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creation and renewal

Psalm 51:10-11 (JDV)

Psalm 51:10 God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast breath within me.
Psalm 51:11 Do not banish me from your presence or take your Sacred Breath from me.

creation and renewal

God’s act of forgiveness is both the creation of something new and the renewal of something damaged. We ask him to create a new heart for us because our old heart has proven to be a traitor to Christ. Surgery or repair is not an option. He has to make us new. The prayer itself is a confession. It says “God, if you just fix this, I’ll do the same thing again. I need a new me, and you’re the only one who can do that.

But there is something being renewed when God forgives. That something is the ruach — the breath. The psalmist uses resurrection terminology here. In the original creation, God breathed the ruach into the lifeless body he had molded from the clay. Then that body came to life and became a living being.

So, David asks for a renewal of that steadfast breath. He wanted to breath faithfulness to God. He wanted to be restored not just to life, but to a life that counts.

Lord, recreate us today. Cast out our sin, and enter in.