Psalm 51:1-17 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 51:1-17 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.
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
How appropriate Psalm 51 is for this week. It is not quite Ash Wednesday, yet we are preparing ourselves for the disciplines that come with Lent- repentance, penitential prayer, fasting, and self-denial. Through this Psalm, we understand that we are human. Therefore we are sinners and have been sinners since the day we were born. David, the Psalm writer, understood his own sinfulness. After he was scolded by the prophet Nathan for his sinful acts, David begged God for forgiveness, acknowledging that sin is a stain that only God can wash away. David yearned to be clean again and repented of his sins. That is what Lent is all about, the desire to repent of our sins and renew our relationship with our God. As we grow closer to the season of Lent and reflect on our sinfulness, we are assured that with repentance comes forgiveness.
Prayer
Loving and merciful God, we stand before you as people aware of our sin. By your Spirit move us beyond our despair over our failings and shortcomings to a repentance that truly transforms and empowers us. Renew us, O God, that we may glorify your name before others. Amen.