Wisdom Wednesday: Wisdom in the Innermost Being
Submitted by: Debbie’s Dad
Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.
(Psalm 51:6, NASB)
This Psalm has a superscription—a sentence preceding the content that provides context and more explanation. David wrote the Psalm following his sin of adultery with Bathsheba (recorded in 2 Samuel 11). After being confronted by Nathan about the sin he tried to conceal, David was contrite and publicly acknowledged his sin, violating several of the Ten Commandments in this Psalm.
The Psalm proceeds with a clear line of prayer before God:
- Verses 1-2 are David’s appeal to God’s love and compassion for forgive a sinner. He requests that his sins be “blotted out” (erased) and he be washed and cleansed (made clean again.)
- Verses 3-4 acknowledge his transgression against God’s law, and that God is just to judge him.
- And in verses 5 and 6, he recognizes he was born a sinner – as a human he inherited Adams’ sinful nature. These verses contrast David and God:
- David was born a human with a sinful nature, but
- God is perfect and desires humans to humans to be truthful in their our inward or deepest part (our soul), and here He will communicate wisdom to those who are genuine with Him.
- In the following verses 7-17 David returns to his impassioned plea to be purified and washed (v. 7), to be restored to joy (v. 8), to have his sins be “blotted” (v.9), and to have a restored and clean heart (v. 10). He also seeks to be restored with the presence of God’s Spirit in his life, the joy of God’s salvation, and the ability to tell others of God (verses 11-13). He asks for delivery so he can praise God again, and offer sacrifices of his broken spirit (v. verses 14-17a.)
- David was born a human with a sinful nature, but
In verse 17 David concludes, “A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. “This is the innermost and hidden part of man where God desires truth and imparts wisdom. The heart that acknowledges sin and seeks forgiveness from a gracious God. This is any sinner’s hope (and joy) that the righteous God will not despise, but will forgive the contrite person!
Jesus told the woman at the well in Samaria that true communion with God is genuine -worship and confession “in spirit and in truth”. (John 4:23)
Similarly, Paul urged Timothy that his mission as a ministry of the Gospel must be from a genuine heart. “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” (I Timothy 1:5) The sincere (genuine) faith that Paul counseled was based on a pure heart and clean conscience. Paul further commended Timothy in his sincere faith that reflected the sincerity of his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5).
Paul taught that the sincerity of our faith is located in our “inner man” as (2 Corinthians 4:16; Ephesians 3:16) just as David learned when he said that God desires truth in the innermost being. And this is where God imparts to us His wisdom!