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God's Words For US
by Cecelia Lester
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!”
Psalm 51:1-2 (ESV)
David wrote the prophet after Nathan confronted David with his sin with Bathsheba. He broke at least three of God’s Commandments. Let’s look at this passage and try to understand it better.
Have mercy on me, O God,
David asks for God’s love, although he realizes he doesn’t deserve it. He asked for mercy. Please notice that David did not ask for anything else.
according to your steadfast love;
David asks for God’s mercy as God defines it. He realizes God is in control. He realizes that God’s love is the greatest we can experience.
according to your abundant mercy
He recognizes that God has a vast amount of mercy. He knows God’s mercy has no limits. Sometimes, we give conditional mercy when we forgive another person of hurting us.
blot out my transgressions.
He asks God to erase his wrongdoing from His memory. As humans, we tend to keep certain information in the back of our minds and bring them to the forefront when we deem it advantageous to us.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
David asked that God do a complete job of removing his sin from the ledger.
and cleanse me from my sin!
David presents his request a third way. He truly wants to be free of this sin. I read somewhere that the cleansing process of the hyssop was a scrubbing process. This could be why David dwells on the removal of his sin.
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Cecelia Lester has been serious about her writing for over two decades..
She composes Christian essays and posts them to her blog quietspirit-followingmyking.blogspot.com/
She has served in a faith-based organization, Grace In Action by writing two newsletters and searching for possible grants.
In July 2017, she published her first book, 'Times of Trouble Bring Rays of Joy.'
She and her husband of 54 years live in central Indiana. They have one grown son.
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