Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 51:1-4
Ps 51:1-4
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
Eph 2:4-8
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
King David had committed adultery with a woman named Bathsheeba. Uriah, her husband, was one of the top thirty men in the army of Israel and was considered one of David’s “mighty men.” Because of their sin, Bathsheeba was expecting a child and this would have caused major problems for David as king of Israel. He tried to cover it up with a plan that did not work so he had Uriah killed and made it look like he was just a casualty of the war. God sent a prophet to David and told him he had sinned and God knew about it. He quickly admitted his sin without excuse. This Psalm is written as a psalm of his remorse and repentance.
How could David say he had sinned only against God? Had he not sinned against Bathsheeba and certainly against Uriah? As the leader of God’s people, had he not sinned against Israel and brought reproach on them? Yes to all of these but he knew that any sin is ultimately against God. He realized it was God to whom he must repent and seek forgiveness. He had violated his vow to serve God and had broken his trust with God who was his strength and source of all blessings. It was only God who could wash away all of his iniquity and forgive his sin.
Lord God, it is easy to ignore my sin and try to cover it but when I fail to do your will and live up to your standard, I know I have sinned. I need your constant and continued forgiveness. Help me accept your forgiveness and the knowledge that all my sin is covered by the blood of Jesus. Keep me from ever thinking that I can somehow earn my righteousness and thus be overtaken in pride. As I accept your grace, let it motivate me to get rid of all that offends you and to allow your Spirit to change my heart daily so I become more like you in every way. Use me to help and encourage others as they serve you also. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
