1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Psalm 51:1-9
I once had a bumper sticker on my car that said, “Christians Aren’t Perfect, Just Forgiven!” And how true that is!
David, the human author used by God to pen Psalm 51, certainly wasn’t perfect. While he was the king of Israel, he committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite; and he then arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle in an attempt to cover up his sin (2 Samuel 11).
When David attempted to hide and cover up his sin, God’s hand was heavy upon him (Psalm 32:3-4). But when he finally acknowledged and confessed his sin, God graciously forgave him and cleansed him of all his iniquities (Psalm 32:5; 2 Samuel 12).
Psalm 51 is David’s prayer to God for mercy and forgiveness: “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (v. 1-2).
David acknowledged his sins to the LORD God: “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom” (v.4-6).
God would have been just to judge and condemn David for his sin. David was guilty! And God would also be just to judge and condemn us for our sins against His holy commandments, for we too are guilty!
David prayed: “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities” (v. 7-9).
David’s prayer reveals his faith in God’s mercy. He was confident that, if God “purged” away his sin, he would be “clean,” and if God washed away his sin, he would be “whiter than snow.”
David trusted in the words of Psalm 130:7-8: “Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”
The LORD God did provide redemption in His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who fulfilled the righteous demands of God’s law perfectly in our stead and then suffered and died on the cross, paying in full the just punishment for the sins of all. Indeed, “with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption”!
Because Jesus died for our sins and rose again, God reaches out to us in mercy, offering to us and all sinners pardon and forgiveness through faith in the atoning sacrifice offered up by Jesus in our stead. When we “confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” because “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our’s only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 1:9; 2:1,2).
Because of the redemption accomplished by Christ Jesus, we, like David, can look to God in faith for mercy and forgiveness. We can confidently pray: “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7).
O merciful God, cleanse me and purge away my sins in the blood of Jesus, shed on the cross for the sins of all, and I shall be clean and whiter than snow! Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]