Wash me

Remove my sin, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness;
and though you have crushed me and broken me,
I will be happy once again.
(verses 7,8)

Read Psalm 51:1-10

In his book Life Together Dietrich Bonhoeffer calls the book of Psalms ‘the great school of prayer’. The psalms are unique in that they are both word of God and human prayer to God. Perhaps one of our most frequent prayers to God is to beg him for forgiveness.

From the great school of prayer today, Psalm 51 asks God’s forgiveness for specific sins. There are times when every Christian commits sin. That is no slight matter, for God despises evil and does not tolerate human sin (as the cross of Christ so starkly shows). That is precisely where God forgives your sin completely. His nature is always to have mercy. He washes you in the blood of Jesus, so that you become whiter than snow—all sin gone. Come to him. It is for this very reason that our Lord died.

Jesus Lamb of God, have mercy on me. Receive me, wash me, forgive and renew me. Let me come into your presence with joy and thanksgiving, or your salvation is great. Amen.

by Simon Cooper, in ‘Renewed Hope for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2000)

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