Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 51:7

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 51:7. Purge me with hyssop — תחטאני techatteeni, "thou shalt make a sin-offering for me;" probably alluding to the cleansing of the leper: Leviticus 14:1, c. The priest took two clean birds, cedar-wood, scarlet, and hyssop one of the birds was killed; and the living bird, with the scarlet, cedar, and hyssop, dipped in the blood of the bird that had been killed, and then sprinkled over the person who had been infected. But it is worthy of remark that this ceremony was not performed till the plague of the leprosy had been healed in the leper; (Leviticus 14:3;) and the ceremony above mentioned was for the purpose of declaring to the people that the man was healed, that he might be restored to his place in society, having been healed of a disease that the finger of God alone could remove. This David seems to have full in view; hence he requests the Lord to make the sin-offering for him, and to show to the people that he had accepted him, and cleansed him from his sin.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 51:0 David’s repentance

Having committed adultery with Bathsheba, David then arranged for her husband Uriah to be killed, so that he could take Bathsheba as a royal wife (2 Samuel 11:1-27). The prophet Nathan found out David’s sin, condemned him to his face, then pronounced God’s judgment upon him (2 Samuel 12:1-15). This psalm displays David’s deep sorrow as he confesses his sin to God.

David makes no excuses. He acknowledges his sin and realizes that he can do nothing to receive forgiveness, except cast himself on the unfailing mercy of God (1-2). His wrongdoing has been not merely against a fellow human being but also against the holy God. It is the fruit of a human nature that from birth has been infected by sin (3-5). In the Israelite ceremony for restoring a cleansed leper, a brush made of hyssop was used to sprinkle him with sacrificial blood, and his body was washed with pure water. David refers to this ceremony as he asks God for cleansing from his sin. Once cleansed, he wants to be restored to a life of joy and gladness (6-9; cf. Leviticus 14:1-9).

What David fears most is to be separated from God. He therefore asks God for a new heart, one that is free of sin, so that he might enjoy God’s presence and obey God’s law as he ought (10-12). In gratitude for such merciful forgiveness he will never cease to praise God, and will always tell people of the salvation God offers to those who turn from their sin (13-15).
The Israelite religious system had no category of sacrifices for deliberate sins such as adultery and murder. Even if it had, David knows that God desires a humble and repentant spirit more than ritual sacrifices. The only thing David can do is come to God in his sorrow, and in a spirit of genuine repentance ask humbly for mercy (16-17).
Because David was king, his sin had dragged his country down with him. He therefore prays that his country also might be restored to God and enjoy God’s blessing afresh (18-19).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

A PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS

"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: According to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions; And my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, And done that which is evil in thy sight; That thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, And be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; And in the hidden part thou wilt make me to know wisdom. Purify thou me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness, That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, And blot out all mine iniquities."

These nine verses are as remarkable as anything else in Scripture. There are three elements here which deserve attention.

I. David Accepted Personal Responsibility for what he He Had Done

He speaks of "my" transgression (Psalms 51:1), "my" sin and "my" iniquity (Psalms 51:2), "my" transgression and "my" sin (Psalms 51:3), declares that, "I sinned" (Psalms 51:4), again mentions "my" sin in Psalms 51:9. Seven times he takes all the blame and guilt upon himself.

David did not attempt to shift the blame as did Adam; he offered no excuse, he pleaded no extenuating circumstances, but simply accepted full responsibility for his deeds. Oh yes, he might have said, "Well that voluptuous female Bathsheba had no business stripping off naked for a bath in full view of the palace; she's to blame"; or, he might have said, "All the other kings do as they please in matters of this kind; why shouldn't I be as privileged as they?"

II. David Used Four Different Words for Sin

A number of commentators have noted that David referred to sin as "transgression" (Psalms 51:1; Psalms 51:3), "iniquity" (Psalms 51:2; Psalms 51:5; Psalms 51:9), "evil" (Psalms 51:4), and "sin" (Psalms 51:2-5; Psalms 51:9). Some pointed out that "sin" means missing the mark, "transgression" means breaking God's law, and that "iniquity" means wickedness. The big word, however, in this connection is "sin," which appears five times in these nine verses.

SIN

There is a great deal more to "sin" than merely "missing the mark." Sin is a lack of conformity to, or a transgression, especially if deliberate, of a law, precept, or principle regarded as having divine authority.

The synonyms are: crime, criminality, delinquency, depravity, evil, guilt, ill-doing, immorality, iniquity, misdeed, offense, transgression, ungodliness, wrong, or wrong-doing.Britannica World Language Dictionary (New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1959), Vol. 2, p. 1172.

All of this might be summarized by saying that, "Sin is any violation of the will of God."

"Forgive our sins," is therefore always a sufficient petition.

III. David's Multiple Petitions

Something of the earnestness and urgency of this marvelous prayer is evident in the number of ways in which the psalmist pleaded for God's removal of his guilt.

Have mercy upon me (Psalms 51:1).

Blot out my transgressions (Psalms 51:1; Psalms 51:9).

Wash me from mine iniquity (Psalms 51:2; Psalms 51:7).

Cleanse me from my sin (Psalms 51:2).

Purify thou me with hyssop (Psalms 51:7).

Hide thy face from my sin (Psalms 51:9).

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness (Psalms 51:14).

The basis upon which David pleaded for forgiveness was not that of merit in himself, but because of (1) God's lovingkindness, and (2) the multitude of God's tender mercies (Psalms 51:1).

"According to thy lovingkindness… thy tender mercies" "The psalmist at once begins by grasping the character of God as the sole ground of hope, and implies a true knowledge of God, and of the fact that He can pardon sin no matter how black it is."H. C. Leupold, p. 401.

"My sin is ever before me" "Sins may be forgiven, but their memory may leave an aching heart for a lifetime."George DeHoff's Commentary, Vol. III, p. 147. God indeed "forgets sins" when he forgives them, (Jeremiah 31:34); but mortal men are unable to do this.

"Against thee, thee only, have I sinned" Some writers cannot understand a statement like this. How could David have said a thing like this? Had he not contrived the death of Uriah? What does he mean, that "Against God only" had he done wrong? Addis rejected Davidic authorship of this psalm on the basis of this statement.W. E. Addis, p. 381.

Nevertheless, the words are appropriately spoken by David. All sin is against God (Genesis 39:9), primarily and fundamentally. Of course sin is: (1) against one's body; (2) against the church; (3) against society; (4) against our fellow human beings, etc., but "all sin" is first and preeminently a violation of our relationship with God. Murder, for example, is a sin, only because our fellow-creatures are made "in God's image," and it is God who is sinned against in such a crime.

No man has a proper view of sin until he appreciates the fact that it is always, "A sin against none less than God."H. C. Leupold, p. 402.

"In sin did my mother conceive me" This verse is the basis from which the doctrine of "Original Sin" was constructed, a doctrine which Jesus Christ flatly contradicted, saying, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, for unto such belongs the kingdom of God" (Mark 10:14).

What then, did David mean by this? "The meaning is simply this that his parents were sinful human beings."F. Delitzsch, Vol. V-B, p. 137. Of course, as a result of our being human beings, we are naturally prone to sin. The Bible states that God made man in "His own image" (Genesis 1:26); but of Adam, it is stated that, "He begat a son in his own likeness, after his image" (Genesis 5:3)! See any difference? It is that difference which David mentioned here, and it pertains to all the human race who were ever born.

"Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts" Rawlinson's paraphrase of this portion of the prayer is excellent. "As nothing will content thee but this perfect inward purity, wilt thou give me into my heart its fundamental principle of wisdom or the fear of God."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8, p. 394.

"Purify thou me with hyssop" This seems to be an allusion to the cleansing of a leper (Leviticus 14:1-7), indicating David's deep realization of the dreadful nature of his sins.

"Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow" Many a hymn has found use of words such as these. Isaiah 1:18 also mentions the contrast of scarlet sins and the whiteness of snow.

"That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice" Some try to find "a sickness unto death" in the psalmist, based upon this and upon a mistaken version of Psalms 51:14, but nothing like that is here. It is not a physical illness that required David's prayer for deliverance, but a spiritual illness. "His soul (not his body) was deeply distressed by a sense of God's displeasure."Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (London: T. Mason and G. Lane, 1837), Vol. III, p. 384.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean - On the word hyssop, see the notes at John 19:29; notes at Hebrews 9:19. The plant or herb was much used by the Hebrews in their sacred purifications and sprinklings: Exodus 12:22; Leviticus 14:4, Leviticus 14:6,Leviticus 14:49, Lev 14:51; 1 Kings 4:33. Under this name the Hebrews seem to have comprised not only the common “hyssop” of the shops, but also other aromatic plants, as mint, wild marjoram, etc. - Gesenius, “Lexicon” The idea of the psalmist here evidently is not that the mere sprinkling with hyssop would make him clean; but he prays for that cleansing of which the sprinkling with hyssop was an emblem, or which was designed to be represented by that. The whole structure of the psalm implies that he was seeking an “internal” change, and that he did not depend on any mere outward ordinance or rite. The word rendered “purge” is from the word חטא châṭâ' - which means “to sin.” In the Piel form it means to bear the blame (or “loss”) for anything; and then to “atone for, to make atonement, to expiate:” Genesis 31:39; Leviticus 6:26; Numbers 19:19. Here it conveys the notion of cleansing from sin “by” a sacred rite, or by that which was signified by a sacred rite. The idea was that the sin was to be removed or taken away, so that he might be free from it, or that “that” might be accomplished which was represented by the sprinkling with hyssop, and that the soul might be made pure. Luther has rendered it with great force - Entsundige mich mit Ysop - “Unsin me with hyssop.”

