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"CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART"

We believe the following song (popularized by Keith Green) is a good example from which to learn several important lessons. For instance, it is possible for a song to use the exact words found in the Bible and thereby be considered a “Biblical” song while in reality the song may be inappropriate for Christians to sing!

          The words of this particular song are as follows:
                   Create in me a clean heart, O God.
                   And renew a right spirit within me.
                   Create in me a clean heart, O God.
                   And renew a right spirit within me.
                   Cast me not away from thy presence, O Lord.
                   And take not thy Holy Spirit from me.
                   Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.
                   And renew a right spirit within me.
 
            In Psalm 51 we find these words in verses 10-12 (KJV): “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” [ Note: Some people mis-copy and/or mis-sing the Scriptural “thy salvation” in verse 12 with “my salvation”.]

          David penned the words of Psalm 51 following his sins in the matter of Bathsheba and her husband Uriah which you can read about in the 11th chapter of 2 Samuel. The “spirit” of the prayer is certainly a correct one for Christians today, much as David recognized his need to get right with God following those sins that David committed. We have no argument with any of that – in fact we advocate confession to God of our sins and repentance from those sins. God indeed looks to the one who is humble and of a contrite heart/spirit.
    
However, as we study the whole of Scriptures we find that in the Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit of God “came upon” people and subsequently departed (was taken) from those people. This appeared to be the case with David’s predecessor, King Saul. Here are some additional examples from the Scriptures:

In Numbers 11:29 we read “And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!”

In Numbers 24:2 we read regarding Balaam “… and the spirit of God came upon him.”

In 1 Samuel 10:10 we read “…and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.”

In 1 Samuel 11:6 we read regarding Saul: “And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings…”

In 1 Samuel 19:20 “And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.”

In 1 Samuel 19:23 “And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.”

In 1 Chronicles 12:18: “Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said, Thine are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy God helpeth thee.”

In 2 Chronicles 15:1: “And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:”

In 2 Chronicles 24:20: “And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you.”

In Isaiah 61:1 we read: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;”
 
In the New Testament we find that things have changed from that of the Old Testament. Consider these references:

Romans 8:9: “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

1 Corinthians 2:12: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.”

1 Corinthians 3:16: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” Similarly, Paul writes in Ephesians 2:22: “In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”

In John 14:16-17, Jesus told His disciples: “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

In 2 Corinthians 5:5 we read: “Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit” and in Ephesians 4:30: “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

In 1 Thessalonians 4:8, “He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.” Furthermore in Romans 11:29 we read that “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (i.e., God does not change His mind regarding this – the gift is irrevocable).

 
If you are a born again believer and you believe these truths from the New Testament, why would you pray that God would not take His Holy Spirit from you if God has already promised you that He would not do so? Did God lie and/or did you not believe Him when He promised it?
 
Similarly, God will not cast us away from His presence. To do so would mean death for us! How can that possibility (which is really an IMpossibility) square with the clear Biblical teaching regarding God’s gift of eternal/everlasting life to those who truly believe? If you can lose it, it wasn’t everlasting! Hebrews 13:5 tells us: “for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
 
May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in God’s sight.


Please note: There is a different song, written by Ron Hamilton, which uses the same title as this song by Keith Green. In our estimation, Ron Hamilton has successfully communicated the spirit of the prayer without incorporating the phrases which are not applicable to Christians today. His version is as follows:
"Create in Me a Clean Heart"

verse 1
I came to the Lord with my heart full of sin,
Empty of purpose and troubled within.
My flesh had the vic'try, my heart sought release -
Lord, wilt Thou cleanse me and grant me Thy peace?

Create in me a clean heart, my Father.
Renew a right spirit in me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;
May Christ be seen in me.

verse 2
I cried to the Savior, "Forgive me, I pray."
He granted cleansing and sins fell away.
My bondage was ended, my heart was set free;
Lord, nevermore may I wander from Thee.

Create in me a clean heart, my Father.
Renew a right spirit in me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;
May Christ be seen in me.

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