“Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.” Psalm 51:2 NLT
David makes his request to be pardoned by the Lord: “Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.” This is Spirit-inspired poetry, so in keeping with the Hebrew poetic style of synoptic parallelism where two or more lines repeat the same idea, David makes his request with three synonyms for forgiveness and three synonyms for sin. “Blot out my transgressions” (verse 1, NIV) means “wipe, wipe out”. The same word is used for blotting out the inhabitants of the earth in the flood. The word also refers to erasures in ancient leather scrolls made by washing or expunging. Here and in verse 9 the word seems to suggest “removing a stain”. “Wash away” (NIV) or “wash thoroughly” (KJV, NRSV) means “wash, be washed, perform the work of a fuller, a worker who cleanses wool through the process of fulling”, that is “to make stuffs clean and soft by treading, kneading and beating them in cold water”. The same verb is found in verse 7b: “Wash me and I will be whiter than snow.” The stain of sin is deep and David recognizes his need for radical and deep washing. “Cleanse” means “be pure, be clean”. The word is used of the wind sweeping the skies clear and the purifying of silver. It is used of moral purity as well as the ritual of purifying the Levitical priests and the holy vessels used in the tabernacle. The adjective formed from this verb is used in verse 10 where David asks for a “pure heart” or a “clean heart”. David asks God for a full pardon and cleansing of his character based on God’s merciful nature. It is a bold prayer prayed by a desperately wounded sinner longing to be restored to fellowship with his God. Are we desperately longing to be restored to fellowship with our Lord?
PRAYER THOUGHT
Lord, may we be forever desperate for Your cleansing in our lives.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
David asked You, Lord, for a full pardon and a cleansing of his character based on Your merciful nature. It was a bold prayer prayed by a desperately wounded sinner longing to be restored to fellowship with his God. May we be just as desperate to be restored to fellowship with You through the cleansing of our sins. AMEN
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)
Acts 25:1-12
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