Psalm 51:1-11 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 51:1-11 on biblegateway.com
Verse 1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Verse 2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
Verse 3For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Verse 4Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.
Verse 5Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.
Verse 6You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Verse 7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Verse 8Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
Verse 9Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Verse 10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
Verse 11Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Devotion
Long ago the sages of our faith gave a context to this psalm: David’s adultery with Bathsheba and subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah. When confronted by Nathan the prophet, however, David confesses his sin with these words on his lips: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love.”
The ability to confess our sin lies in the prior confidence we can have in God’s steadfast love. It’s a love that knows no bounds. It’s also a constant throughout the biblical story, even in the Old Testament. God’s love is made known from the opening chapter of Genesis. And David knew it, which is why, in the midst of his sin, in the midst of all the pain and suffering caused by his blatant self-centeredness, he could come before God with a contrite heart and pray, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love.”
Prayer
Remind us, O God, that long before our sin took hold of us, your love was ever-present. In the name of Christ Jesus, who is the fullness of your love, Amen.