Have Mercy on Me (Psalm 51:1-6)

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
² Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
⁶ Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

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What I found myself meditating on this morning is verse 4, the statement that God’s judgment on me because of my sin is truly deserved.

Now, this is basic Christianity, so it is nothing shocking or radical at all. But it does run counter to the directions of our culture as well as the inclinations of our own hearts.   One of the things I have heard from those in law enforcement over the years is that nearly everyone lies when they get caught.  The offense is downplayed, the severity reduced.  Explanations are ready at hand.  But this is true not just when it comes to actual crime.  Think of the behavior that we witness during a political campaign.  How often do candidates admit to the faults and wrongdoing of which they are accused?  How often do we do the same thing?

Repentance requires humility and honesty.  It requires vulnerability before God.  It involves the laying down of all defenses, explanations, and excuses.  Repentance is not only an admission of guilt, but also the assumption of full responsibility of the consequences and penalties.  This is what we see David doing in this verse.  He acknowledges the evil he has done, and the justness of God’s verdict on his guilt.

David acknowledges that his problem goes back to the womb.  It’s not just that he has sinned, but that he is sinful and has fallen short all along the way of the faithfulness which God desired even in the womb.

But David does appeal to mercy.  Not because he promises to try harder.  Not because his offense really wasn’t that bad.  Not because of some extenuating circumstance in his past or present.  His appeal rests entirely on the “unfailing love” of God.  He appeals to undeserved grace.  On in that is his hope.

So my prayer today is that by the Spirit’s leading, my repentance may be sincere.  I pray that the Lord strip away my penchant for excuse making, that I may come before Him today and every day in true humility, appealing not to any shred of my own righteousness, but to His unfailing grace alone.

 NOTE:

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