God Cleanses

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Sometimes we use fancy language in our prayers to God. It can sound as if we are trying to make a good impression. Other times, though, we are direct and brutally honest in our prayers, confessing our sin with a broken heart because we know we have failed.

Psalm 51 is a brutally honest prayer. The psalmist describes sin as a great stain on his life. He knows that the sin he has done messes up the beauty of his life. Sin is offensive to God, and it needs to be washed away.

Just as surely as sin stains a person’s life, God has the power to wipe that life clean again. The psalmist prays for forgiveness, asking God to cleanse him and make his life beautiful again. The honesty of the confession is possible because of the trust that God will hear and forgive.

Because of the grace of Jesus shown to us on the cross, we can also pray to God with brutal honesty, confessing the stain of our sin and asking God to give us pure hearts again. God promises to cleanse us and make us beautiful again. God promises to take away our guilt and shame and to renew our spirits. Our honest confession is met with God’s faithful grace and love.

God, I need your forgiveness. When I’m honest, I know that I have sinned against you. By your grace and love, take away my sin and restore me to beauty and wholeness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.