Day 21: Our Restorer

of The Heart of God: Through David’s Eyes

Below is Day Twenty-One of the study, but there is an introduction to check out which gives context and sets the tone, and previous weeks to look at below. If you would like the full content all in one place, this book is now available for purchase on Amazon. 

Week 1 - He Longs for Us to Know Who We Are 

Week 2 - He Longs for Us to Respond

Week 3 - He Longs for Us to Know Him

Day 15: Psalm 51

Day 16: Our Judge

Day 17: Our Benefactor

Day 18: Our Redeemer

Day 19: Our Source

Day 20: Our Reason

Day 21: Our Restorer

Even before his situation with Bathsheba and Uriah, David desired to build a temple for God. He also longed for the city that belonged to God, Jerusalem or Zion, to be rebuilt from when it was destroyed years prior. It was important to David that he build a city and temple for God to dwell that was fancier than where David resided. He longed for God to have a more beautiful home than he had built for himself. Yet, David also understood that God was actually the one who rebuilt things and made them new. He released control to God, and told God of his desires.

May it please you to prosper Zion,
    	to build up the walls of Jerusalem. 

Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
    in burnt offerings offered whole;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar. (Psalm 51:18-19)  

Even more than his desire to see Jerusalem rebuilt, David longed for God’s relationships with His people to be restored. This was a yearning of David’s heart: that God would allow His people, including David, to be right with Him again despite their repetitive disobedience.

Since this practice of being restored in his relationship with God was a focal point of David’s life and writing, it makes perfect sense for these words to be the way he finished this prayer. As David wrote about feeling responsible and remorseful, he wanted nothing more than to be on good terms with God. He longed to be united, unseparated, and mended in his relationship with the God whom he knew so intimately as his restorer. 

1. David longed for the walls of Jerusalem to be rebuilt. What do you long to see God do? 

2. When have you felt a deep need to be restored with God? What did this look and feel like? 

3. Summarize Psalm 51. What are the key phrases and themes in this poem/song? 

Reflection

Consider what you long for in your own relationship with God. Write a prayer of repentance (turning away from your own sin) and hope of restoration with Him. 

An excerpt of The Heart of God: Through David’s Eyes by Jill Ng