How Do You Deal with the Grief Sin Produces?

Rekindling Words

The cry of Psalm 51:12 is for restored joy. This verse invites us to consider the connection between forgiveness of sin and gladness of heart. As we reach the summit of David’s prayer for renewal, we are reminded that God is not only able but also willing to make us whole again. He promises to heal our brokenness and restore our souls, and he gives us delightful communion with him and greater joy through knowing him. True joy is found in the salvation of God and his strength in our weakness.

The Restoration of Joy

Let’s set our thoughts on the first line of Psalm 51:12: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” For us to feel the ache of David’s prayer, we must understand something of the condition in which he finds himself. His heart is heavy with sorrow. His soul is sad over what he has done.

Sin is a joy thief. It is always hungry to steal, kill, and destroy the believer’s happiness and holiness. And when temptation claims the battle, joy is one of the first casualties. J. C. Ryle explained, “We are sadly apt to forget that there is a close connection between sin and sorrow, holiness and happiness, sanctification and consolation. God has so wisely ordered it, that our well-being and our well-doing are linked together.”¹ Since our well-being and our well-doing are so closely connected, it is right that we experience the sting of sin and sorrow before we can revel in holiness and happiness again.

It is right to mourn our iniquity, to grieve the wrongs we have committed, and to lament the ways we have broken God’s laws and even his heart. But we don’t stop at sorrow—we pass through it on the way to joy.

Create in Me a Clean Heart

Matthew Boswell

Based on sermons from Matthew Boswell, this devotional shares biblical wisdom and practical insights from Psalm 51, teaching readers how to have a heart that is repentant, restored, renewed, and responsive to Christ.

David’s plea for restoration contains a measure of beauty in Hebrew that isn’t quite captured in the English translation. In the original language, David asks that his joy would shuv—turn back, return to him. Shuv is the same word often used for the word repentance.² It is as if David’s sin sent joy marching away from him; the infantry of his happiness retreated into the distance. Now he pleads for it to do an about-face and return to him as quickly as possible.

When David prays, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation,” he is not lamenting the loss of salvation itself. He knows that his salvation is safe and secure, kept by the power of God (John 10:27–28; Rom. 8:38–39; 1 Pet. 1:3–5). Rather, he is describing the sadness of sin choking out the joys that flow from salvation. The peace he once had with God has dried up. The comforts that once upheld him have been quenched. The smile of God seems hidden behind the clouds of his iniquity. So he prays for a ray of God’s grace to break through and warm his soul once again.

Notice David’s proclaimed source of joy. It is not his circumstances. It is not the fleeting pleasures of this world. His joy is rooted in the salvation of God. Matthew Henry explained, “A child of God knows no true nor solid joy but the joy of God’s salvation, joy in God his Savior and in the hope of eternal life.”³ David had sought joy in sin and found only sorrow. But now he remembers that true and lasting joy is found in God alone. When it comes to true Christian joy, only God can give it, and only God can restore it when it has been lost.⁴

Allow me to place two words side by side which may at first seem to stand at a distance: rejoicing repentance. This reality of rejoicing repentance describes the moment when our sorrow and lament over iniquity collide with the joy of forgiveness and sure pardon. When we turn to God in repentance, we go to him rightly mourning our sin, yet solid joy stands ready to greet us on the other side. The Lord does not leave us in our sorrow; he clothes us with garments of gladness (Isa. 61:3). Sorrow over sin may last for the night, but joy comes with forgiveness in the morning (Ps. 30:5).

While we shouldn’t reduce moving from repentance to joy down to a prescriptive three-step process, Scripture consistently describes a few key elements. In one hymn of thanksgiving David proclaimed,

I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. . . .
Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! (Ps. 32:5, 11)

Look carefully at David’s words. First, he acknowledged his sin before God in honest and open confession. He then received forgiveness from the Lord. This unlocked the door to restored relationship with God, leading to gladness and rejoicing.

