I really enjoy your website, thanks for all the work you do. Here is my question. In Psalms 51:11 David says” Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me”. First off, I thought believers were not given the Holy Spirit until after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. My next question is why did he pray “take not thy Holy Spirit from me”? It sounds to me as if the Holy Spirit could be taken back. Any insight into this scripture would be appreciated. Thank you!
Having the Holy Spirit sealed within us is a gift given exclusively to the church. Before the Resurrection and after the Rapture, the Holy Spirit is said to be “with” a person and can even “come upon” a person in a demonstration of power, but is never described as dwelling within a person. A good example of that is when Jesus said to the disciples, “You know Him for He has been with you and will be in you” (John 14:17). He was speaking of the Holy spirit Who they would receive in a few days (John 20:22).
Therefore David was justifiably concerned that the Lord could remove the presence of the Holy Spirit from his life because of his sin with Bathsheba. After all, David had seen the same thing happen to Saul after he disobeyed (1 Sam. 16:14). Since the Holy Spirit is sealed within us as a guarantee of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14), you and I need have no such fear.