Text: Psalm 51:1-9
Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight—That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. 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 You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities.
Devotion
It was not just the sins with Bathsheba and Uriah that David felt. He confesses: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.” True confession of sin does not look just at outward sins, but feels the heart’s deep corruption and there finds a terribly poisonous fountain from which all sinful deeds spring. There is lying and hatred and unchastity and greed, as the plant is already determined in the seed. This poison has penetrated the heart, so that it is wicked from youth on. Jesus says: “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Mat 15:19).
The Lord allowed David to see Bathsheba, but He prevented David from hiding his sin with Uriah’s visit at home. If the Spirit cannot show us our sin in any other way, God allows the wicked, hidden desire of the heart to break out so that we humble ourselves and pray for grace. But let no one trifle with sin and do evil in order to learn contrition and to prove the truth of the Lord’s Word! Extinguish the spark so that it doesn’t become a flame! Pray God to spare you from David’s terrible way, and beware of that which lies at the door to ensnare you. God still will not let you taste the bitterness of sin if you are upright and want to be obedient toward His Spirit. And such a feeling of sin is always necessary; whoever does not recognize his sin with sorrow and recognize the justice of God’s judgment, also does not know the sweet and blessed peace of His mercy.
Take note of David’s prayer and confession: these are not the words of a cold heart, but the strong piercing cry for mercy from an eager spirit. It is not an apathetic admission that he is a weak person like everybody else, but the deep and true confession of a wounded soul, that he is an evildoer from birth on. He is not done putting forth his confession and his prayer, but it is unspeakably important to him to be shown mercy and to be cleansed. “Wash me thoroughly,” he says: “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Do you have the same prayer within you, my soul? Are you bringing the proper sacrifices of God: a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart? Humbly pray that God will give you the true spirit of contrition, and say with the prophet: “You have fed them with the bread of tears, And given them tears to drink in great measure” (Psa 80:5).
Closing Prayer
Lord God, we do not have David’s deep humility, but still we feel our corruption and our sinful guilt with remorse and pain. Yes, I am poor and wicked; cleanse me and heal me, O God, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Hymn
Before Thee, God, who knowest all,
With grief and shame I prostrate fall.
I see my sins against Thee, Lord,
The sins of thought, of deed, and word.
They press me sore; I cry to Thee:
O God, be merciful to me!
O Lord, my God, to Thee I pray:
O cast me not in wrath away.
Let Thy good Spirit ne’er depart,
But let Him draw to Thee my heart
That truly penitent I be:
O God, be merciful to me!
O Jesus, let Thy precious blood
Be to my soul a cleansing flood.
Turn not, O Lord, Thy guest away,
But grant that justified I may
Go to my house with peace from Thee:
O God, be merciful to me!
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