Psalm 51 is a favorite psalm of many
Christians. It has been an important
part of our piety and our liturgy over the centuries. It is ingrained in my mind from singing it
Sunday after Sunday after the offering, and before the prayers: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew
a right spirit within me. Cast me not
away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and
uphold me with Thy free Spirit. Amen. (TLH, p. 12-13)
One of the reasons this psalm is so important
is that it is a prayer of confession, and unlike many confessions, we know the
deed to which the author, King David, is admitting he has done. David wrote this after he was confronted by
the prophet Nathan in regard to his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of
her husband Uriah. You can read all
about it in 2 Samuel 11-12. His brokenness
is so clear. His misery, shame, and
sorrow pours out line by line, and perhaps we can resonate with the that in our
own sin. Yet there is the confidence of
salvation here, too, and we long for that same faith to cling to God’s
promises, boldly living in His forgiveness.
The psalm begins, “Have mercy on me, O God…” Literally, he cries out, “Pity me, God!” Interestingly, the word translated, “have
mercy,” have the same root letters of another word that means, “to be
loathsome, or stinking.” I don’t know
that there is a direct correlation between the words, but our sin is indeed
loathsome to God, and when we recognize that, we see that His mercy is so much
greater than we had ever imagined.
In no way does David try to justify
himself. This is important for our
personal confessions. When we confess we
should not shift blame, use the word, “but,” or do anything else that would
make it seem that what we’ve done is not as bad as it appears on the
surface. David says, “Against you, you
only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” God sees all things, even the desires of our
hearts and thoughts in our minds. The
only person we fool when we try to justify ourselves is ourselves.
Of course there is another way that people
sometimes try to justify themselves and that is by acts of atonement. We try, by the things we do, to cover up our
sin and blot out the memory of the bad by doing good. This cannot work either. God’s way is for Him to justify us Himself. He does this through the death and
resurrection of Jesus. Even David was
forgiven for the sake of Jesus’ sacrifice.
Acknowledge your sin. Repent.
Lay it all bare before the LORD! You
cannot hide anything from Him, so don’t try!
Then you will experience the incredible mercy of God that moves him to
wash us of our sins and blot out our iniquity.
After all, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and
contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
Having experienced God’s mercy and
forgiveness, you will also be moved to praise Him. “O God of my salvation, my tongue will sing
aloud of your righteousness. O LORD,
open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.” Indeed, this is the heart of worship! God has forgiven me! He has restored me to His presence and filled
me with His Spirit!
Our forgiveness is also the heart of our
evangelism. “Then I will teach transgressors
your ways, and sinners will return to you.”
So important is our salvation that it forms the backbone or our whole
lives. So confess your sins. Be forgiven in Christ. Then share the good news of what God has done
for you!
Father in Heaven, have mercy on me and cleanse me. Restore me and use me for Your glory. Amen.
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