Scandal In The Palace

Psalm 51:1-12

For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Nathan the prophet came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

1Have mercy on me, O God,

because of your unfailing love.

Because of your great compassion,

blot out the stain of my sins.

2Wash me clean from my guilt.

Purify me from my sin.

3For I recognize my shameful deeds—

they haunt me day and night.

4Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;

I have done what is evil in your sight.

You will be proved right in what you say,

and your judgment against me is just.

5For I was born a sinner—

yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

6But you desire honesty from the heart,

so you can teach me to be wise in my inmost being.

7Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8Oh, give me back my joy again;

you have broken me—

now let me rejoice.

9Don’t keep looking at my sins.

Remove the stain of my guilt.

10Create in me a clean heart, O God.

Renew a right spirit within me.

11Do not banish me from your presence,

and don’t take your Holy spirit from me.

12Restore to me again the joy of your salvation,

and make me willing to obey you.

King David had seen a woman and wanted her. What the king wanted he got, even though she was the wife of another man, a loyal soldier in David’s army. When she became pregnant, David feared scandal and tried to cover up the affair. But David’s tricks didn’t work, and finally he arranged for the husband to be killed in battle. Then he took the dead hero’s wife as his own.

He almost got away with it.

Then the prophet Nathan showed up with a story to tell. A poor man had one little lamb he loved dearly, but the rich man next door wanted that lamb. Although he could buy any beast in town, the rich man coveted what the poor man loved, and so he stole the lamb and killed it.

Outrageous, David thought. “Who is that rich man?” he demanded. “I’ll see that justice is done!”

“You are the man,” Nathan answered. And suddenly David saw his own sin. His attempts at a cover-up had only made matters worse. Now it was time to confess his sin before the nation. This psalm is that confession.

Throughout the ages people of faith have used David’s words to bemoan their own failings. We throw ourself on the mercy of our loving God, praying that he will blot out our terrible transgressions. And we can be confident that he does hear us and remove our sins, making us white as snow.

Lord Jesus, you see that I patiently wait;

Come now, and within me a new heart create;

To those who have sought you, you never said, “No.”

Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

JAMES NICHOLSON

Fascinating Fact

It may be the northernmost grave on earth, belonging to a member of an early Arctic expedition. There on a hill overlooking acres of ice upon ice is a gravestone with a plaque that says simply, “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”

Notable Quotable

“This kind of prayer requires a certain kind of God. No man will go to God just because he knows how poor he is in sin, unless he knows how rich God is in mercy.”

DAVID REDDING