Cleansed

Psalm 51:7-9

As we continue with David’s repentant psalm we continue to see David’s desperate plea to be restored. We see a man continuing to admit his sinfulness and continuing to vocalize his need for God. We see in these next three verses that same desperate plea for a good God to bring him back into a pure relationship with Him again.

Verse seven is one of the verses in Scripture I quote most often. David asks God to, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” Hyssop is a plant that was used for various reasons by the priests. They would use it to sprinkle blood and water on lepers that had been healed (Leviticus 14:6-7) and to cleanse those who had touched a dead body (Numbers 19:16-19). Essentially, hyssop was used as part of cleaning rituals. To cleanse lepers who had been healed and to cleanse those who had been made unclean by touching a dead body. This is what David had in mind when he asked God to purge him with hyssop.

The difference here is that David was asking God to cleanse him, not another man. The priests, though set apart for service to God, were mere men. God is pure and holy and perfect. David didn’t just want to go through the right rituals to be cleansed and forgiven of his sins, he wanted God to personally forgive him. We will look at this more later, but this shows us that David had a very deep, intimate relationship with God.

David requested that God wash him and make him pure again. He wanted to be spotless before God, something he knew that only God could make possible. He wanted to experience joy again which we see in verse eight where he says, “Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones you have broken may rejoice.” He feels brittle, worn out, and beat down from his own sin. Again I don’t want to dive too deeply into this now because we will look at this in depth later, but what we do see here is that David’s sin, though once something that brought him happiness, has worn him down. His supernatural joy turned to temporary, earthly happiness and finally to a broken spirit. His plea was for God to purify him so that he could find that supernatural joy again.

Finally, in verse nine, David says, “Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.” We saw David ask God something similar earlier when he asked Him to “blot out his transgressions” (verse one). Now he requests that God look away from his sins. He is not asking God to turn a blind eye. If he was why would he repeatedly admit his sins to God? Nor is he asking God to just forget his sin ever happened. If he was why would he ask God to purge him with hyssop? David is asking God to forgive him and not hold his sin against him. He wants a clean slate. It seems like an unfair request, and yet it is exactly what God promises to do (just read Psalm 103:12 again)! 1 John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”! What David is requesting does seem like an unfair request given the vast wickedness he had committed, but this is exactly what God wanted him to request!

It is important for us to make these same seemingly unfair requests. We don’t deserve his forgiveness, but He wants to forgive us. He wants our relationship to be restored. He does not need us in any way; He does it purely out of love and for His own glory. When we sin, let us be swift to confess our sins. Let us be swift to go straight to God and repent, asking Him to make us clean. Let us seek that supernatural joy that only an obedient relationship with Him can provide. And let us ask God to forgive us and remove our sins as far as the east is from the west, accept His forgiveness, and not allow the devil to try and use our past, already forgiven sins against us.

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