Wash me - That is, cleanse me. Sin is represented as “defiling,” and the idea of “washing” it away is often employed in the Scriptures. See the notes at Isaiah 1:16.

And I shall be whiter than snow - See the notes at Isaiah 1:18. The prayer is, that he might be made “entirely” clean; that there might be no remaining pollution in his soul.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

7.Thou shalt purge me with hyssop He still follows out the same strain of supplication; and the repetition of his requests for pardon proves how earnestly he desired it. He speaks of hyssop ⁽²⁶⁶⁾ , in allusion to the ceremonies of the law; and though he was far from putting his trust in the mere outward symbol of purification, he knew that, like every other legal rite, it was instituted for an important end. The sacrifices were seals of the grace of God. In them, therefore, he was anxious to find assurance of his reconciliation; and it is highly proper that, when our faith is disposed at any time to waver, we should confirm it by improving such means of divine support. All which David here prays for is, that God would effectually accomplish, in his experience, what he had signified to his Church and people by these outward rites; and in this he has set us a good example for our imitation. It is no doubt to the blood of Christ alone that we must look for the atonement of our sins; but we are creatures of sense, who must see with our eyes, and handle with our hands; and it is only by improving the outward symbols of propitiation that we can arrive at a full and assured persuasion of it. What we have said of the hyssop applies also to the washings ⁽²⁶⁷⁾ referred to in this verse, and which were commonly practiced under the Law. They figuratively represented our being purged from all iniquity, in order to our reception into the divine favor. I need not say that it is the peculiar work of the Holy Spirit to sprinkle our consciences inwardly with the blood of Christ, and, by removing the sense of guilt, to secure our access into the presence of God.

In the two verses which follow, the Psalmist prays that God would be pacified towards him. Those put too confined a meaning upon the words who have suggested that, in praying to hear the voice of joy and gladness, he requests some prophet to be sent, who might assure him of pardon. He prays, in general, for testimonies of the divine favor. When he speaks of his bones as having been broken, he alludes to the extreme grief and overwhelming distress to which he had been reduced. The joy of the Lord would reanimate his soul; and this joy he describes as to be obtained by hearing; for it is the word of God alone which can first and effectually cheer the heart of any sinner. There is no true or solid peace to be enjoyed in the world except in the way of reposing upon the promises of God. Those who do not resort to them may succeed for a time in hushing or evading the terrors of conscience, but they must ever be strangers to true inward comfort. And, granting that they may attain to the peace of insensibility, this is not a state which could satisfy any man who has seriously felt the fear of the Lord. The joy which he desires is that which flows from hearing the word of God, in which he promises to pardon our guilt, and readmit us into his favor. It is this alone which supports the believer amidst all the fears, dangers, and distresses of his earthly pilgrimage; for the joy of the Spirit is inseparable from faith. When God is said, in the 9^th verse, to hide his face from our sins, this signifies his pardoning them, as is explained in the clause immediately annexed — Blot out all my sins. This represents our justification as consisting in a voluntary act of God, by which he condescends to forget all our iniquities; and it represents our cleansing to consist in the reception of a gratuitous pardon. We repeat the remark which has been already made, that David, in thus reiterating his one request for the mercy of God, evinces the depth of that anxiety which he felt for a favor which his conduct had rendered difficult of attainment. The man who prays for pardon in a mere formal manner, is proved to be a stranger to the dreadful desert of sin. “Happy is the man,” said Solomon, “that feareth alway,” (Proverbs 28:14.)

But here it may be asked why David needed to pray so earnestly for the joy of remission, when he had already received assurance from the lips of Nathan that his sin was pardoned? (2 Samuel 12:13.) Why did he not embrace this absolution? and was he not chargeable with dishonoring God by disbelieving the word of his prophet? We cannot expect that God will send us angels in order to announce the pardon which we require. Was it not said by Christ, that whatever his disciples remitted on earth would be remitted in heaven? (John 20:23.) And does not the apostle declare that ministers of the gospel are ambassadors to reconcile men to God? (2 Corinthians 5:20.) From this it might appear to have argued unbelief in David, that, notwithstanding the announcement of Nathan, he should evince a remaining perplexity or uncertainty regarding his forgiveness. There is a twofold explanation which may be given of the difficulty. We may hold that Nathan did not immediately make him aware of the fact that God was willing to be reconciled to him. In Scripture, it is well known, things are not always stated according to the strict order of time in which they occurred. It is quite conceivable that, having thrown him into this situation of distress, God might keep him in it for a considerable interval, for his deeper humiliation; and that David expresses in these verses the dreadful anguish which he endured when challenged with his crime, and not yet informed of the divine determination to pardon it. Let us take the other supposition, however, and it by no means follows that a person may not be assured of the favor of God, and yet show great earnestness and importunity in praying for pardon. David might be much relieved by the announcement of the prophet, and yet be visited occasionally with fresh convictions, influencing him to have recourse to the throne of grace. However rich and liberal the offers of mercy may be which God extends to us, it is highly proper on our part that we should reflect upon the grievous dishonor which we have done to his name, and be filled with due sorrow on account of it. Then our faith is weak, and we cannot at once apprehend the full extent of the divine mercy; so that there is no reason to be surprised that David should have once and again renewed his prayers for pardon, the more to confirm his belief in it. The truth is, that we cannot properly pray for the pardon of sin until we have come to a persuasion that God will be reconciled to us. Who can venture to open his mouth in God’s presence unless he be assured of his fatherly favor? And pardon being the first thing we should pray for, it is plain that there is no inconsistency in having a persuasion of the grace of God, and yet proceeding to supplicate his forgiveness. In proof of this, I might refer to the Lord’s Prayer, in which we are taught to begin by addressing God as our Father, and yet afterwards to pray for the remission of our sins. God’s pardon is full and complete; but our faith cannot take in his overflowing goodness, and it is necessary that it should distil to us drop by drop. It is owing to this infirmity of our faith, that we are often found repeating and repeating again the same petition, not with the view surely of gradually softening the heart of God to compassion, but because we advance by slow and difficult steps to the requisite fullness of assurance. The mention which is here made of purging with hyssop, and of washing or sprinkling, teaches us, in all our prayers for the pardon of sin, to have our thoughts directed to the great sacrifice by which Christ has reconciled us to God. “Without shedding of blood,” says Paul, “is no remissions” (Hebrews 9:22;) and this, which was intimated by God to the ancient Church under figures, has been fully made known by the coming of Christ. The sinner, if he would find mercy, must look to the sacrifice of Christ, which expiated the sins of the world, glancing, at the same time, for the confirmation of his faith, to Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; for it were vain to imagine that God, the Judge of the world, would receive us again into his favor in any other way than through a satisfaction made to his justice.

(266) Hyssop was much used by the Hebrews in their sacred purifications and sprinklings. The allusion here probably is to the ceremony of sprinkling such as had been infected with leprosy. Two birds were to be taken, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop; one of the birds was to be killed, and the priest having dipped the living bird, the cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop, in the blood of the bird that was killed, sprinkled the leper, (Leviticus 14:0.) This ceremony, it is to be observed, was not to be performed until the person was cured; and it was intended as a declaration to the people, that, God having healed him of a disease which no human means could remove, he might with safety be restored to society, and to the privileges of which he had been deprived. David, polluted with the crimes of adultery and murder, regarded himself as a man affected with the dreadful disease of leprosy, and he prays that God would sprinkle him with hyssop, as the leper was sprinkled, using this figurative language to express his ardent desires to obtain forgiveness and cleansing by the application of the blood of Christ, and that God would show to the people that he had pardoned his sin, restored him to favor, and purified his soul.

(267) David felt that he was stained, as it were, by the blood of Uriah, and therefore he prays, “Wash me.” The word כבסנ, cabbeseni, wash me, is from כבס, cabas, to tread, to trample with the feet; and hence it signifies to wash, to cleanse, for example, garments, by treading them in a trough, etc. It differs from רחף, rachats, to lave or wash the body, as the Greek word πλύνειν, to cleanse soiled garments, differs from λούειν,to wash the body See Gesenius Lexicon. These two words, כבס,cabas, and רחף,rachats, which thus express different kinds of washing, observes Bishop Mant, “are always used in the Hebrew language with the strictest propriety: the one to signify that kind of washing which pervades the substance of the thing washed, and cleanses it thoroughly; and the other to express that kind of washing which only cleanses the surface of a substance, which the water cannot penetrate. The former is applied to the washing of clothes; the latter is used for washing some part of the body. By a beautiful and strong metaphor, David uses the former word in this and the second verse: ‘Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.’ ‘Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.’ So in Jeremiah 4:14, the same word is applied to the heart. There is a similar distinction in the Greek language, which the LXX. constantly observe in their rendering of the Hebrew words above alluded to.”

Smith's Bible Commentary

Shall we turn now in our Bibles to Psalms 51:1-19 .

David is surely one of the most outstanding characters of the Old Testament. He was greatly hated and greatly loved. He had the capacity to inspire tremendous emotions in people, on both ends of the spectrum. He is always talking about his enemies that are trying to do him in. But yet, there was a great number of people who really followed David with a great devotion. David was called a man after God's own heart. And this appellation was given to David, not because he was sinless, but because his heart was always open towards God. Pliable. God could work with David. God could deal with him. When David was wrong, God could deal with him. Inasmuch as none of us are sinless too, it is important that God is able to deal with us when we are in our faults, when we are in our sins, that we be open to the dealings of God.

