Psalm 51:1–2: “Have mercy upon me, O God, / According to Your lovingkindness; / According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, / Blot out my transgressions. / Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, / And cleanse me from my sin.”

February 26th, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

The title of this psalm gives us its historical background: “A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.” Many have called this David’s great song of repentance. Imagine what an embarrassing and humiliating experience this must have been for David, whom God had called a man “after My own heart” (Acts 13:22). David was painfully aware of his separation from God and cried out for mercy. God heard him and gave him grace. God’s mercy is God not giving us what we deserve, and God’s grace is God giving us what we don’t deserve.

When David wrote, “Blot out my transgressions,” he revealed that he understood that sin is like a debt against God. Oh yes, we can and do sin against others, but first and foremost our sins are always against God Himself. This place David was writing from was a place we have all known and will know again. Our sins become a bigger and bigger load the longer we try to ignore them. We will only find peace when we finally fall down before God, confess our sins, and ask for forgiveness. We need a revival in our own lives.

A pastor once asked the British evangelist Gypsy Smith how to start a revival. Smith replied, “Go home, lock yourself in your room, kneel down in the middle of the floor, draw a chalk circle around yourself, and ask God to start a revival inside the circle. Stay there until He answers and you will have revival.” Good advice.

“LORD, bring revival to our hearts this day, we ask in Jesus’ name.”

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Psalms 51 KJV

¹ Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

² Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

⁴ Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

⁵ Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 

⁶ Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

⁸ Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

⁹ Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 

¹¹ Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

¹² Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

¹³ Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

¹⁴ Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 

¹⁵ O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

¹⁶ For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 

¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

¹⁸ Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹ Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.