cleanse me from my sin!

 Psalm 51:1–19 (ESV):  

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 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. 

This psalm is a heartfelt response to the recognition of sin. This is a great example of how each of us should respond when we get it wrong. Have you ever approached God like this, in humble acceptance and deep repentance for the things you have done? 

This psalm is written by David. It shows that he realised the depth of what he had done, that his wrongdoing had torn apart his relationship with God and that it was beyond his ability to repair it. David knew the only way to be restored was to humbly request that God deal with the source of sin and get rid of it from his life. David implores God to, 'blot out my iniquities.....create in me a clean heart....renew a right spirit....cast me not away......restore me.... uphold me.....deliver me from bloodguiltiness'. There's a lot there. When you repent of sin there's a process. First, you need to acknowledge what you have done wrong and desire to get rid of the sin. Then you need God's help to clean up your actions, change your mindset and behaviour. All the time desiring, not just that the sin and guilt goes away, but that the relationship between you and God is restored. 

Repentance involves total reliance on God. God is the only one that can take away sin, renew your spirit, transform your mind and repair the rift in the relationship that you have caused. It is all God. You just need to come before Him; recognise your wrongs and desire not to do it anymore. Tell God how you feel and ask for Him to give you another chance by cancelling out the sin and changing and developing your character. David shows the process to be free from the guilt and shame of sin. It starts with admission, a heartfelt desire to get rid of the inner turmoil. It involves giving over what you have done wrong and trusting God to deal with it rather than trying to get yourself out of trouble. Then it ends with forgiveness, cleanness of heart and restoration of relationship with God. This is how you should deal with sin in your life. God can restore you and forgive you. Are you letting yourself enjoy the beauty of forgiveness?

David's reason for writing this psalm was that he had just recognised the depth of sin that he had become embroiled in. He hadn't seen it before, but now he realises what he has done and he is ashamed of his actions. Not just in the transgression that started it, but the ongoing way in which he hand handled the original sin. What he had originally done wrong he tried to hide and so the sins snowballed. He started to sin in other ways to try to cover up the first thing he had done wrong. Have you ever done that?

David had been visited by Nathan the prophet who revealed to him his sin in his dealings with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11). Nathan was told by God to confront the king and show him his sin in order to bring David to repentance (2 Samuel 12). Before Nathan came, David had not recognised nor repented of the sinful actions he had performed. It must have been terrifying for Nathan to have to confront this powerful king who had ruthlessly gone after what he wanted in this situation, who had been adulterous, deceptive and even plotted and murdered in order to prevent sin being revealed. One sin had led to another and another in this situation, as it often does for you and I. Sin snowballs and we can end up feeling stuck and like there is no way out. I wonder if that is how David felt. He needed Nathan to point out his errors, to show him the way he had sinned and to let David know that he can come back to God even though God is greatly displeased with him right now. It was a risky thing Nathan had to do - confront this king who had become so embroiled in sin that he had killed an innocent man. Yet David responds with heartfelt humility and repentance. He does not deny his wrong, downplay it or try to explain it away. Instead he understands the sin he has committed and responds as we all should - He cries to God for mercy. He accepts God’s unfailing love, God’s discipline, punishment and correction. David now sees and accept he has sinned and he admits that it is God who has been wronged by him (v4). He responds, not in anger towards Nathan or anyone else, but actually this challenge from Nathan has led David to finally outpour how he feels and to repent. David knew he had done wrong before, but he needed to be confronted with it in order to get before God about it and allow himself to be forgiven. It was as if he was waiting for the opportunity to confess and get right with God. He did not seem to be able to do it on his own, only as a result of being confronted by a man of God. Sometimes we get so caught up with sinful actions and wrong modes of thinking that we need someone else to point it out to us otherwise we remain stuck, unrepentant and unforgiven. How would you respond if someone confronts you about an issue of sin or wrongdoing?

David acknowledges his sin once it is pointed out, and he responds in prayer for God’s mercy. He knows that God still loves him (v1) and that he can still approach God and belong to Him (v14). Do you still know and accept these truths when you go awry? Would this be your response? Often I know people can get angry and upset when sin is pointed out. Remember the bravery of Nathan. Nathan had to confront the king not to pronounce judgement, but to allow repentance and forgiveness to be given. When someone points out sin in your life they do it for the same reason - to give you the opportunity to be free and to restore your relationship with God.

Take your example of how to respond from the psalm of David. Through this prayer of admittance and sorrowful repentance, David admits he has done wrong. He knows God loves him, he asks for the sin to be blotted out, and for God to cleanse him. He knows God’s character and asks for an inside out cleaning up (v7, ‘purge me’). David realises that he himself can do nothing to make the sin go away or to clean up his tendencies to sin, only God can. So, he asks God to do it. David knows it is not a matter of ‘just try harder’ - that doesn’t work. The sin needs to be removed from the heart, from the internal source that is within him. (V7-10). David knows the way to get back into right relationship with God is not through many sacrifices, trying to make up for sin by doing more holy acts or giving abundantly, but what God desires is, ‘a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart’. When you recognise your brokenness, your sinful nature and approach God asking for help, then you can know the powerful love and forgiveness of God. It is only when you acknowledge before God that you are broken beyond repair and accept that there is no way you can sort it on your own, that you can begin to know; restoration, forgiveness, peace, cleanliness and renewal. 

You can know the joy of sin being blotted out and purged from your innermost being because of Jesus. God has always desired that you be forgiven from sin, that is why Jesus took upon all the guilt, shame and sin of the world. He bore all sin as he died, and buried them in the grave so that you do not have to carry around the pain of them anymore, and so you can be made clean and right before God. You can approach God admitting your errors and sins and ask Him to cleanse and forgive you. You can be made right before God today as David was, as millions of others have been throughout the centuries. The same steadfast love and forgiveness is available to you if you follow David’s example. Approach God today with whatever needs to be made right, renewed or removed from your life. Then ask God to; ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence’. He will do it.