The fifty-first psalm has as its background God's dealing with David concerning his sin. For David, one day while on his roof, which over there they have flat roofs, and they have their gardens and couches and hammocks and all out on their roofs. As he was walking on his rooftop, he spied over on a neighboring roof a beautiful lady bathing. And the lust of David's flesh got the better of him. He sent a message to her to come on over. She responded, and as the result of their encounter, she became pregnant. David tried to cover it by having her husband come home from the service for a while. But he did not cooperate in that he did not go home to be with his wife during his leave of absence from active duty. So David compounded his sin of adultery by ordering Joab to put the fellow in the place of jeopardy in the battle where he would be sure to be killed. And as a result, he was put to death by the enemy.

And at this time, Nathan the prophet came to David with a parable in which David was the character, only in a different setting. "David, there is a man in your kingdom, very wealthy, had all kinds of sheep and goods, possessions, servants. And next door to him there lived a very poor man who had only one lamb. He loved it like his own daughter. It ate at his own table. The rich man had company come. He ordered his servants to by force go to his neighbor's house and take away the lamb by force that they might kill it and feed it to his company." David became angry, and he said to Nathan, "That man shall surely be put to death." And Nathan pointed his finger at David and said, "David, you are the man."

The application was very clear. David had many wives, concubines, all that a person could desire. Yet, he took away the wife, the only wife of his neighbor. And upon hearing this, upon the sense of his own guilt, David wrote this fifty-first psalm in which he cries out for mercy. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Justice is getting what you deserve. He's got it coming, that's justice. He has it coming; he doesn't get it, that's mercy. And David is crying out now to God for mercy.

Have mercy upon me, O God ( Psalms 51:1 ),

Not according to the fact that I am a good guy and I deserve it, but

according to your loving-kindness: according [to the abundance or] to the multitudes of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions ( Psalms 51:1 ).

David's prayer for forgiveness, casting himself upon the mercy of God. The Bible teaches us much about God's mercy. He declares that He is a merciful God; He will abundantly pardon. "According to the multitude of Thy tender mercies," David said, "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 ( Psalms 51:2-3 ).

Now David was trying to hide his guilt, but yet, you can't hide it from yourself. And David speaks about his sin being, "ever before me. I am ever conscious of my guilt." You can't run from guilt, you can't hide from guilt. It is there.

David said, "I acknowledge my transgressions." Now you are on the road back. The Bible says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" ( 1 John 1:9 ). But I have to be honest with God. I have to confess my sin. I have to acknowledge my transgression if God is going to be able to deal with me. As long as I am trying to hide my sin, as long as I am trying to justify myself, and this is one of the things that we are constantly having to deal with in our own lives, is that endeavor to justify our actions. But there isn't forgiveness in justifying your actions. The forgiveness comes when you confess your transgressions. "I acknowledge my transgressions." Good. Now God can deal with it. But as long as you are trying to hide it, cover it, excuse it, God can't deal with it. So important that we be totally open and honest with God, in order that He might deal with the issues of our lives.

Then David said,

Against thee, and thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight ( Psalms 51:4 ):

God is the one who has established the law. Sin is against the holy law of God, the holy nature of God. Now, if we would look at this, it would seem to us that he had sinned against Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba. It would even seem that he sinned against Bathsheba, inviting her to this kind of a relationship. But David declares, "Against Thee, and Thee only have I sinned and done this evil in Thy sight."

Now, if David had been conscious of God and of the fact that God sees, if he had been more conscious of the presence of God, it could very well be that he never would have gotten into this. I think that one of the real problems that we have is our lack of the sense of God's presence with us. We forget that He's right there. Now, we oftentimes do things that suddenly we find that someone was there and watching, and we get so embarrassed because we thought that nobody knew us, or that nobody was watching. And when we suddenly find someone there.

I've had occasions in the past to have to make calls on the homes. And sometimes as I would be walking up to the door, I would hear all kinds of screaming and yelling in the house. And then, you know, you ring the doorbell and you hear a flurry of motion and all, and pretty soon the door is open and they see you and they just, you know. There have been times that I never rung the doorbell; I've just gone. I was too embarrassed. I didn't want to embarrass them. And you know, they say, "Oh, you know, we didn't know it was you." And start into all that kind of stuff. But you see, who am I? Man, I know what it is to yell and get angry. Who am I? What we need to realize is that God is there. "In Him we live and move and have our being," Paul said. We need to become more conscious of the fact that God is with us.

"Against Thee, and Thee only have I done this sin and this evil in Thy sight." God was watching. God knew all about it. David thought that he had cleverly covered his guilt. After all, Uriah has been killed in battle, so who is going to object to David taking a pretty young widow into his harem? After all, her husband was killed out fighting in one of David's wars. And David thought he had covered his tracks, but God saw. And when the prophet came to him and said, "David, you are the man," David realized that he had not hid anything from God. "I have done this evil in Your sight."

[in order] that you might be justified when you speak, and be clear when you judge ( Psalms 51:4 ).

Now David confesses, actually, the nature of sin.

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden parts thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean ( Psalms 51:5-7 ):

The hyssop was a little shrub that grows over there in the Holy Land and in Egypt, in those areas. And it was the little bush that they used to sprinkle the blood. When in Egypt they were to sprinkle the blood upon the lentils of the doorposts of the house, they used the hyssop bush in the sprinkling of the blood. And so, because it was the little bush that was used to sprinkle the blood, he said, "Purge me with hyssop." That would be referring to the blood of the sacrifice. "And I shall be clean."

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow ( Psalms 51:7 ).

David's concept of God's total and complete forgiveness. And it is important that we also have that same concept of God's total and complete forgiveness. God said in Isaiah, "Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red as crimson, they shall be as white as wool" ( Isaiah 1:18 ). "Wash me, and I shall be as white as snow."

You know, there is nothing in all the world that can remove your guilt complex like just confessing to God and receiving the cleansing and the forgiveness from Him. Guilt complex is a weird thing. The guilt complex does create a subconscious desire for punishment. That subconscious desire for punishment is manifested in neurotic behavior patterns. The neurotic behavior patterns are designed to bring punishment to you. You start doing weird things. People start saying, "What is wrong with you? Why are you doing that? That is weird, man!" Well, I don't know why I am doing it, because it is a subconscious thing. I am feeling guilty over something, and I need to be punished. So I am going now into an abnormal behavior that is going to bring disapproval and punishment upon me. And I continue with this neurotic behavior pattern until someone really tells me what a nut I am, how weird, and how I belong ostracized from society or something. And I feel great because they have punished me and I feel the relief of my guilt. But there is nothing in the world like coming to God and letting Him wash you and He takes away completely that guilt complex that has been plaguing you.

David said,

Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O Lord ( Psalms 51:8-10 );

And here is the problem. David is getting right down to the issue, "O God, create a clean heart within me."

renew a right spirit within me ( Psalms 51:10 ).

How easy it is when we feel guilty to have a wrong spirit, a wrong attitude towards the saints of God, and towards God Himself. Because I am feeling guilty, I start sort of closing myself in, and my spirit gets wrong. But renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me ( Psalms 51:11 ).

"The wages of sin is death." Spiritual death--separation from God. "Cast me not away from Thy presence, O Lord. Remove not, or take not Thy Holy Spirit from me."

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with a free Spirit [thy free Spirit] ( Psalms 51:12 ).

So the prayer for the restoring of the joy of salvation. It is amazing the way sin can just rob you. Unconfessed sin can just rob you of God's joy in your life. There are so many Christians who are borderline Christians. They try to live as close to the world and still be a Christian as they can, and they are always just trying to find out just how close that is. Always experimenting. Just living on the edge. Flirting with the other side. And they have the dilemma of having too much of Christ to be happy in the world, but too much of the world to be happy in Christ. "Restore unto me Lord, the joy of my salvation. And uphold me with Your free Spirit."

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee ( Psalms 51:13 ).

In other words, once you have experienced the grace and the goodness of God, then you go out and share it with others. "I'll teach transgressors Thy ways."

Deliver me from blood guiltiness ( Psalms 51:14 ),

This is, no doubt, that being guilty of the blood of Uriah. Actually, David was a conspirator in his murder. Praying now forgiveness from that.

O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. For you don't desire a sacrifice; else I would give it: you don't delight in burnt offerings. But the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: and a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise ( Psalms 51:14-17 ).

What God really desires is only your being broken over your sin. God isn't asking or requiring sacrifice. "God, You don't want sacrifice, else I would give it. But what You really want is just a broken spirit."

Do good in your good pleasure unto Zion: build the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with the burnt offering, with the whole burnt offering: and then shall they offer the bullocks upon your altar ( Psalms 51:18-19 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 51

In this penitential individual lament psalm (cf. Psalms 6, 32, 38, 102, 130, , 143) David confessed the sins he committed against Bathsheba and Uriah. It is a model of confession that has become popular with God’s people. Since we all sin so often and need to confess frequently, this psalm is a help and comfort to us all.

Psalms 32 proposed the need to confess sin, and Psalms 51:5 of that poem is a brief statement of confession. But Psalms 51 moves closer to "the center of the crisis of alienation" [Note: Brueggemann, p. 98.] and gives us a model of confession. In it, David did not utter one word of excuse for the sins he had committed, nor did he seek to tone down the gravity of his offenses or blame others for what he had done. [Note: Armerding, p. 96.]

The title explains the situation out of which this psalm arose (2 Samuel 11).

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Again David pleaded for purification and cleansing (Psalms 51:1-2). In Israel, the priest sprinkled animal blood on the altar with a hyssop branch. This ritual symbolized cleansing by sacrificial death (cf. Hebrews 9:22). If God would wash David morally, he would be thoroughly clean.

