Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You. (Psalm 51:12-13)
In the physical world, death is final; there is no do over after we leave this world. However in the eternal world, a man’s soul and spirit continues to exist, either in the Presence of God or forever isolated from Him. The Bible refers to the latter scenario as the “second death” (Revelation 21:8) meaning that death, as the Bible sees it, is separation from the Almighty, the giver of life. There are two Hebrew words that underscore this concept. The word for “truth,” אמת emet, begins the letter א alef, which is emblematic of God our Master, aluf. If we were to separate the alef from the other two letters, the result would be מת met, the Hebrew word for “death.”
This illustration serves to emphasize the distress David experienced after his sin and why he pleaded for God to restore to him the joy of salvation. In a sense, he experienced what death truly is — separation from God and His spirit. Anyone who has experienced God’s displeasure to the extent that one feels isolated, and that heaven seems unresponsive, will testify that no one wants to experience that more than once. So then, can you imagine the sense of doom that will befall those who are cut off from His Presence for all eternity? It’s a dreadful and sobering thought.
But now let’s imagine how David must have felt when God restored him — overjoyed, no doubt, and determined to never let that separation reoccur. In a manner of speaking, he had been dead but God raised him from death to renewed life — i.e. he had another chance. Given that opportunity, he pledged that he would translate his experience into something useful; he would “teach transgressors Your ways.” Likewise, those of us who have been where David was — dead and separated from God — but now reborn and experiencing the joy of His salvation should never cease to testify of God’s great mercy and the power of redemption. By God’s grace, our bad choices and experiences can be translated into something powerful and just might be what somebody needs to hear that they might be converted to serve the Lord.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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