Devotional Thoughts: Psalm 51: 1-2, Spurgeon & Me

Psalm 51 is, “Suitable for the loneliness of individual penitence, this matchless Psalm is equally well adapted for an assembly of the poor in spirit.” – Charles H. Spurgeon

“Wash me throughly. It is not enough to blot out the sin; his person is defiled, and he fain would be purified. He would have God himself cleanse him, for none but he could do it effectually. The washing must be thorough, it must be repeated, therefore he cries, “Multiply to wash me.” The dye is in itself immovable, and I, the sinner, have lain long in it, till the crimson is ingrained; but, Lord, wash, and wash, and wash again, till the last stain is gone, and not a trace of my defilement is left. The hypocrite is content if his garments be washed, but the true suppliant cries, “wash me.” The careless soul is content with a nominal cleansing, but the truly awakened conscience desires a real and practical washing, and that of a most complete and efficient kind. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity. It is viewed as one great pollution, polluting the entire nature, and as all his own; as if nothing were so much his own as his sin.” – Charles H. Spurgeon

“The thief loves the plunder, though he fears the prison. Not so David: he is sick of sin as sin; his loudest outcries are against the evil of his transgression, and not against the painful consequences of it. When we deal seriously with our sin, God will deal gently with us. When we hate what the Lord hates, he will soon make an end of it, to our joy and peace.” – Charles H. Spurgeon

A plea for mercy, love and cleansing from sin. Sin weighs us down in a manner that makes us incapable of fixing ourselves. One million self help books on behavior modification later and we still carry around the stains and weight of our sin. Sin, we all have it, each and every one of us. Only the wise reach out to God for help. Sin; it’s our greatest pandemic! Cleansing and forgiveness come from God alone. To reach the point of cleansing we must humble ourselves, bow to God and ask, ask for mercy, ask for forgiveness, ask for cleansing, ask for freedom. I’ve witnessed swift transformation of souls. It’s electrifying! It’s contagious! One who’s experienced this knows the Psalmist’s heart in these words:

“Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.” Psalm 51:13

Once I knew cleansing I wanted everyone to know it as well. While these verses carry the feeling of despair, peace lies around the bend when we cry out to God for mercy, forgiveness and grace. Naming our sin is hard and only the brave face it. Only the brave confess. Only the brave reach out to God. Those who do, know and understand these verses first hand. It’s my story. It’s your story. It’s our story together as the body of Christ. This is the Gospel: God forgives, transforms and gives us a mission written in verse 13. Faith is a journey. We will fail again. We will succeed again. This life is fleeting. All will pass away that is not eternal. Take care of your soul. Reach out to God who lovingly accepts you and have the ability to make you whole, at peace, healed and cleansed. There’s NOTHING else like it! Hallelujah! This is the same in the time of the Psalmist, in Spurgeon’s time and right now, in my time. We share this experience together across thousands of years. Sin stains, God cleanses and the clean point others to God. Remaining in our sin ultimately destroys. It breeds ego, greed, addiction, separation and destruction. This is nothing new. Sin breaks the world more and God brings light, balance, love and cleansing. I wish to walk with the Psalmist, with Spurgeon, with my brothers and sister to the finish line. Come join us!