Holy Spirit,
You are welcome here.
Soak my heart in the water of the Word
and draw me to hear and heed Your life-giving counsel.
In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen!
On this twenty-second morning of my 50 days of waiting for Pentecost Sunday, I am grateful for Psalm 51 and am even more grateful for the Teacher, the Holy Spirit, who ceaselessly reveals new nuggets of truth for my famished soul to savor heartily.
My newest bite is verse 7, which says:
"Cleanse me with hyssop,
and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow."
As I paused and prayed and pondered, I began to see that this simple verse is not as simple as it first appears. It is much more than a single bite; it is a whole table laden with fat portions, exotic fruits, leafy vegetables, crunchy salads, rich grains, and the most intoxicating of wine. Hence, I will park in this verse for a few days.
Today, I am led to wonder . . .
Had David not already asked to be cleansed and washed at the beginning of the psalm?
Why does he ask it again?
The Word of God does not explicitly denote the reason for this repeated request. However, is that any different from you and me? Do we not ask the Father again and again to perform all kinds of works He has already done? Do we not say, "Lord, be with me today" when we fully know that His name is Immanuel, meaning God with us? Do we not say, "Lord, provide for my needs" when we already known that His name is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides?
Perhaps, the answer lies in the fact that, as human beings, we are forgetful -- we have a hard time remembering who God is, who we are, what He has already done, what He is currently doing, and what He promises He will do on our behalf.
Perhaps, it is because you and I tend to be ungrateful for His blessings -- our ever-changing tastes make it difficult for us to appreciate God's hand of blessing in current circumstances.
Perhaps, it is because our all-too-often impatient bent flares up even in spiritual matters. Due to our limited perspective, we often desire to be clean presto presto . . . desiring to feel our sinfulness behind us as quickly as possible. We sometimes feel that God's cleansing hand is too slow; thus, we attempt to assist His hand with our suggestions.
Perhaps, you and I might learn from this perspective:
"For a long time I have kept silent,
I have been quiet and held myself back.
But now, like a woman in childbirth,
I cry out, I gasp and pant . . .
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
I will not forsake them."
Isaiah 42: 14 & 16, NIV
In the context of the above verses, Isaiah depicts the Father as One who stood back and silently watches as His people endured Babylonian oppression and servitude, resulting from their idolatry and rebellion. Yet at the dawn of a new season, God expresses Himself powerfully triggering a phenomenal restoration of His people.
God stands back.
The world grows dark.
God speaks forth.
The world grows bright.
This pattern has repeated itself over and over.
In the beginning, "the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light" (Gen 1:2-3, NIV).
The pattern of darkness turning into light reappeared in the days of Noah, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Isaiah, Jonah, and many others . . . until a period of 400 years of silence separated the Old and the New Testaments. And as that dark time of silent hovering came to a close, the Spirit of God came upon Mary and overshadowed her -- she gave birth to a holy child named Jesus, Immanuel, Prince of Peace, Son of God, the Light of the world. That very child grew, ministered to the such and the poor, preached the good news of the Kingdom, died a sinner's death though He was sinless, rose again three days later, promised to send the Holy Spirit to instruct and counsel, ascended to the Father who waited some some . . . until the Holy Spirit came.
And oh, did He ever come!
He came 50 days after the resurrection of Christ -- Pentecost!
The Holy Spirit came to individuals living in a culture accustomed to counting up to fifty (50).
The Jubilee!
The Feast of Weeks!
The Feast of Harvest!
And what a harvest the Holy Spirit Himself was, is, and ever will be!
Indeed, Pentecost came at last and has become a day that grows dearer and dearer to me. It bears great significance to me because of two important perspectives:
- Historically, it marks the formal beginning of the church as a group of individuals united by their acknowledgment of Christ's death and resurrection and their belief in Jesus as Lord and God. Although some followers of Jesus could be easily documented before Pentecost, it is to that day anyone can go through history's annals and find the church established and recognized as a palpable presence in the eyes of God and mankind.
- Spiritually, Pentecost refers to the day on which the Holy Spirit of the living God initiated simultaneous contact with several individual believers in a way that was equally visible and recognizable to followers and non-followers of Christ. Thus, the Spirit both animated and enlivened the church -- just as He continues to do with each new believer in Christ.
Perhaps, it is a similar blessing that prompted David to go back and restate his original request for washing, cleansing, and compassion. Nevertheless, may you and I trust God readily to grant us what He is poised to give us!
His light.
His truth.
His wisdom.
Soli Deo Gloria!
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