Psalm 51:1-17 (NRSV)
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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.
Verse 12Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
Verse 13Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.
Verse 14Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
Verse 15O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
Verse 16For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
Verse 17The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Devotion
Lent begins tomorrow with Ash Wednesday. It’s a humble, quiet, uncomfortable time for many, as we gather to stand in line and take turns receiving the shape of a cross planted firmly on our foreheads with ashes. It may seem dark, messy, and humbling to walk away with this mark on us. Once again words addressed to us about “ashes to ashes and dust to dust” remind us that we are sinful beings, sinful in nature and not able to fulfill God’s plan for us without God’s creation of a new heart in us. In the psalm today, David makes sure he asks for forgiveness of every type of sin—everything in us and in our actions that fall short of God’s glory.
Prayer
Lord of all, we look to you for guidance in our lives. We ask today for your forgiveness for all the wrongs we have done, known and unknown. Have mercy on us, Amen.