"Cleansing in Scripture is twofold: (1) of a sinner from the guilt of sin-the blood (hyssop) aspect; and (2) of a saint from the defilement of sin-the water (wash) aspect. Under grace the sinner is purged by blood when he believes (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 9:12; Hebrews 10:14). Both aspects of cleansing, by blood and by water, are brought out in John 13:10; Ephesians 5:25-26 . . ." [Note: The New Scofield . . ., pp. 624-25.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

3. Petition for restoration 51:7-12

David’s prayer for restoration included requests for God’s forgiveness (Psalms 51:7; Psalms 51:9), a renewal of his joy (Psalms 51:8), and a heart of wisdom and full restoration to divine favor (Psalms 51:10-12).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Purge me with hyssop,.... Or "thou shalt purge me with hyssop" f; or "expiate me"; which was used in sprinkling the blood of the paschal lamb on the door posts of the Israelites in Egypt, that the destroying angel might pass over them, Exodus 12:22; and in the cleansing of the leper, Leviticus 14:4; and in the purification of one that was unclean by the touch of a dead body, c. Numbers 19:6 which the Targum on the text has respect to; and this petition of the psalmist shows that he saw himself a guilty creature, and in danger of the destroying angel, and a filthy creature like the leper, and deserving to be excluded from the society of the saints, and the house of God; and that he had respect not hereby to ceremonial sprinklings and purifications, for them he would have applied to a priest; but to the sprinkling of the blood of Christ, typified thereby; and therefore he applies to God to purge his conscience with it; and, as Suidas g from Theodoret observes, hyssop did not procure remission of sins, but has a mystical signification, and refers to what was meant by the sprinkling of the blood of the passover; and then he says,

and I shall be clean; thoroughly clean; for the blood sprinkled on the heart by the spirit clears it from an evil conscience, purges the conscience from dead works, and cleanses from all sin;

wash me; or "thou shall wash me" h; alluding to the washing at the cleansing of a leper, and the purification of an unclean person,

Leviticus 14:8; but had in view the fountain of Christ's blood, in which believers are washed from all their sins, Zechariah 13:1;

and I shall be whiter than snow; who was black with original corruption, and actual transgressions; but the blood of Christ makes not only the conversation garments white that are washed in it; but even crimson and scarlet sins as white as wool, as white as snow, and the persons of the saints without spot or blemish, Revelation 7:14 Ephesians 5:25; "whiter than the snow" is a phrase used by Homer i, and others, to describe what is exceeding white.

f תחטאני "purificabis me", Pagninus, Montanus; "exiabis me", Vatablus, Musculus, Cocceius, Gejerus. g In voce υσσωπος. h תכבסני "lavabis me", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Musculus, Cocceius. i Iliad. 10. v. 437. So Martial. l. 7. Epigr. 27. Ovid. Amor. l. 3. Eleg. 6.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      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.

      I. See here what David prays for. Many excellent petitions he here puts up, to which if we do but add, "for Christ's sake," they are as evangelical as any other.

      1. He prays that God would cleanse him from his sins and the defilement he had contracted by them (Psalms 51:7; Psalms 51:7): "Purge me with hyssop; that is, pardon my sins, and let me know that they are pardoned, that I may be restored to those privileges which by sin I have forfeited and lost." The expression here alludes to a ceremonial distinction, that of cleansing the leper, or those that were unclean by the touch of a body by sprinkling water, or blood, or both upon them with a bunch of hyssop, by which they were, at length, discharged from the restraints they were laid under by their pollution. "Lord, let me be as well assured of my restoration to thy favour, and to the privilege of communion with thee, as they were thereby assured of their re-admission to their former privileges." But it is founded upon gospel-grace: Purge me with hyssop, that is, with the blood of Christ applied to my soul by a lively faith, as water of purification was sprinkled with a bunch of hyssop. It is the blood of Christ (which is therefore called the blood of sprinkling,Hebrews 12:24), that purges the conscience from dead works, from that guilt of sin and dread of God which shut us out of communion with him, as the touch of a dead body, under the law, shut a man out from the courts of God's house. If this blood of Christ, which cleanses from all sin, cleanse us from our sin, then we shall be clean indeed, Hebrews 10:2. If we be washed in this fountain opened, we shall be whiter than snow, not only acquitted but accepted; so those are that are justified. Isaiah 1:18, Though your sins have been as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.

      2. He prays that, his sins being pardoned, he might have the comfort of that pardon. He asks not to be comforted till first he is cleansed; but if sin, the bitter root of sorrow, be taken away, he can pray in faith, "Make me to hear joy and gladness (Psalms 51:8; Psalms 51:8), that is, let me have a well-grounded peace, of thy creating, thy speaking, so that the bones which thou hast broken by convictions and threatenings may rejoice, may not only be set again, and eased from the pain, but may be sensibly comforted, and, as the prophet speaks, may flourish as a herb." Note, (1.) The pain of a heart truly broken for sin may well be compared to that of a broken bone; and it is the same Spirit who as a Spirit of bondage smites and wounds and as a Spirit of adoption heals and binds up. (2.) The comfort and joy that arise from a sealed pardon to a penitent sinner are as refreshing as perfect ease from the most exquisite pain. (3.) It is God's work, not only to speak this joy and gladness, but to make us hear it and take the comfort of it. He earnestly desires that God would lift up the light of his countenance upon him, and so put gladness into his heart, that he would not only be reconciled to him, but, which is a further act of grace, let him know that he was so.

      3. He prays for a complete and effectual pardon. This is that which he is most earnest for as the foundation of his comfort (Psalms 51:9; Psalms 51:9): "Hide thy face from my sins, that is, be not provoked by them to deal with me as I deserve; they are ever before me, let them be cast behind thy back. Blot out all my iniquities out of the book of thy account; blot them out, as a cloud is blotted out and dispelled by the beams of the sun," Isaiah 44:22.

      4. He prays for sanctifying grace; and this every true penitent is as earnest for as for pardon and peace, Psalms 51:10; Psalms 51:10. He does not pray, "Lord, preserve me my reputation," as Saul, I have sinned, yet honour me before this people. No; his great concern is to get his corrupt nature changed: the sin he had been guilty of was, (1.) An evidence of its impurity, and therefore he prays, Create in me a clean heart, O God! He now saw, more than ever, what an unclean heart he had, and sadly laments it, but sees it is not in his own power to amend it, and therefore begs of God (whose prerogative it is to create) that he would create in him a clean heart. He only that made the heart can new-make it; and to his power nothing is impossible. He created the world by the word of his power as the God of nature, and it is by the word of his power as the God of grace that we are clean (John 15:3), that we are sanctified,John 17:17. (2.) It was the cause of its disorder, and undid much of the good work that had been wrought in him; and therefore he prays, "Lord, renew a right spirit within me; repair the decays of spiritual strength which this sin has been the cause of, and set me to rights again." Renew a constant spirit within me, so some. He had, in this matter, discovered much inconstancy and inconsistency with himself, and therefore he prays, "Lord, fix me for the time to come, that I may never in like manner depart from thee."

      5. He prays for the continuance of God's good-will towards him and the progress of his good work in him, Psalms 51:11; Psalms 51:11. (1.) That he might never be shut out from God's favour: "Cast me not away from thy presence, as one whom thou abhorrest and canst not endure to look upon." He prays that he might not be thrown out of God's protection, but that wherever he went, he might have the divine presence with him, might be under the guidance of his wisdom and in the custody of his power, and that he might not be forbidden communion with God: "Let me not be banished thy courts, but always have liberty of access to thee by prayer." He does not deprecate the temporal judgments which God by Nathan had threatened to bring upon him. "God's will be done; but, Lord, rebuke me no in thy wrath. If the sword come into my house never to depart from it, yet let me have a God to go to in my distresses, and all shall be well." (2.) That he might never be deprived of God's grace: Take not thy Holy Spirit from me. He knew he had by his sin grieved the Spirit and provoked him to with draw, and that because he also was flesh God might justly have said that his Spirit should no more strive with him nor work upon him, Genesis 6:3. This he dreads more than any thing. We are undone if God take his Holy Spirit from us. Saul was a sad instance of this. How exceedingly sinful, how exceedingly miserable, was he, when the Spirit of the Lord had departed from him! David knew it, and therefore begs thus earnestly: "Lord, whatever thou take from me, my children, my crown, my life, yet take not thy Holy Spirit from me" (see 2 Samuel 7:15), "but continue thy Holy Spirit with me, to perfect the work of my repentance, to prevent my relapse into sin, and to enable me to discharge my duty both as a prince and as a psalmist."

      6. He prays for the restoration of divine comforts and the perpetual communications of divine grace, Psalms 51:12; Psalms 51:12. David finds two ill effects of his sin:-- (1.) It had made him sad, and therefore he prays, Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. A child of God knows no true nor solid joy but the joy of God's salvation, joy in God his Saviour and in the hope of eternal life. By wilful sin we forfeit this joy and deprive ourselves of it; our evidences cannot but be clouded and our hopes shaken. When we give ourselves so much cause to doubt of our interest in the salvation, how can we expect the joy of it? But, when we truly repent, we may pray and hope that God will restore to us those joys. Those that sow in penitential tears shall reap in the joys of God's salvation when the times of refreshing shall come. (2.) It had made him weak, and therefore he prays, "Uphold me with the free Spirit: I am ready to fall, either into sin or into despair; Lord, sustain me; my own spirit" (though the spirit of a man will go far towards the sustaining of his infirmity) "is not sufficient; if I be left to myself, I shall certainly sink; therefore uphold me with thy Spirit, let him counterwork the evil spirit that would cast me down from my excellency. Thy Spirit is a free spirit, a free gent himself, working freely" (and that makes those free whom he works upon, for where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty)--"thy ingenuous princely Spirit." He was conscious to himself of having acted, in the matter of Uriah, very disingenuously and unlike a prince; his behaviour was base and paltry: "Lord," says he, "let thy Spirit inspire my soul with noble and generous principles, that I may always act as becomes me." A free spirit will be a firm and fixed spirit, and will uphold us. The more cheerful we are in our duty the more constant we shall be to it.

