Psalm 51:7 · NET Bible
Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be pure; wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
Written by a man after the worst thing he ever did became public knowledge.
Verse 1 of 4 in the Whiter Than Snow thread.
What is happening here
Psalm 51 is a song David wrote after he slept with another man's wife, and then, when she became pregnant, arranged for that man to die at the front line of a battle. He was the king. He got away with it for about a year, until a prophet named Nathan walked into the room and told him a story that turned out to be about him.
What is unusual about this psalm is what it does not do. It does not explain. It does not describe the pressures of leadership or point out that other kings did worse. David never argues that it was not that bad.
The word he uses, translated here as cleanse, is a word from ritual washing. Hyssop was a plant tied in a bundle and used to sprinkle water in ceremonies for people who had been shut out of the community. He is not asking to be told he is fine. He is asking to be made clean, which only makes sense if you already agree that you are not.
It is worth knowing that this psalm was kept. Israel put it in their songbook and sang it publicly for centuries. The failure was not edited out of the record; it was set to music.
A prayer you can say before you believe it
God, I am not going to argue about it. You know exactly what I did. Wash it off me, and let me stop carrying it.
If this one landed, read these next
- Isaiah 1:18 “Come, let’s consider your options,” says the Lord. “Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool.
- 1 John 1:9 But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.
- Micah 7:19 Who will once again have mercy on us? Who will conquer our evil deeds? Who will hurl all our sins into the depths of the sea?
- Psalm 34:18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he delivers those who are discouraged.
OIL AND ASHES
Whiter Than Snow
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For someone carrying something they think disqualifies them.
PSALM 51:7
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Line-dried cotton. This passage and the other three in its thread are printed in full on a card in the package, so you can read them with a dead phone, in the dark, without scanning anything.