Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. Turn Your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt. God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not banish me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore the joy of Your salvation to me, and give me a willing spirit. Then I will teach the rebellious Your ways, and sinners will return to You.     Psalm 51:7-13 HCSB

David wrote Psalm 51 asking God to cleanse him after he had committed the sins of adultery and murder.

Sin looks good. David looked at Bathsheba and was convinced he had to have her. He found out that she was the wife of one of his soldiers who was off to war, where David should have been, but that’s a whole other blog. He didn’t let this stop him. Once he had committed this sin, he thought he could just send her home, no harm no foul. But, sin doesn’t work that way. He found out she was pregnant and arranged for her husband to be killed in war.

Nathan told David he would have to pay a hefty price for his sin. He would lose the son born to him and Bathsheba. He was also told that the sword would never leave his house, meaning there would be enmity and strife among his family for the rest of his days. In verse 8, David describes the pain he is now feeling as his bones being crushed.

He asks God to turn His face away from his sins and blot out all his guilt. The beautiful thing about this is that God will do just that. We are told in Psalm 103:12 that once we repent and God forgives our sins, He removes them as far as the east is from the west.

David was described as a man after God’s own heart. He had been faithful to God, but he messed up. This didn’t cost him his salvation, but it did cost him his peace and joy.

We can wander off course and follow the devil right into a mess of sin and still retain our salvation, but we will not retain our peace and joy. As Christians, we are convicted when we do wrong. We don’t get away from our sin, we can’t run and we can’t hide. But, we can earnestly repent. We can have these sins blotted out and removed far from us. But, we still have a price to pay.

David paid a hefty price for his sin. He paid his peace and joy. David had been given the best by God. He had slain Goliath as a young shepherd boy. He had been ordained as king to replace Saul. He had been a mighty warrior and had eventually been crowned king. He had a lot to rejoice over. He had tons of wives and concubines.

But none of this was enough. He just had to have Uriah’s wife. This cost him dearly. When we are tempted to sin or get off track, we need to ask ourselves one very important question. Is it worth my peace and joy? Our salvation in Christ gives us peace and joy. We are told in Philippians 4:6 that we have a peace that passes all understanding. But we can lose that peace and joy with one careless act.

In this Psalm, David confesses his sin and acknowledges his guilt. He asks God to be gracious to him and blot out his rebellion. He asks God to wash away his guilt, cleanse him from his sin, cleanse his heart and renew a steadfast spirit in him. He also asks God to never banish him from His presence and not to take His Holy Spirit from him.

Sin is sin, there is no little sin or big sin. But we still tend to categorize them, don’t we? When we look at adultery and murder we consider those to be big sins. David committed these sins and had to pay the price. Because we serve a merciful God, was able to obtain forgiveness. He was able to restore a right relationship with God. But, he still had to pay for the rest of his life.

No matter what you’ve done, He’s willing and able to forgive you and remove your sin from you. All you have to do is ask.

If your sin has stolen your joy, turn to God today. He is willing and able to cleanse your heart and restore your righteousness (1 John 1:9)

Have a great day!