      II. See what David here promises, Psalms 51:13; Psalms 51:13. Observe,

      1. What good work he promises to do: I will teach transgressors thy ways. David had been himself a transgressor, and therefore could speak experimentally to transgressors, and resolves, having himself found mercy with God in the way of repentance, to teach others God's ways, that is, (1.) Our way to God by repentance; he would teach others that had sinned to take the same course that he had taken, to humble themselves, to confess their sins, and seek God's face; and, (2.) God's way towards us in pardoning mercy; how ready he is to receive those that return to him. He taught the former by his own example, for the direction of sinners in repenting; he taught the latter by his own experience, for their encouragement. By this psalm he is, and will be to the world's end, teaching transgressors, telling them what God had done for his soul. Note, Penitents should be preachers. Solomon was so, and blessed Paul.

      2. What good effect he promises himself from his doing this: "Sinners shall be converted unto thee, and shall neither persist in their wanderings from thee, nor despair of finding mercy in their returns to thee." The great thing to be aimed at in teaching transgressors is their conversion to God; that is a happy point gained, and happy are those that are instrumental to contribute towards it, James 5:20.

Spurgeon's Verse Expositions of the Bible

Two Sermons: The Wordless Book and A Mingled Strain

January 11th, 1866 by C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892)

"Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Psalms 51:7 .

I daresay you have most of you heard of a little book which an old divine used constantly to study, and when his friends wondered what there was in the book, he told them that he hoped they would all know and understand it, but that there was not single word in it. When they looked at it, they found that it consisted of only three leaves; the first was black, the second was red, and the third was pure white. The old minister used to gaze upon the black leaf to remind him of his sinful state by nature, upon the red leaf to call to his remembrance the precious blood of Christ, and upon the white leaf to picture to him the perfect righteousness which God has given to believers through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ his Son.

I want you, dear friends to read this book this evening, and I desire to read it myself. May God the Holy Spirit graciously help us to do so to our profit! I. First, LET US LOOK AT THE BLACK LEAF.

There is something about this in the text, for the person who used this prayer said, "Wash me," so he was black and needed to be washed; and the blackness was of such a peculiar kind that a miracle was needed to cleanse it away, so that the one who had been black would become white, and so white that he would be "whiter than snow."

If we consider David's case when he wrote this Psalm, we shall we that he was very black. He had committed the horrible sin of adultery, which is so shameful a sin that we can only allude to it with bated breath. It is a sin which involves much unhappiness to others besides the persons who commit it; and it is a sin which, although the guilty ones may repent, cannot be undone. It is altogether a most foul and outrageous crime against God and man, and they who have committed it do indeed need to be washed.

But David's sin was all the greater because of the circumstances in which he was placed. He was like the owner of a great flock, who had no need to take his neighbour's one ewe lamb when he had so many of his own. The sin in his case was wholly inexcusable, for he so well knew what a great evil it was. He was a man who had taken delight in God's law, meditating in it day and night, He was, therefore, familiar with the commandment which expressly forbad that sin; so that, when he sinned in this way, he sinned as one does who takes a draught of poison, not by mistake, but well knowing what will be the consequences of drinking it. It was wilful wickedness on David's part for which there cannot be the slightest palliation.

Nay, more; not only did he know the nature of the sin, but he also knew the sweetness of communion with God, and must have had a clear sense of what it must have meant for him to lose it. His fellowship with the Most High had been so close that he was called "the man after God's own heart." How sweetly has he sung of his delight in the Lord. You know that, in your happiest moment, when you want to praise the Lord with your whole heart, you cannot find any better expression than David has left you in his Psalms. How horrible it is that the man who had been in the third heaven of fellowship with God should have sinned in this foul fashion.

Besides, David had received many providential mercies at the Lord's hands. He was but a shepherd lad, and God took him from feeding his father's flock, and made him king over Israel. The Lord also delivered him out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, enabled him to overthrow and slay giant Goliath, and to escape the malice of Saul when he hunted him as a, partridge upon the mountains. The Lord preserved him from many perils, and at last firmly established him upon the throne; yet, after all these deliverances and mercies, this man, so highly favoured by God, fell into this gross sin.

Then, also, it was a further aggravation of David's sin that it was committed against Uriah. If you read through the lists of David's mighty men, you will find at the end the name of Uriah the Hittite; he had been with David when he was outlawed by Saul, he had accompanied his leader in his wanderings, he had shared his perils and privations, so it was a shameful return on the part of the king when he stole away the wife of his faithful follower who was at that very time fighting against the king's enemies. Searching through the whole of Scripture, or at least through the Old Testament, I do not know where we have the record of a worse sin committed by one who yet was a true child of God. So David had good reason to pray to the Lord, "Wash me," for he was indeed black with a special and peculiar blackness.

But now, turning from David, let us consider our own blackness in the sight of God . Is there not, my dear friend, a peculiar blackness about your case as a sinner before God? I cannot picture it, but I ask you to call it to your remembrance now that your soul may be humbled on account of it. Perhaps you are the child of Christian parents, or you were the subject of early religious impressions; or it may be that you have been in other ways specially favoured by God, yet you have sinned against him, sinned against light and knowledge, sinned against a mother's tears a father's prayers, and a pastor's admonitions and warnings. You were very ill once, and thought you were going to die, but the Lord spared your life and restored you to health and strength, yet you went back to your sin as the dog returns to his vomit, or the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. Possibly a sudden sense of guilt alarmed you, so that you could not enjoy your sin, yet you could not break away from it. You spent your money for that which was not bread, and your labour for that which did not satisfy you, yet you on wasting your substance with riotous living until you came to beggary, but even that did not wean you from your sin. In the house of God you had many solemn warnings, and you went home again and again resolving to repent, yet your resolves soon melted away, like the morning cloud and the early dew, leaving you more hardened than ever. I remember John B. Gough, at Exeter Hall, describing himself in his drinking days as seated upon a wild horse which was hurrying him to his destruction until a stronger hand than his own seized the reins, pulled the horse down upon its haunches, and rescued the reckless rider. It was a terrible picture, yet it was a faithful representation of the conversion of some of us. How we drove the spurs into that wild horse, and urged it to yet greater speed in its mad career until, it seemed as if we would even ride over that gracious Being who was determined to save us! That was sin indeed, not merely against the dictates of an enlightened conscience, and against the warnings which were being continually given to us, but it was what the apostle calls treading under foot the Son of God, counting the blood of the covenant an unholy thing, and doing despite unto the Spirit of grace.

Let me, beloved, before I turn away from this black leaf, urge you to study it diligently, and to try to comprehend the blackness of your heart and the depravity of your lives. That false peace which results from light thoughts of sin is the work of Satan; get rid of it at once, if he has wrought it in you. Do not be afraid to look at your sins, do not shut your eyes to them; for you to hide your face from them may be your ruin, but for God to hide His face from them will be your salvation. Look at your sins and meditate upon them until they even drive you to despair. "What!" says one, "until they drive me to despair?" Yes; I do not mean that despair which arises from unbelief, but that self-despair which is so near akin, to confidence in Christ. The more God enables you to see your emptiness, the more eager will you be to avail yourself of Christ's fullness. I have always found that, as my trust in self went up, my trust in Christ went down; and as my trust in self went down my trust in Christ went up, so I urge you to take an honest view of your own blackness of heart and life, for that will cause you to pray with David, "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Weigh yourselves in the scales of the sanctuary, for they never err in the slightest degree. You need not exaggerate a single item of your guilt, for just as you are you will find far too much sin within you if the Holy Spirit will enable you to see yourselves as you really are.

II. But now we must turn to the second leaf, THE BLOOD-RED LEAF OF THE WORDLESS BOOK, which brings to our remembrance the precious blood of Christ.

When the sinner cries, "Wash me," there must be some fount of cleansing where he can be washed "whiter than snow." So there is, but there is nothing but the crimson blood of Jesus that can wash out the crimson stain of sin. What is there about Jesus Christ that makes him able to save all who a unto God by him? This is a matter upon which Christians ought to mediate much and often. Try to understand, dear friends, the greatness of the atonement. Live much under the shadow of the cross. Learn to

"View the flowing Of the Saviour's precious blood, By divine assurance knowing He has made your peace with God."

Feel that Christ's blood was shed for you, even for you. Never be satisfied till you have learned the mystery of the five wounds; never be content till you are "able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge."

The Power of Jesus to cleanse from sin must lie, first, in the greatness of his person. It is not conceivable that the sufferings of a mere man, however holy or great he might have been, could have made atonement for the sins of the whole multitude of the Lord's chosen people. It was because Jesus Christ was one of the persons in the Divine Trinity, it was because the Son of Mary was none other than the Son of God, it was because he who lived, and laboured, and suffered and died, and was the great Creator, without whom was not anything made that was made, that his blood has such efficacy that it can wash the blackest sinner so clean that they are "whiter than snow." The death of the best man who ever lived could not make an atonement even for his own sins, much less could it atone for the guilt of others; but when God himself "took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men," and "humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross," no limit can be set to the value of the atonement that he made. We hold most firmly the doctrine of particular redemption, that Christ loved his Church, and gave himself for it; but we do not hold the doctrine of the limited value of his precious blood. There can be no limit to Deity, there must be infinite value in the atonement which was offered by him who is divine. The only limit of the atonement is in its design, and that design was that Christ should give eternal life to as many as the Father has given him; but in itself the atonement is sufficient for the salvation of the whose world, and if the entire race of mankind could be brought to believe in Jesus, there is enough efficacy in his precious blood to cleanse everyone born of woman from every sin that all of them have ever committed.

