51:1 - God's mercy is because of His unfailing love and His great compassion. I know that most people will hear that and go of course, but I think it deserves consideration. Do you truly believe that God's mercy is completely, 100% because of His great love and compassion? If so, every time you experience it it will draw you closer to Him and make you more and more grateful. You will find that His mercy to you causes you to love Him more. But, if it is just something or if somewhere deep down you think He owes it to you or it is because of your behavior or even your beliefs than you have missed the point and you might just end up taking it for granted. You might end up being a "good Christian" who doesn't properly see the mercy of God.
51:1/9 - Sin always leaves a stain. Sin isn't something that is easy to wipe off. It gets down in the fabric of who we are and it ruins us. The only hope for us when we have sinned is for Jesus to come and bleach out the stain with His blood. I am sure we do not see sin as something that ruins us, but it is.
51:2 - Wash me / Purify me - When was the last time you prayed that prayer?
51:3 - For I recognize my rebellion; - I think this is the key to this whole passage. We cannot be washed, clean, purified and restored if we refuse to recognize our rebellion. We have to see it, understand it as rebellion and then openly confess that to God. And maybe, if you keep going in this chapter, maybe we can't have the Holy Spirit living in us the way God wants if we refuse to recognize and name our rebellion. As Christians, we have the bad quality about us where we confess sin without admitting that it is rebellion against God. We need to call it what it is so we can be healed from it.
51:5 - This is a hyperbolic statement meant to make a point. Unfortunately, some people have taken this verse out of context and then built a whole theology on it that we are born sinful or with sin or with a sinful nature. The truth is the Bible NEVER uses the term sinful nature. The times you see that in some translations it is the word flesh. And to say that flesh is sinful is to say that Jesus was born sinful. And, if you say flesh is sinful, but Jesus wasn't sinful than you are either saying Jesus wasn't here in the flesh (which defies Scripture) or that Jesus wasn't fully man (which defies Scripture). We need to see this verse in the light of the whole passage and the light of the whole Bible. David is making a dramatic statement to express the extent to which he feels the guilt and responsibility for his sin.
51:7 - Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. - I wonder if you truly believe that. Do you truly, honestly, fully believe that if Jesus purifies you and washes you that you will be as pure and clean as a brand new blanket of snow?
51:8 - ... you have broken me... - I know a thing or two about being broken. When I was in Bible college I realized in my head that I was not broken in my heart. I prayed and prayed for God to break me. It was a wise prayed from an unwise person. God, in His love and mercy, did break me and allow me to be broken by various circumstances in life. While I do believe god orchestrated everything that led to me being broken, I do believe He allowed it out of His great love. It took a sledge hammer to break the stone from around my heart, but He did it. I am not where I want to be, but I am headed there. I would challenge you, if you truly have a desire to fully be known and fully know the Father, pray that He breaks you and then receive that as a gift. Your faith will never be the same and that will be a good thing.
51:10-11 - Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don't take your Holy Spirit from me. - So many things here. I love the idea of asking God to renew a loyal spirit in me. Can you see not only the depth of David's remorse, but His deep love of fellowship with God? What would honestly be different in your life today if God took His Holy Spirit from you? Seriously. Not theologically, but how would your life be different from the way your are living? See, if our lives wouldn't instantly crumble without the Holy Spirit we are not where we need to be.
51:12 - Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. - Could you pray, "Make me willing to obey." today? I hope you will.
51:17 - The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
Love, Michael
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