Thoughts for the Day

Prayer for Cleansing and Pardon. A Psalm of David.

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgement.
Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.

You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

After working in four English Dioceses over a period of about 30 years of ministry my husband and I retired to Pembrokeshire in Wales. I took the robes that I had used to conduct worship with me, although I was determined not to use them but stay retired. Well that lasted for two years before I began to work in three little villages when the Vicar left unexpectedly! I unearthed my robes to find that my white surplice had orange rust-like stains on it. The marks had not been there when I left Carlisle so how had they got there? They were not rust stains, and neither the hottest water or the strongest bleach, or any other cleaning product known to woman (well, to me, at least), would remove them. I even resorted at one stage to using 'tippex', which worked quite well. The stains appeared to be caused by some kind of bacteria, perhaps accelerated by the damp in some of the old churches.

Psalm 51 speaks of "transgressions" (ie sin), as being like a dreadful stain upon the soul, that we cannot wash out. The prophet Nathan has rebuked King David for his treatment of Bathsheba and the killing of her husband (2 Kings 12.1-15), and David finally turns to God asking to be cleansed of his terrible sin. He asks to be "thoroughly" washed from his "iniquity". The dictionary defines "iniquity" as 'Gross immorality or injustice, and wickedness'. He has after all taken his neighbour's wife and placed her husband at the forefront of a battle where he will be killed. David accepts God's punishment as just, but pleads that He create in him "a clean heart" and put a "new and right spirit" in him.

Today it's the same for us, no matter how hard we try we cannot remove the stain caused by all the things we do, say, think, or even don't do! But we can acknowledge that sin before God and ask for our souls to be washed clean. As Christians we believe that because Jesus died for us, taking our punishment upon himself, we can ask Him to forgive us. Our sins are not just covered up (like 'tippex' on my robe) but washed completely away, and we can then start afresh.

Lord Jesus Christ,
You were tempted in the wilderness
but were without sin.
You understand how hard it is to avoid temptation:
to love those we find difficult;
to stop being critical of others;
to have patience with our family and friends;
and to live the life You want us to live.
We ask You
to wash away the stains of sin upon us this day,
and in Your mercy forgive us when we fail.
Amen.