Background to this Psalm: To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. – You’ll remember, probably, that his action involved lust, adultery, unfaithfulness, deceit, murder! Every phrase below is full of meaning!
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. – Here listed are i) his need ii) an acknowledgement of to Whom he is making a request iii) a statement about God’s character iv) a cry for forgiveness, which included the expunging of his sinful action
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! – David’s statement of his desperate need!
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. – no excuses – a simple truthful repentant statement of need.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. – David’s sin had been against several individuals and as a leader had occurred in the sight of all the population. But it had all started with his rebellion against God’s way! He needed to get right with God!
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. – This doesn’t blame his mother for bearing him, but acknowledges the fall of Adam and the truth of the reality of original sin – a rebellion which our first parents laid upon all humanity, but which we personally actively follow!
6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. – God isn’t a God who likes just outward show but inward established truth and righteousness!
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. – A twig of hyssop was used to spread the blood on the doorposts at the time of delivery from Egypt! Purge is an extreme term to demonstrate the need of and desire for thorough cleansing!
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. – guilt shatters!
9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. – Can God forget? The Bible uses extreme terms to describe God’s forgiveness. ‘Buried in the bottom of the deepest sea’ and ‘ removed as far as the East is from the West’. Note the north and the south are a measurable distance apart – the east and the west stretch into infinity – you just keep going!
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. – Three heartfelt cries for personal ‘rightness’, a restored personal relationship with God, and for healthy, willing living – in a joyful, ‘saved’, ‘forgiven’ status!
Proverbs 28:13- Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
Prayer: May my repentance be real, Father. Much greater than just sorrow that I did wrong and feel guilty because You already know the truth!
As I read it! 