But the power of the cleansing blood of Jesus must also lie in the intense sufferings which he endured in making atonement for his people. Never was there another case like that of our precious Saviour. In his merely physical sufferings there may have been some who have endured as much as he did, for the human body is only capable of a certain amount of pain and agony, and others beside our Lord have reached that limit; but there was an element in his sufferings that, was never present in any other case. The fact of his dying in the room, and place, and stead of his people, ,the one great sacrifice for the whole of his redeemed, makes his death altogether unique, so that not even the noblest of the noble army of martyrs can share the glory with him. His mental sufferings also constituted a very vital part of the atonement, the sufferings of his soul were the very soul of his sufferings. If you can comprehend the bitterness of his betrayal by one who had been his follower and friend, and of his desertion by all his disciples, his arraignment for sedition and blasphemy before creatures whom he had himself made; if you can realize what it was for him, who did no sin, to be made sin for us, and to have laid upon him the iniquity of us all; if you can picture to yourself how be loathed sin and shrank from it, you can form some slight idea of what his pure nature must have suffered for our sakes. We do not shrink from sin as Christ did because we are accustomed to it, it was once the element in which we lived, and moved had our being; but his holy nature shrank from evil as a sensitive plant recoils from the touch. But the worst of his sufferings must have been when his Father's wrath was poured out upon him as he bore what his people deserved to bear, but which now they will never have to bear.

"The waves of swelling grief Did o'er his bosom roll, And mountains of almighty wrath Lay heavy on his soul."

For his Father to have to hide his face from him so that he cried in his agony, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" must have been a veritable hell to him. This was the tremendous drought of wrath which our Savior drank for us to its last dregs so that our cup might not have one drop of wrath in it for ever. It must have been a great atonement that was purchased at so great price.

We may think of the greatness of Christ's atonement in another way. It must have been a great atonement which has safely landed such multitudes of sinners in heaven, and which has saved so many great sinners, and transformed them into such bright saints. It must be a great atonement which is yet to bring innumerable myriads into the unity of the faith, and into the glory of the church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven. It is so great an atonement, sinner, that if thou wilt trust to it, thou shalt be saved by it however many and great thy sins may have been. Art thou afraid that the blood of Christ is not powerful enough to cleanse thee? Dost thou fear that his atonement cannot bear the weight of such a sinner as thou art? I heard, the other day, off a foolish women at Plymouth who for a long while, would not go over the Saltash Bridge because she did not think it was safe. When, at length, after seeing the enormous traffic that passed safely over the bridge, she was induced to trust herself to it, she trembled greatly all the time, and was not easy in her mind until she was off it. Of course, everybody laughed at her for thinking that such a ponderous structure could not bear her little weight. There may be some sinner, in this building, who is afraid that the great bridge which eternal mercy has constructed, at infinite cost, across the gulf which separates us from God, is not strong enough to bear his weight. If so, let me assure him that across that bridge of Christ's atoning sacrifice millions of sinners, as vile and foul as he is, have safely passed, and the bridge has not even trembled beneath their weight, nor has any single part of it ever strained or displaced. My poor fearful friend, your anxiety lest the great bridge of mercy should not be able to bear your weight reminds me of the fable of the gnat that settled on the bull's ear, and then was concerned lest the powerful beast should be incommoded by his enormous weight. It is well that you should have a vivid realization of the weight of your sins, but at the same time you should also realize that Jesus Christ, by virtue off his great atonement, is not only able to bear the weight of your sins, but he can also carry indeed, he has already carried upon his shoulders the sins of all who shall believe in him right to the end of time; and he has borne them away into the land of forgetfulness, where they shall not be remembered or recovered for ever. So efficacious is the blood of the everlasting covenant that even you, black as you are, may pray, with David, "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."

III. This brings me to THE WHITE LEAF OF THE WORDLESS BOOK, which is just as full of instruction as either the black leaf or the red one: "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow ."

What a beautiful sight it was, this morning, when we looked out, and saw the ground all covered with snow! The trees were all robed in silver; yet it is almost an insult to the snow to compare it to silver, for silver at its brightest is not worthy to be compared with the marvelous splendour that was to be seen wherever the trees appeared adorned with beautiful festoons above the earth which was robed in its pure white mantle. If we had taken a piece of what we call white paper, and laid it down upon the surface of newly-fallen snow, it would have seemed quite begrimed in comparison with the spotless snow. This morning's scene at once called the text to my mind: "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." You, O black sinner, if you believe in Jesus, shall not only be washed in his precious blood until you become tolerably clean, but you shall be made white, you shall be "whiter than snow." When we have gazed upon the pure whiteness of the snow before it has become defiled, it has seemed as though there could be nothing whiter. I know that, when I have been among the Alps, and have for hours looked upon the dazzling whiteness of the snow, I have been almost blinded by it. If the snow were to lie long upon the ground, and if the whole earth were to be covered with it, we should soon all be blind. The eyes of man have suffered with his soul through sin, and just as our soul would be unable to bear a sight of the unveiled purity a God, our eyes cannot endure to look upon the wondrous purity of the snow. Yet the sinner, black through sin, when brought under the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus, becomes "whiter than snow."

Now, how can a sinner be made "whiter than snow"? Well, first of all, there is a permanence about the whiteness of a blood-washed sinner which there is not about the snow . The snow that fell this morning was much of it anything but white this afternoon. Where the thaw had begun to work, it looked yellow even where no foot of man had trodden upon it; and as for the snow in the streets of London, you know how soon its whiteness disappears. But there is no fear that the whiteness which God gives to a sinner will ever depart from him; the robe of Christ's righteousness which is cast around him is permanently white.

"This spotless robe the same appears When ruin'd nature sinks in years No age can change its glorious hue, The robe of Christ is ever new."

It is always "whiter than snow." Some of you have to live in smoky, grimy London, but the smoke and the grime cannot discolour the spotless robe of Christ's righteousness. In yourselves, you are stained with sin; but when you stand before God, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, the stains of sin are all gone. David in himself was black and foul when he prayed the prayer of our text, but clothed in the righteousness of Christ he was white and clean. The believer in Christ is as pure in God's sight at one time as he is at another. He does not look upon the varying purity of our sanctification as our ground of acceptance with him; but he looks upon the matchless and immutable purity of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he accepts us in Christ, and not because of what we are in ourselves. Hence, when we are once " accepted in the Beloved," we are permanently accepted; and being accepted in him, we are "whiter than snow."

Further, the whiteness of snow is, after all, only created whiteness . It is something which God has made, yet it has not the purity which appertains to God himself; but the righteousness which God gives to the believer is a divine righteousness, as Paul says, "He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. " And remember that this is true of the very sinner who before was so black that he had to cry to God, "Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow." There may be one who came into this building black as night through sin; but if he is enabled now, by grace, to trust in Jesus, his precious blood shall at once cleanse him so completely that he shall be "whiter than snow." Justification is not a work of degrees; it does a progress from one stage to another, but it is the work of a moment and it is complete. God's great gift of eternal life is in a moment, and you may not be able to discern the exact moment when it is bestowed. Yet you may know even that; for, as soon as you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are born of God, you have passed from death unto life, you are saved, and to all eternity. The act of faith is a very simple thing, but it is the most God-glorifying act that a man can perform. Though there is no merit in faith, yet faith is a most ennobling grace, and Christ puts a high honour upon it when he says, "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." Christ puts the crown of salvation upon the head of faith, yet faith will never wear it herself, but lays it at the feet of Jesus, and gives him all the honour and glory.

There may be one in this place who is afraid to think that Christ will save him My dear friend, do my Master the honour to believe that there are no depths of sin into which you may have gone which are beyond his reach. Believe that there is no sin that is too black to be washed away by the precious blood of Christ, for he has said, "All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men," and " all manner of sin " must include yours. It is the very greatness of God's mercy that sometimes staggers a sinner. Let me use a homely simile to illustrate my meaning. Suppose you are sitting at your table, carving the joint for dinner, and suppose your dog is under the table, hoping to get a bone or a piece of gristle for his portion. Now, if you were to set the dish with the whole joint on it down on the floor, he would probably be afraid to touch it lest he should get a cut of the whip; he would know that a dog dose not deserve such a dinner as that, and that is just your difficulty, poor sinner, you know that you do not deserve such grace as God delights to give. But the fact that it is of grace shuts out the question of merit altogether. "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." God's gifts are like himself, immeasurably great. Perhaps some of you think you would be content with crumbs or bones from God's table. Well, if he were to gives me a few crumbs or a little broken meat, I would be grateful for even that, but it would not satisfy me; but when he says to me, "Thou art my son, I have adopted thee into my family, and thou shalt go no more out for ever;" I do not agree with you that it is too good to be true. It may be too good for you but it is not too good for God; he gives as only he can give. If I were in great need, and obtained access to the Queen, and after laying my case before her, she said to me, " I feel a very deep interest in your case, here is a penny for you," I should be quite sure that I had not seen the Queen, but that some lady's maid or servant had been making a fool of me. Oh, no! the Queen gives as Queen, and God gives as God; so that the greatness of his gift, instead of staggering us, should only assure us that it is genuine, and that it comes from God. Richard Baxter wisely said, "O Lord, it must be great mercy or no mercy, for little mercy is of no use to me!" So, sinner, go to the great God, with your great sin, and ask for great grace that you may be washed in the great fountain filled with the blood of the great sacrifice, and you shall have the great salvation which Christ has procured, and for it you shall ascribe great praise for ever and ever to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God grant that it may be so, for Jesus' sake! Amen.

