2/29/2012 9:18:36 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: Cleanse Me
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm 51:1-7
Message of the verses: We are looking at Psalm 51, and in yesterday’s SD we looked only at the introduction because of the importance of this psalm. 1John 1:9 says that “if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I think that an honest look at Psalm 51 will help us to understand what it means to confess our sins and not only that but we will learn what it means to be restored after confessing our sins and then we will have a desire to want to serve the Lord after we are restored to Him.
I believe that one of the truly great things that I have learned about David is when he sinned he realized it and he would be ready to confess it. We know that David is a man after God’s own heart and it was the Lord who chose David to lead His people. We also remember that when the people cried out for a king that first God gave them what they wanted in a king, a tall, handsome man who could lead them into battle with their enemies. Saul was that man but one thing that we know about Saul is that he was a man who did not truly confess his sins to the Lord and he was a man that had a hard time realizing that he sinned. When we go all the way back to the beginning of the Bible in Genesis chapter 3 when Adam and Eve sinned and so sin was brought into the human race we saw excuses from both Adam and Eve as they did not want to say like David says in Psalm 51:4 “Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.” David realized that his sin was wrong, that it was against God, and that he deserved judgment from the Lord for his sin, David did not make excuses. However when we look at Psalm 51:1 we read “Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.” David knew that he was guilty and deserved judgment but at the same time David appealed to God’s grace. Why? David could not appeal to the Law, and he could not appeal to God’s justice. David knew the truth of Psalm 103:10, “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” He also knew that truth of Psalm 130:3If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” David had a deep sincere knowing that whenever he sinned that that sin could cause him to burn in hell, yet he also knew that God was gracious. I think that perhaps this could be something that believer’s today lack and when they sin they run to 1John 1:9 and quote that believing rightly that God will forgive them, but perhaps at the same time thinking lightly about their sin. When we think about how horrible it was for Christ on the cross, the beatings, the humiliation, the spitting at Him, and all of these things were awful, but the worst part was the six hours that he spent on the cross when darkness was all around Him and at that time He became sin for us, for me and at that time He was separated from His Father because of our sin, because of my sin and at the end of that time He cried out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me.” The answer to that question is God is a God of love for He is love, and God is a just God, and God is a forgiving God, and God did the forsaking because of you and because of me.
“Cleanse Me” (vv. 1-7): “1 ¶ «For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.» Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. 4 Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”
When David sinned against Bathsheba, and her husband Uriah by murdering him deliberately there was no atonement in the Law for these sins. Nathan the prophet when he confronted him Nathan told him that God had forgiven his sins. This was truly the grace of God seen in all of this.
David had crossed over the line that God had drawn in the Law and we call this “transgression.” David missed the mark that God has set for him and we call that “sin.” David had yielded to his twisted sinful nature and we call this “iniquity.” David asked God to “blot out” his transgressions and this refers to a debt that had to be paid, and would be paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ. When David writes “cleanse” me he is referring to the defilement caused by touching something unclean as seen in Lev. 11:32 or cleansing from a disease as revered to in Lev. 13:1-3.
2/29/2012 10:17:30 AM
2/29/2012 1:16:17 PM
Now let us look at the word “wash” for this word refers to the cleansing of dirty clothing as seen in Isaiah 1:18, “"Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.” I have mentioned in earlier SD’s that in the Jewish society of the day when David was living that when someone washed their clothes and put new fresh clothes on it was a sign of a new beginning. We can see this in Genesis 35:2 and 41:14 and also in 45:22. Let us look at 2Samuel 12:20, “So David arose from the ground, washed, anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he came into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he came to his own house, and when he requested, they set food before him and he ate.” This section from 2Samuel was after the baby died that was conceived when David committed adultery with Bathsheba.
We know that David’s sin was against Bathsheba and also her husband Uriah, but all sin that is committed is sin against God and David points this out in verse four. In verse five we see David admitting that now only was he a sinner by choice but also by nature and this is very important to realize for as Paul writes in Romans 3:23 we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. When Adam and Eve sinned God told them that they would die and they did die spiritually because of their sin, but they also died physically later on at the end of their life. This would not have occurred if they had not sinned. The sin nature that happened to them right after they sinned is passed on to all people. Think about this, did you ever have to teach your children to do something wrong? I don’t think so and this is evidence of the sin nature we are all born with.
Now let’s talk about the significance of the word “Hyssop” which is found in verse 7. “22 "You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning.” (Exodus 12:22) Hyssop was a shrub with hairy stems and that is why it was used by the children of Israel to apply the blood to their doorposts, and it was also used for cleansing by the priests for those who needed ceremonial cleansing. We as believers in Jesus Christ find our cleansing in the work that Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. Hebrews 10:19-25 speaks of this: “19 ¶ Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” I think that chapter ten of Hebrews has been called the “let us” chapter.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: The reason that I have this SD in two parts is because my daughter called and she was not feeling well and so I had to go pick up my grandson at pre-school. I find that some of the best times of prayer are when I am in the car alone and I can talk to the Lord out loud without fear of someone else listening. This morning my prayer was about the fact that rarely when I sin and confess my sin to the Lord that I think of what it cost my Lord to atone for those sins. I need to remember what it cost to give me a salvation that is free.
1. Remember the cost of God the Son and God the Father to pay for my sins.
2. Continue to learn contentment.
2/29/2012 1:43:57 PM
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