The prophet Isaiah used similar language when he called people to repentance. He declared,

Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. . . .
For you shall go out in joy
and be led forth in peace. (Isa. 55:7, 12)

As we turn to the New Testament, we find this same pattern. When Peter preached to a crowd shortly after Pentecost, he said, “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19–20). Time after time, we find the call to go to God in mourning over our sin and the promise of finding the joy of full forgiveness in him.

Joy awaits you on the other side of repentance.

Even more remarkable is this: When we repent, God not only restores our joy but also joins in our rejoicing. Two parables in Luke 15 illustrate this truth. In one account, Jesus told of a shepherd who left his ninety-nine lambs in search of his one lost lamb. When he finally found it, he stretched it across his shoulders and carried it home, rejoicing (Luke 15:3–6). Jesus also told of a woman who lost a precious coin and stopped at nothing to find it. When she did, she rejoiced wholeheartedly and invited others to join in her joy (Luke 15:8–9). Jesus concluded, “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). Heaven rejoices when sinners repent.

Are you burdened by the weight of your sin? Joy awaits you on the other side of repentance. There is singing and gladness and an ever-flowing stream of delight, and God himself is its source and current. Is your soul in the grip of sorrow? Turn to him. Has your joy marched away because of your transgression? Acknowledge your sin before your Savior and receive forgiveness in the mercy of the Lord (1 John 1:9). Receive the word of God “with the joy of the Holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 1:6). Repent and drink in the delight that fills a heart set free and forgiven.

The Spirit Upheld by God

The second line of Psalm 51:12 teaches us about God’s good hand in sustaining us as David cries, “Uphold me with a willing spirit.” If the first half of this verse addresses David’s sadness, this part speaks to his weakness.⁵ He groans over the weakness that sin has wreaked on his spirit. David once knew the supernatural strength of the Holy Spirit upholding him. He once experienced peace in his every endeavor. But now weakness plagues his every effort. His energy is depleted by sin.

Recall how David asks the Lord for a “right” (or steadfast) spirit in Psalm 51:10. Now he asks also for his spirit to be “willing.” A willing spirit does what is right freely, obeying the law of God with gladness.⁶ It is one thing to do what is right; it is a far greater thing to do what is right with a willing spirit that honors the Lord. In fact, this is possible only by the Holy Spirit. A willing spirit is a miracle of grace.⁷

Perhaps when you read David’s request for a willing spirit, you remember that not long before this, he received a piercing judgment because he had despised the word of the Lord and even the Lord himself (2 Sam. 12:9–10). When he sinned, David knew the law of God through and through—his spirit was just not willing to walk in obedience to it. He knew, for instance, that the king of Israel was not to be like the kings of the nations, taking multiple wives for himself (Deut. 17:17). Yet by the time of his adultery, David had already taken multiple wives. Moreover, he knew that adultery was forbidden and that murder was condemned. But his spirit was not willing to walk in obedience to the word of God. This disregard for God’s law was a sign that his heart had already begun to change long before he looked out his window at Bathsheba.

Now his spirit is weak, and he humbly asks the Lord to uphold him. In this petition we see David’s awareness that he cannot hold himself up. He needs the Lord to hold him. In his weakness, he needs the strength of God. In his lack, he needs the plenty of God. In his darkness, he needs the light of God. Here stands the king of all Israel, God’s chosen people, humbling himself and renouncing all self-sufficiency, any capability to help himself. He confesses that his help is from the Lord, and he prays for it earnestly before his God.

Sin renders us weak and weary. It drains us of spiritual strength. It defeats us and then leaves us wounded and helpless on the side of the road. And yet the New Testament teaches us that in our weakness, we can experience the strength of our Savior. This truth is articulated in many of the Pauline epistles (2 Cor. 12:9–10; Phil. 4:13), but it is illustrated so vividly in Romans 7–8.

Like David, the apostle Paul knew the word of God. He was “circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless” (Phil. 3:5–6). Paul may have had strong Jewish credentials, but his spiritual weakness was great. He could not walk in perfect obedience because his spirit was not always willing. Read his honest confession in Romans 7:18–21:

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.

