Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Psalm 51:1-3 KJV
Sin is a part of everyone’s life. What do we do about it? Some pretend it doesn’t exit, others try and ignore it, but sin is real and will not be ignored. Psalm 51 provides David’s confession of sin with Bathsheba after he was confronted about it by the prophet Nathan. The whole Psalm is worthy of our attention. It begins in the first three verses with three parts that are necessary for dealing with sin in our lives: (1) A cry for mercy from God. Ultimately we are accountable to Him and therefore need an act of His mercy. (2) A request for cleansing. We cannot make ourselves clean from sin. It takes a divine act. (3) A confession of our sin. Sin will eat away at us until we finally do something about it.
Lord, I am grateful that You are a God of mercy, often blotting out our transgressions. I have often been a recipient of such loving-kindness. Thank you for making me clean on the basis of Your tender mercies sacrifice for sin.
