asked that they may be lifted as part of his restoration to full fellowship.

Creating grace

David sought the creation of a clean heart and renewal of a right spirit. By this the prophet-king teaches us how fresh applications of grace require the same almighty power as first produced quickening in a believer’s soul. There is earnestness and urgency in David’s prayer. Perhaps he remembered how Saul had been rejected by God. Perhaps he recalled others who seemed to have a good testimony yet now were far removed from the Lord. He pleads with the Saviour not to cast him away.

Bare promises

David’s awareness of the Holy Spirit’s work in a believer’s life is evident. David’s faith endured despite the great sins he had committed. He asks that the Holy Spirit be not taken from him, implying the Spirit was still with him and crediting the Spirit with his desire for mercy. In the process of spiritual recovery David was resting on the bare promises of God while pleading for the restoration of their felt comfort. Salvation cannot be lost but the joy of salvation may be.

A spiritual fruit

In the New Testament much is made of a believer’s joy and fulness of joy. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit and a product of faith. Believers rejoice or ‘joy’ in believing. Spiritual joy is not the same joy that the world seeks after. Believers count it a joy to be tried and even to suffer for Christ. There is a joy which is unspeakable and full of glory. The joy of faith is our confident hope in the accomplishments of Christ. There is settled peace in trusting the rich and gracious promises of God.

Our source of joy

As with all our spiritual blessings each believer ultimately traces their joy and gladness to the provisions of God in Christ. In Him all God’s promises are Yea and Amen. In union with Him we are heirs of every happiness, all joy and gladness. Yet, in this world the evil one is eager to rob God’s people of our joy and peace by stirring up fleshy passions, tempting us to sin and causing us to fall. For this reason the gospel is so important. Our minds must frequently be brought back to God’s sovereign mercy, Christ’s cleansing blood and the Holy Spirit’s renewing grace.

A pattern for restoration

David’s prayer, as Jonah’s after him, includes a re-commitment to service. While this is commendable we should be careful what we promise to the Lord, for we are weak. Yet David, speaking prophetically by the Holy Ghost, knew his recovery from failure would prove to be a helpful guide to others who also would fall into sin and periodically lose their sense of peace and joy. David’s request was granted and his testimony has indeed proved to be a comfort to us all.

Amen

Our hymns are below.

Hymn 1

Gadsby selection 1024

“Create in me a clean heart.” Ps. 51. 10; Prov. 20. 9

C. Wesley    C.M.

1
O for a heart to praise the Lord,
A heart from sin set free,
A heart that’s sprinkled with the blood
So freely shed for me.

2
A heart resigned, submissive, meek;
The great Redeemer’s throne;
Where only Christ is heard to speak,
Where Jesus reigns alone.

3
A humble, lowly, contrite heart,
Believing, true, and clean,
Which neither life nor death can part
From him that dwells within.

4
Thy nature, gracious Lord, impart;
Come quickly from above;
Write thy new name upon my heart,
Thy new, best name of Love.

Hymn 2

Gadsby selection 767 

“Uphold me with thy free spirit.” Ps. 51. 12

J. Stocker   7s

1
Gracious Spirit, Dove divine,
Let thy light within me shine;
All my guilty fears remove,
With atoning blood and love.

2
Speak thy pardoning grace to me;
Set the burdened sinner free;
Lead me to the Lamb of God;
Wash me in his precious blood.

3
Life and peace to me impart;
Seal salvation on my heart;
Breathe thyself into my breast,
Earnest of immortal rest.

4
Guard me round on every side;
Save me from self-righteous pride;
Me with Jesus’ mind inspire;
Melt me with celestial fire.

5
Thou my dross and tin consume;
Let thy inward kingdom come;
All my prayer and praise suggest;
Dwell and reign within my breast.

David pleaded for cleansing from his sin but he also asked that the Lord would restore to him the joy of salvation; the joy and gladness that the psalmist-prophet had lost. Here we consider what the essence of spiritual joy is, how Satan tries to trick us out of its experience and how it is to be recovered by those who have fallen into sin.