Written by Steve Ross
PSALM 51
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right[b] spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
build up the walls of Jerusalem;
19 then will you delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Oh the weight of my sin. Oh the weight of every sin, David sure felt it and he cried out to the Lord: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight”
Have you ever felt the guilt or shame that comes with the conviction of sin? For David it came when the prophet Nathan confronted him. For us it often comes as we read Scripture where the Holy Spirit can reveal to us where we have sinned (Hebrews 4:12) or a brother or sister in the faith may confront us (Matthew 18:15). See how David continues to plead with God:
“Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.”
He pleads to not have the sin separate him from God. Sin will not separate us, because there is no condemnation in Christ. Sin will however break the intimacy we experience with God. We may feel that we are alone, that God is not responding. Oh the weight of sin! But we don’t have to stay there and carry this weight. David shows us the steps to take after mourning over his sin and he moves to confession in verses 2, 7, and 10 below.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
He doesn’t want you to live in guilt and shame. We have an attentive God full of mercy and grace. He wants us to confess and ask for help to repent of our sin. (James 4:8) (Acts 3:19) (1 John 1:9). Note the great promise of 2 Corinthians 4:17, “for this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison”. We can trade the weight of sin for the coming weight of glory.
Prayer Prompts:
Take time to examine your life, and confess any sins that God brings to mind.
Thank God for his promise that when we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us, and that we can walk in hope that Jesus frees us from the bondage of sin.
