Stress Test Devotional May 4
May 04, 2024
PSALM 51:1-9 | 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 judgment. 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. See also 2 Samuel 11 and 12
Psalm 51 is the greatest confession in all of religious literature. It is one of 14 Psalms with an explanatory title linking it to the life of David, specifically to his infamous affair with Bathsheba that was exposed by the prophet Nathan. Read 2 Samuel 11 and 12 for this background.
Biblical faith involves ritual practice but it is intensely personal. Religious practices, rites of purification or sacrifice, do not obviate the central reality—our lives are bound up with God’s life and presence. Right relationship with God is the necessary condition of a flourishing existence and separation from Him is death.
Use verses 1-9 as a personal confession.
How many images of brokenness and salvation can you find? Meditate on each one.
