Day 15
Read Psalm 51
Psalm 51, like Psalm 32, is one of the great confessional Psalms. The Church, and Israel before her, has used this Psalm for centuries as a guide to asking God for forgiveness. Confession and forgiveness are central to our relationship with God. And although trends in church worship have been to remove times of confession from Sunday morning worship, Psalm 51 is a good indication that we should keep the practice of private and corporate confession.
The Psalmist begins with a plea for mercy, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion….” He knows God’s forgiveness and so he asks for it, “Blot out my transgressions. Wash away my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” And he doesn’t just ask for forgiveness he asks to be cleansed and changed. Later on in the Psalm he says, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” He knows God’s forgiveness, he asks for God’s forgiveness, and he asks for God to transform him into a different person.
There are two main misconceptions when it comes to confession and forgiveness. The first is the belief that there is no way God could ever forgive me for what I have done. The symptoms of this belief are to live in fear, anxiety, ridden with guilt and failure, and to never truly know the incredible power of being forgiven. The second belief is to think of God’s grace and forgiveness as an abstract concept, this is belief in an impersonal God who doesn’t really care about who we are and what we do. This belief talks about love and grace in general terms and fails to see it as personal, there is no longing for the transformation of life that the Psalmist in Psalm 51 longs for.
That is why the three stages seen here in Psalm 51 are so important. The Psalmist knows God’s forgiveness, he asks for it, and then he asks God to cleanse him and transform him into a more whole person. Confession and forgiveness are intensely personal. He confesses that he has sinned against God alone (vs. 4), that he has personally done evil in God’s sight. And He does not just want to be forgiven of these sins; he wants to be changed personally as well.
Prayer
Use Psalm 51 as an outline of prayer. Pray through each line of the Psalm and expand on each sentence to make it personally your prayer.
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