We might read these words and wonder, “If Paul’s spirit was not strong enough to overcome temptation and sin, then how can I ever expect to do so?” But we must follow the sorrow of Romans 7 to the joy of Romans 8. The good news of the gospel is the key of promise that the apostle Paul clung to in his weakness. Beginning with “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1), Paul wrote extensively about the gospel truth that unlocked and freed his sin-sick soul.

Allow me to put on my professor hat and assign some homework: Work through “the Great Romans 8” in your personal devotion time. Behold the rich promises of the Spirit’s work in upholding weak and weary saints (Rom. 8:11, 16, 26). Marvel at the glorious golden chain of redemption (Rom. 8:29–30). Cling to the key of promise and uncover a few specific truths that would be of great help in strengthening and restoring your joy.

Remember the Key of Promise

Psalm 51:12 displays what can be summarized as a posture of joyful standing. We know that once sin has been confessed, not one trace of it remains for those who are in Christ because of the blood of Jesus. The only thing left for us to do is draw near to the Lord in full assurance—not based on our own merit but based on the perfect righteousness of Christ (Heb. 10:19–22).

After we have confessed our sin, the proper response is not to walk around with our head hanging low in shame and sorrow. The gospel lifts our gaze! The smile of God is fixed on us because Christ’s righteousness has been credited to us by grace. In our weakness, we can know the strength of the Savior. And in his strength and by his Spirit, our spirit will be upheld, and we will gladly walk in his ways. All that remains is our joyful standing before the Lord.

If you pull back and look at Psalm 51:10–12 as a whole, you will notice that David makes six specific petitions in a row. The numerous requests seem to convey that by this point, David understands just how much he has lost by plunging into sin.⁸

In his mercy, God answered David’s many prayers. And today we have the full word of God, the key of promise, to turn to in our own times of doubt, seasons of sin, and moments of despair. As you consider your sin and petition the Lord in prayer, may you treat these words as your own key of promise and use them to unlock the doors that keep you from the joy and freedom of gospel forgiveness.

When you cry, “Create in me a clean heart, O God,” the Lord says,

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezek. 36:25–26)

When you pray, “Renew a right spirit within me,” the Lord says, “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezek. 36:27).

When you say to the Lord, “Cast me not away from your presence,” Jesus promises, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). When you beg, “Take not your Holy Spirit from me,” Scripture assures you, “When you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, [you] were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of [your] inheritance until [you] acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:13–14).

When you pray, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation,” the Lord Jesus says, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).

When you cry out, “Uphold me with a willing spirit,” Scripture says, “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Pet. 5:10).

God delights in and is glorified by answering prayers such as these. He delights in and is glorified by giving us clean hearts and renewed spirits, dwelling with us through the Spirit, and restoring his joy to our lives as he upholds us. David’s petitions in Psalm 51:10–12 teach us to turn to the Lord in dependence and humility as we hold fast to the gospel of Jesus Christ and cry out for renewal. He is merciful, and he welcomes us to rejoice in the salvation that he has so graciously given.

Notes:

J. C. Ryle, Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots (Banner of Truth, 2014), 59.
Robert L. Thomas, ed., New American Standard Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible: Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries (Foundation, 1998), word 7725, Logos.
Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, vol. 3, Job to Song of Solomon (Hendrickson, 1991), 354.
William S. Plumer, Psalms: A Critical and Expository Commentary with Doctrinal and Practical Remarks (Banner of Truth, 1975), 564.
Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, 3:354.
Christopher Ash, The Psalms: A Christ-Centered Commentary, vol. 3, Psalms 51–100 (Crossway, 2024), 16.
Ash, Psalms, 3:16.
James Montgomery Boice, Psalms, vol. 2, Psalms 42–106 (Baker, 1996), 434.

This article is adapted from Create in Me a Clean Heart: Experiencing God’s Abundant Mercy in Psalm 51 by Matthew Boswell.

Matthew Boswell (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is a pastor at the Trails Church in North Texas. He also serves as professor of worship ministries at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is an author and hymn writer, known for songs including “His Mercy Is More” and “Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery.” Boswell lives in Texas with his wife and four children.

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