A Mingled Strain

In the year 1886

by C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892)

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Psalms 51:7 .

In what state of heart should we come to the communion-table? It is no light matter: in what manner shall we come before the Lord in so sacred an ordinance? By the very nature of the sacred supper we are taught that there should be a mixture of emotions. The bitter and the sweet, the joyful and the sorrowful, are here intermingled. The sacrifice of Christ for sin is it more a subject of sorrow or of joy? Can we look to the cross without mourning for sin? Can we look at it without rejoicing in pardon bought with blood? Is not the most suitable state of heart for coming to the communion-table just this mourning for our transgression, and joy because of the great salvation? There is a double character about this holy rite: it is a festival of life, and yet it is a memorial of death. Here is a cup; it is filled with wine; this surely betokens gladness. Hearken to me; that wine is the symbol of blood! This as surely betokens sorrow. In my hand is bread bread to be eaten, bread which strengtheneth man’s heart; shall we not eat bread with thankfulness? But that bread is broken, to represent a body afflicted with pain and anguish: there must be mourning on account of that agony. At the Paschal supper, the lamb of the Lord’s Passover had a special sweetness in it: yet the commandment expressly ran “with bitter herbs they shall eat it.” So is it at this table. Here we with joy commemorate the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, but with deep sorrow we recall the sin which, though taken away, causes us in the recollection of it to repent with great bitterness of heart.

Our text is the expression of one who is deeply conscious of sin, and yet is absolutely certain that God can put away that sin. Thus it holds in one sentence a double thread of meaning. Here is a depth of sorrow, and a still greater deep of hopeful joy: “deep calleth unto deep.” I thought that this expression of mixed feeling might guide us as to our emotions at this holy festival.

I. I shall handle the text by making three observations. The first will be this: There Are Times When The Language Of A Sinner Is Most Suitable To A Child Of God.

There are seasons when it is about the only language that he can use, when he seems shut up to it, and he uses it without the slightest suspicion that it is out of place upon his lips; and, indeed, it is not out of place at all. I suppose that everybody will agree that the language of David in this psalm was most suitable to his condition. When he prayed, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow,” he prayed a proper prayer, did he not? Surely no one is going to cavil with David over this petition; and yet I cannot be sure. The modern way of handling the Bible is to correct it here, and amend it there; tear it to pieces, give a bit to the Jews, and a bit to the Gentiles, and a bit to the church, and a bit to everybody, and then make it out that sometimes the old servants of God made great blunders. We, in modern times, are supposed to be more spiritual, and to know a great deal better than the inspired saints of the Old and New Testaments. But still, I should not think that anybody would say that David was wrong; and if he did, I should reply: This is an inspired psalm, and there is not half a hint given that there is any incorrectness in the language of it, or that David used language under an exaggerated state of feeling, which was not truly applicable to a child of God. I think that nobody will doubt that David was a child of God, and that, even when he had defiled himself, he was still dear to the great Father’s heart. I gather, therefore I feel sure of it that he was quite right in praying the language of this fifty-first psalm, and saying, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness; according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions; wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!”

Yet this is precisely the way in which an unconverted man ought to pray, just the way in which every soul that comes to God may pray. It is only an enlargement of the prayer of the publican, “God be merciful to me a sinner!” This language, so suitable to the sinner, was not out of place in the mouth of one who was not only a believer, but an advanced believer, an experienced believer, an inspired believer, a teacher of others, who, with all his faults, was such a one as we shall rarely see the like of again. Yes, amongst the highest of saints, there was a time with one of them, at least when the lowliest language was appropriate to his condition. There is a spirit abroad which tells us that children of God ought not to ask for pardon of their sins, for they have been pardoned; that they need not use such language as this, which is appropriate to sinners, for they stand in a totally different position. What I want to know is this: where are we to draw the line? If, on account of a certain sin, David was perfectly justified in appealing to God in the same style, as a poor, unforgiven sinner would have done, am I never justified in doing so? Is it only a certain form of evil which puts a man under the necessities of humiliation? It may be that the man has never fallen into adultery, or any other gross sin; but is there a certain extent of sin to which a man may go before, as a child of God, he is to pray like this? And is all that falls below that high-water mark of sin a something so inconsiderable that he need not go and ask any particular forgiveness for it, or pray like a sinner at all about it? May I under most sins speak very confidently as a child of God, who has already been forgiven, to whom it is a somewhat remarkable circumstance that he should have done wrong, but still by no means a serious disaster? I defy anybody to draw the line; and if they do draw it, I will strike it out, for they have no right to draw it. There is no hint in the Word of God that for a certain amount of sin there is to be one style of praying, and for a certain lower amount of sin another style of praying.

I venture to say this, brethren, going farther that, as this language is certainly appropriate in David’s mouth, and as it would be impossible to draw any line at which it would cease to be appropriate, the safest and best plan for you and for me is this seeing that we are sinners, if we have not been permitted to backslide so much as David, yet we had better come in the same way: we had better take the lowest place, urge the lowliest plea, and so make sure work of our salvation. It is safest to assume the greatest supposable need. Let us put ourselves into the humblest position before the throne of the heavenly grace, and cry, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions!”

But is not a man of God forgiven? Ay, that he is! Is he not justified? Ay, that he is. “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?” Let that all stand true in the highest sense that you can give to it; but, for all that, the sinner’s cry is not thereby hushed into silence. True children of God cry, and let me tell you they cry after a stronger fashion than other children. They have their confessions of sin, and these are deeper and more intense than those of others. Whatever our confidence may be, our Lord Jesus Christ never told us to pray, “Lord, I thank thee that I am forgiven, and therefore have no sin to confess: I thank thee that I need not come to thee as a sinner!” But he put into the mouth of his disciples such words as these: “Our Father, which art in heaven, forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.” I reckon that the Lord’s Prayer is never out of date. I expect to be able to pray it when I am on the brink of heaven, and if I should ever be sanctified to the fullest extent, I shall never turn round to the Savior, and say, “Now, my Lord, I have got beyond thy prayer! Now, Savior, I can no more address my Father who is in heaven in this language, for I have outgrown thy prayer!” Brethren, the notion sounds to me like blasphemy. Never shall I say to my Savior, “I have no necessity now to come to thy precious blood, or to say to thee, ’Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.’” Listen, brethren: “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another,” and what then? Why, even then “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” We still want the blood when walking in the light, as God himself is in the light.

While we are here below we shall need to use just such language as David did. Appropriate as our text is to the sinner, it is equally appropriate to the saint, and he may continue to use it till he gets to heaven. Remark, brethren, that when our hearts cannot honestly use such language, we may think that we are upraised by faith, but it is possible that we may be upblown by presumption. When we do not bow into the very dust, and kiss the Savior’s feet, and wash them with our tears, we may think that it is because we are growing in grace, but it is far more likely that we are swelling with self-esteem. The more holy a man is, the more humble he is. The more really sanctified he is, the more does he cry about his sin, whatever it may be “Oh, wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” When you get the clearest possible view of God, what will be the result? Why, the deepest downcasting in your own spirit. Look at Job. He can answer his wretched accusers, but when he sees God ah, then he abhors himself in dust and ashes! Was Job wrong in heart? I question whether any of us are half as good as Job. I am sure few of us could have played the man as he did under his sorrows. With all the failure of his patience, the Holy Ghost does not call it a failure, for he says, “Ye have heard of the patience of Job.” He says not “of his impatience,” but “of his patience;” and yet this blessed, patient man, patient even by God’s own testimony, when he saw God, abhorred himself. Look at Isaiah, again. Was there ever a tongue more eloquent, more consecrated, more pure? Were there ever lips more circumcised to God than those of that mighty evangelical prophet? And yet, when he beheld the glory of the Lord, the train of the Lord filling the temple, he said, “Woe is me! for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” Those of you that can do so may come to my Master’s table tonight as saints: I shall come as a sinner. You that feel that you can come there glorying in your growth in grace may so come if you like: I shall come feeling that I am nothing, less than nothing. I shall endeavor to come to the cross just as I came at first, for I find that if I get beyond the position of a believing sinner, I get into a dangerous condition. Safety lies in conformity to truth, and truth will not allow any of us to glory before God. The more I know the Lord, and the more I live in communion with him, the more do I feel happy in lying at his feet, and looking up to him to be my all in all. I would be nothing, and let Christ be everything. Take this from one who has been a preacher of the gospel for more than thirty-five years, and a soul-winner who needs not to be ashamed I am as entirely dependent upon the free mercy of the Lord this day as ever I was, and I look to be saved in the same manner as the thief upon the cross.

II. Secondly, let me make another observation. It shall be this: An Extraordinary Sense Of Guilt Is Quite Consistent With The Strongest Faith.

