"Spirit of your Holiness" in Psalm 51:13

Trinity Journal, Spring 1998 by Marlowe, W Creighton

How do Luther and Calvin45 explain the "spirit" in Ps 51:12-14, especially "the holy spirit" in v. 13? Luther sees all three of these verses as pertaining to gifts of the Holy Spirit because the name of God's Spirit is repeated in each.46 For some reason "spirit" is not capitalized in v. 12 as in vv. 13-14. Interestingly, Luther, in commenting on v. 12, expresses his uneasiness with disputes "as to whether he [David]is speaking about the 'efficient' Spirit, or divine person, or about the gift of the Spirit."47 He seems to support the idea that whatever the "spirit" is in these verses, it is the same kind of spirit; and for Luther it is God's Holy Spirit characterized with appellations that allude to inner qualities this Spirit gives as gracious gifts to believers. If Luther is right to claim that consistency and context demand that the "spirit" be the same in each verse and that each relates the Holy Spirit to a gift of grace for sinful humans like David, then perhaps it is the gift itself that David requests in each case. Calvin, as translated by Anderson, capitalizes "spirit" only in v. 13.4 Having already been endued with the Holy Spirit, he argues, David asks in v. 12 that God would renew his human spirit by making it right or righteous. He then interprets v. 13 as a presentation of "the same petition" as in v. 12 "in language which implies the connection of pardon with the enjoyment of the leading of the Holy Spirit."49 In other words, Calvin seems to suggest that while God's Spirit is mentioned in v. 13, "take not the Spirit of thy holiness from me" expresses David's need for a new heart or spirit. If this is the real issue at stake, and Calvin is right that David already viewed himself as having God or God's Spirit at work in his life, then perhaps it is the spiritual quality of personal holiness that David desires in v. 13 along with steadfastness (v. 12) and willingness (v. 14), which all come through God's help.

E. The Significance of "Spirit of Your Holiness" in Ps 51:13

The interpretation of Ps 51:13 being proposed by this study may be further supported by noting that the statements "Do not cast" and "Do not take" in v. 13 involve the use of imperfect verbs of a precative mood with the negative (arabic text omitted) of subjective denial rather than the negative (arabic text omitted) of objective and strong denial or prohibition. The result is a tone that should be translated something like "may I not be cut off from Your presence//may Your spirit of holiness not be taken from me." This enhances the synthetic relationship between the two lines, whereas the connection between the two lines in the traditional reading-"Do not cast me . . . //Do not take your Spirit"-is somewhat ambiguous, especially if one assumes David is preoccupied with the possibility of the indwelling Spirit being removed. The interplay between the lines is curious unless the second line is the continuation or re-creation of what God or his Spirit can accomplish in David's life, because otherwise the parallel is "Do not take me away from . . . " vs. "Do not take away from me...." But if v. 13b is David's plea for personal, God-like holiness, as this study suggests,50 then the interplay between the lines is more logical and meaningful in light of the context. The sense would be: "Let me not be cut off from your presence (i.e., fellowship)//May your holiness not be removed from me (i.e., so that I will not sin and consequently contaminate my communion with you)."