25 May | Youth
«Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.» Psalm 51:1, 2
Psalm 51 is a masterpiece that came from a tragedy, a lily that sprouted in the mud. This poem differs from the others in the book because it came out from the depths of a heart torn apart by guilt. After being confronted by prophet Nathan, David opened the hidden places of his soul and exposed his vile past before God (2 Sam 12:1-15). While waiting for the divine verdict, the king cried out for the miracle of grace.
The story of the “man after God’s own heart” could have been quite different. If he had been at war, instead of being idle on palatial afternoons, Psalm 51 would probably have different contours. However, we find the king of Israel in the abyss of sin, after adultery with Bathsheba and the death of Uriah.
What can someone who is in the bottom of the pit do but look up? Touched by the Holy Spirit, David turned to his last and only chance: God's infinite love. At the beginning of the psalm, David proclaimed the triad of petitions described in today's verse: “Blot out,” “wash me” and “cleanse me.” Have you ever cried out to God like this?
When asking the Lord to erase his sin, David used a term that refers to the way the ancients recycled parchment. Before the creation of the printing press, sheep or goat leather was used for writing. Since this was very expense and scarce material, they used a scraping technique made with a knife. Medieval palimpsests, for example, which contained lewd literature written by the Romans, were erased, and reused by monks. This is what God wants to do with our hearts. He wants to “scrape away” the sin and write a new story.
Furthermore, God wants to “wash” and “purify” our dirty laundry, contaminated by the mistakes we make. When mentioning “hyssop” (v. 7), a plant with rough, fragrant leaves, David alluded to two liturgical rituals: the purification of a leper’s house and of a person contaminated for touching a corpse. He realizes that both illustrations can be applied to the effects of sin.
And you? Have you asked Jesus to change your heart? Your past does not matter. God is able to give you a new chance. Remember: “Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more” (Rom 5:20).