Psalm 51:1-2 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 51:1-2 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.
Devotion
A basic use for water is cleansing. Watery cleansing also marks our lives of faith. Because we sin before God, we need deep cleansing. Every Ash Wednesday we begin Lent with Psalm 51, the most profound psalm of repentance in Scripture.
The psalm prays that God show mercy on us in three significant ways. We first pray that God "blot out," or erase, our transgressions. Then we pray to God, "Wash me." Wash me thoroughly, we pray to God; wash my sins away. Finally, we pray, "Purify me, Lord." Make it a rich and effective ceremonial cleansing.
God is the subject of all of these verbs. Psalm 51 teaches us that even our repentance is God's work. And as our prayer for cleansing continues, we ask God to move deeper still. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10). Water marks God's cleansing in our lives, a washing of repentance so our lives and hearts might be made new by the work of the Spirit.
Prayer
God of mercy, cleanse us. Wash away our sins that we might go into your world ready to do your work.
Amen.