Cleansing Relief: Roll Away the Stone of Protection

A Study Written by Cheryl Samelson Skid

Based on Psalm 51

 Cleansing Relief; Roll Away the Stone of Protection

Psalm 51:6 and 7

Psalm 51:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden [part] thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Psalm 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Getting to Know Ourselves and Each Other through God’s lens

1.      Can you remember a time that you had to come clean after telling a lie that was so detailed, so like a spider web that even you started to believe it? How did you decide to come clean? What was the process and what was the end result?  If you are still struggling with a lie that you are afraid to make right, let this lesson reach the inside of your heart and see the value the Lord puts on truth.

2.      Part of the definition of truth (emet)* is reliability, steadfastness, faithfulness.  Sometimes singles look for people who are fun, life of the party, exciting. They may feel cheated by a partner who seems to be ‘boring’. But God values the faithful, steadfast servant.  How about you? What do you look for in partners or friends?

3.      Do you know people who seem to hide? You can’t find the real them because they are so covered by layer after layer? Do you sometimes think you don’t know who you are anymore because you assume different identities depending on your environment?

4.      When we hide things as in the word hidden (sattam)** we are purposely putting a rock in front of the hole so that the hidden thing cannot be seen. We have heard horror stories in the news about people who have kidnapped children then hid them away in cellars or caves, or unspeakable places and then covered the opening so no one could ever find the victim. We do that with lies. We cover them up so that no one can see the truth about us. Are there things about yourself you don’t want anyone else to know?

5.      We have all heard about learning styles. We each learn differently. It’s true in the spiritual walk as well. For instance:

a.      What have you learned from another person that has become part of your Christian walk?

b.      What have you learned from good, healthy experience?

c.      What have you learned when you came to the end of yourself and hit bottom?

6.      _____________________________________________________________________________

Original Language

Desire  חפץ  chafetz  desire, take pleasure in, delight in, bend down. Imagine God bending down toward us when we please Him!

*Truth אמת emet          faithfulness, truth, reliability, stability, truth

Inward parts טחה         toochah  inward parts, hidden regions, after taking off layer after layer                                                 after layer the inward part is at the very very deepest hidden place

**Hidden סתם              sattam             stopped up, closed, made secret, hidden on purpose

Know yada                        yadah                   know, perceive, discern discriminate, know by experience,                                                                            recognize, admit, acknowledge, confess, (the verb form                                                                                                indicates to make known, rather than to know.  So God is                                                                               making this known to His child who is hungry to learn and to                                                                               change.  Yad in Hebrew is hand. Ah signifies  stretched upward.                                                                                       So our posture in crying out for knowledge is hands stretched                                                                                  to God when we come to the hard conclusion that

true                                                                                                  knowledge comes from Him.

Purge חטא                   khatah             to cause to sin, bring to judgment, and purify

Hyssop אזוב                 ezoov               an aromatic plant from the east, like mint

Clean טהר                   taher                this isn’t the word for clean that would be used as in                                                             something washed with soap. But it is ceremonially clean,                                                              free from disease, purified, morally clean.

Wash כבס                    kavas               this isn’t the washing of the body. Rather it is the scrubbing                                                        that one would apply to filthy rags or a dirty rug putting in                                                                     lots of effort on a very soiled cloth or object.

Searching the Scriptures

These two verses are the only ones in the Bible that mention the hidden parts of the heart. Does that mean that David is the only person who ever struggled with secrets of the heart?

Consider the following names from the Bible. Take a look at their lives. What do you perceive as possible secret struggles? Beside each name I have written one possibility but there are many!

1.     Abraham (Read Genesis 17)

2.     Moses (Read Exodus 2)

3.     Esther (Read Esther 2)

4.     Peter (Read Matthew 16-19)

5.     Paul (Read Acts 15)

6.     Jesus (John 18)

Let’s first talk about Abraham. Do you think he struggled with himself? ­­­­­_____________  How might his inner conversation sound? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Moses had to struggle with a dual identity. _____________ Can you identify a time when Moses had to choose one identity over another? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Might Esther have lost sleep over a decision she had to make? ________Explain.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you think Peter knew his own heart? ________What did Jesus do to prove that Peter did not?_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Paul had an immediate and dramatic conversion. Unlike the others who grew up with Jesus Paul was overcome. Tell about his struggle on the road? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jesus was fully God and fully man. Do you believe that ever caused him struggle? _____If so why? _______If not why not?____________________________________________________

Jesus’ famous struggle was in the garden. Once he settled his heart, he didn’t struggle on the cross.  What implication does that have for us? ­­­­________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do Work

Take account of your heart this week.

            * Are there areas that you have a hard time revealing to those close to you?

            *What do you tend to hide?

            *Find one person you trust and share a little area of your heart you have tried to protect.            *Write about it.

            *What is happening as the days go by since you shared with that trusted person?

            *What correlation do you see between hiding information from people and attempting to                       hide information from God?

            *The more time we spend with someone, the more information we share. We learn more      about them. They learn more about us. Can you put in your own words what this                phrase means: “spending time with God”? During World War II and the Viet Nam War                          before email or cell phones, separated lovers would write letters to each other,                                      sometimes daily. How about writing a daily letter to God and tell Him everything that’s                      on your heart and let Him talk to you!