It is a blessed thing when the two go together. David was under an extraordinary sense of sin, and right well he might be, for he had committed an extravagant transgression. He had done a very grievous wrong to man, and committed great lewdness before the Lord; and when the Spirit of God at last aroused his conscience, through the rebuke of Nathan, it is not at all wonderful that he should have bowed down under a deeply humiliating sense of his own guiltiness. He was guilty, deeply guilty more guilty than even he himself knew. You and I, perhaps, may also be by God’s grace favored with a deep sense of sin. But I hear some people say, “Did I understand you rightly, sir, or did my ears deceive me? Favored with a deep sense of sin?“ “Yes, I said that; for while sin is horrible, a thorough sense of it, bitter as it is, is one of the greatest favors with which God blesses his chosen. I am sure that there are some of God’s children whose experience is shallow and superficial, for they do not know the heights and depths of redeeming love, neither are they established in the doctrines of grace, and all because they never were deeply ploughed with a sharp sense of sin. These know nothing of subsoil plowing, so as to turn their very hearts up under the keen ploughshare of the law. But that man who knows what sin means, and has had it burned with a hot iron into the core of his spirit, is the man who knows what grace means, and is likely to understand its freeness and fullness. He who knows the evil of sin is likely to know the value of the precious blood. I could scarcely ask for any of you a better thing than that you should fully know in your own spirit the horribleness of sin as far as your mind is capable of bearing the strain.

David was so conscious of his guilt that he compares himself to a leper. The language of the text refers, I believe, to the cleansing of lepers. Hyssop was dipped in blood, and then the sacrificial blood was sprinkled upon the polluted individuals to make them clean. David felt that he had become a leprous man. He felt like one who has contracted the horrible, the polluting, the incurable disease of leprosy. He felt that he was not fit to come near to God, nor even to associate with his fellowman. He confessed that his guilt was such that he ought to be put away, shut out from the assembly of the people. His guilt had polluted a whole nation, of whom he was the representative, and to whom he was the example. Did you ever feel like that? I tell you that you do not know all the pollution of sin unless you have been made to feel yourself to be a polluted thing. If you had fifty leprosies, they would not pollute you like sin, for a poor leper is not really polluted: he may bear a grand and noble soul within that rotting body. Sin alone is real pollution, hellish pollution, and abominable pollution. There is nothing in hell that is worse than sin; even the devil is only a devil because sin made him a devil: so that sin is the most horrible and intolerable evil that can fall upon the spirit of man. David felt that dreadful truth. But yet, mark you, though he felt the horror of the disease of sin, his faith was strong enough to make him use the confident language of the text, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.” Black as my sin is, filthy, as it is, if thou do but purge me, O my God, I shall be clean.

Yes, David is sure that God can cleanse him. He pleads as one who has no question upon the matter towards God. His prayer is “Do thou purge me, and I shall be clean! Apply the precious blood of the great Sacrifice to me, O God, and I shall be whiter than snow!” There is about the Hebrew a sense which I could hardly give you, except I were to put it thus: “Thou wilt un-sin me.” As though God would take his sin right away, and leave him without a speck of sin, without a single grain of it upon him. God could make him as if he had never sinned at all. Such is the power of the cleansing work of God upon the heart that he can restore innocence to us, and make us as if we had never been stained with transgression at all. Believest thou this? Believest thou this? Oh, thou art a happy man, if, under the deepest conceivable sense of sin, thou canst still say, “Yes, I believe that he can wash me, and make me whiter than snow!

But will you follow me while I go a step farther? The words of our text are in the Hebrew in the future tense, and they might be read, “Thou shalt purge me, and I shall be clean;” so that David was not only certain about the power of God to cleanse him, but about the fact that God would do it: “Thou shalt purge me.” He cast himself, confessing his sin, at the feet of his God, and he said, “My God, I believe that, through the great Atonement, thou wilt make me clean!” Have you faith like that of David? Believest thou this? Beloved, some of us can boldly say, “Ay, that we do; we believe not only that God can pardon us, but that he will, ay, that he has pardoned us; and we come to him now, and plead that he would renew in us the cleansing work of the precious blood, and of the water, which flowed from the side of Christ, and so make us perfectly clean! Yea, we believe that he will do it; we are sure that he will: and we believe that he will continue to cleanse us till we shall need no more cleansing. Hart’s hymn sings concerning the precious blood

“If guilt removed return and remain,

Its power may be proved again and again.”

This witness is true, and we set our seal to it.

The Psalmist David believed that, although his sin was what it was, yet God could make a rapid cleansing of it. He speaks of the matter as wrought promptly, and speedily. It took seven days to cleanse a leper; but David does not follow the type when the reality excels it. He says, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.” It is done directly, done at once; washed, and whiter than snow. It will not take seven days to wipe out the crimes of seven years; nay, if a man had lived seventy years in sin, if he did but come to his God with humble confession, and if the precious blood of Jesus were applied to him, his sins would vanish in the twinkling of an eye. The two facts come together. “Purge me: I shall be clean. Wash me: I shall be whiter than snow.” It is done at once. Note the rapidity of the cleansing.

Mark the effectual character of the purgation. “Purge me, and I shall be clean.” Not “I shall think that I am,” but “I shall be. I shall be like a man perfectly healed of leprosy.” Such a man was not purged in theory, but in reality; so that he could go up to the court of the Lord’s house, and offer his sacrifice among the rest of Israel. So, if thou wash me, Lord, I shall be really clean! I shall have access to thee, and I shall have fellowship with all thy saints.

Once more David believed that God could give him internal cleansing. “In the hidden parts,” says he, “thou shalt make me to know wisdom.” I do like that about the text. It is “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.” Where? Hands? Yes. Feet? Yes. Head? Yes. All this is good; but what about the heart? There is the part that you and I cannot cleanse, but God can. Imagination, conscience, memory, every inward faculty, the Lord can purge us in all these. “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.” This includes the whole man. And this declaration falls from the lip of a man who knew himself to be as defiled as he could be, a very leper, only fit to be put away into his own several house, and shut up there for fear of contaminating the rest of mankind. He boldly says, “If the Lord wash me, I shall be clean, I am certain of it. I shall be perfectly clean, and fit to have communion with himself.”

Notice one more remark on this point, namely, that David, while thus conscious of his sins, is so full of faith towards God that he appropriates all the cleansing power of God to himself: “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.” There are four personal words in one verse. It is easy to believe that God can forgive sin in general, but that he can forgive mine in particular that is the point. Ay, it is easy to believe that he can forgive man, but to believe that he will forgive such a poor specimen of the race as I am is quite another matter! To take personal hold upon divine blessings is a most blessed faculty. Let us exercise it. Can you do it? Brothers and sisters, can you do it? You that cannot call yourselves brothers and sisters, you far-away ones, can you come to Christ, all black and defiled as you are, and just believe in him, that you shall be made whole? You will not be believing too much the Great Sinners’ Friend. According to your faith be it unto you.

III. This brings us to our third and last point, upon which I will speak with great brevity. Notice that A Deep Sense Of Sin And A Confident Faith In God Make The Lord’s Name And Glory Pre-Eminently Conspicuous.

God is the great actor in the text before us. He purges and he washes, and none but he. The sins and the cleansing are both of them too great to allow of any inferior handling.

“Purge me.” He makes it all God’s work. He does not say anything about the Aaronic priest. What a poor miserable creature the priest is when a soul is under a sense of sin! Have you ever met with a person who has been really broken in heart who has gone to a priest? If so, he has been made ashamed of his looking to man, for he has found him to be a broken cistern that can hold no water. Why, my brethren, if we had this platform full of popes, and one poor soul under a sense of sin to be comforted, the whole lot of them could not touch the sinner’s wound, nor do anything to stanch the bleeding of his heart! No, no, the words of the best of men fall short of our need. As the dying monk said, “Tua vulnera, Jesu!” “Thy wounds, Jesus!” These can heal, but nothing else can. God must himself wash us. Nothing short of his personal interposition will suffice.

Now, notice the next word, “Purge me with hyssop.” We must have faith, which is represented by hyssop. How little David makes of faith! He thinks of it only as the poor “hyssop.” Many questions have been raised as to what hyssop was. I do not think that anybody knows. Whatever it may have been, it was a plant that had many little shoots and leaves, because its particular fitness was that the blood would cling to its many branches. Its use was that it stored the blood, and held it there in ruby drops upon each one of its sprays: and that is the particular suitability of faith for its peculiar office. It is an excellent thing in itself; but the particular virtue of faith lies in this that it holds the blood so as to apply it. Scarlet wool was used in the ceremony of cleansing, and the scarlet wool was useful because it soaked in the blood, and held it within itself: but the hyssop was still more useful because, while it held the blood, it held it ready to drop. That is how faith holds the great Sacrifice: it holds the atoning blood upon every spray, ready to drop upon the tortured conscience. Faith is the sprinkling hyssop: it is nothing in itself, but it applies to the soul that which is our cleansing and our life.

David, moreover, seems to me to say, “Lord, if thou wilt purge me with the blood of the great Sacrifice, it does not matter how it is done! Do it with the little hyssop from off the wall. However tiny and insignificant the plant may be, yet it will hold the precious drops, and bring them to my heart, and I shall be whiter than snow.” It is God, you see it is God all the way through.

“And I” there is just that mention of himself; but what of himself? Why, “I shall be the receiver. I shall be clean.” “I.” What about that intensive “I”? “I shall be whiter than snow”; I shall be the material on which thou workest the guilty pardoned the polluted made clean the leper made whole, and permitted to come up to thy house.

That is all I ask my Lord tonight that he will let me come to his table, and be the receiver, the eater, the drinker, the cleansed one, the debtor, the bankrupt debtor, plunged over head and ears in debt to the heavenly Creditor. Oh, to be nothing; to lie at his feet! Oh, to be nothing, but washed washed in the blood! How sweet it is no longer to ride on horses, but to have God for your all in all; no longer to go forth sword in hand, boasting our strength, and glorying in what we can do, but to sit down at Jesus’ feet, and sing the victory which he alone has won! Come, let us pray from our very hearts, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” God bless you, for Jesus’ sake! Amen.