Even those who are not well versed in Christian Scriptures are still likely to be somewhat familiar with King David and his double sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah the Hittite. Of course, David tried to cover his sin up as long as he could. But eventually, God sent His Prophet named Nathan to confront David with the sins he had committed.
Realizing that he had been exposed, David decided to come clean and confess his sin. II Samuel 12:13 records these words: “Then David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the LORD.’” However, this simple sentence involved much more than might be evident from a mere causal reading. Later on, in Psalm 51, we have recorded for us the full measure and passion of David’s confession:
PSALM 51
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. 5Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. 14Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. 18May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. 19Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Here, one begins to appreciate the earnestness and emotion with which David sought forgiveness for his sins against God. One word in particular stands out. It is the word “wash” in verse seven.
The Hebrew word here translated as “wash” is not the word used for simply washing your face, or rinsing a dish. It is the word “tə·ḵab·bə·sê·nî”, which refers to the thorough washing of clothes by beating and pounding them against a rock or a scrub board. This makes it plain that David is praying for a thorough cleansing from sin and from the guilt and anguish that accompanies it.
Paul Pattison is a minister living in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, where he pastors the Glad Tidings Church. In a message he once delivered on David and Bathsheba, he talked about David’s utter remorse after having been confronted with his sin. He then shared a powerful illustration about carpet cleaning.
Most people run the vacuum over their carpets on a regular basis. But simply vacuuming a carpet is not the same thing as a deep and thorough cleansing. Carpet cleaning businesses understand this. And for this reason, they sometimes offer a special service for removing pet urine stains and odors.
To show potential customers their need for the service, they will darken the room and then turn on a powerful black light or lamp that emits long-wave (UV-A) ultraviolet light but not much visible light. Inevitably, the ultraviolent light emitted will cause pet urine crystals to glow brightly.
Invariably, to the horror of the average homeowner, every drop and dribble of pet urine can now be seen. What is more, it almost always does not just show up on the carpet alone, but also on doors, walls, drapes, furniture, lamp shades, etc…
More times than can be imagined, the homeowner is left chagrined. Some have even begged the carpet cleaner to shut off the light, not wanting to see the ugly stains. Virtually everyone decides to have their carpet deep-cleaned as quickly as possible in order to feel comfortable in their own home once again.
Of course, the point of the story is that the stains were there all along, and were going nowhere until they were dealt with properly. One can ignore the, turn a blind eye to them, or even willfully cover them up and pretend they are not there. But in the heart, everyone who has seen them exposed by the light will forever know they are there until such time as they are properly expunged.
In a similar fashion, God shined the light of His Holy Word on David’s heart and exposed the ugly stain of sin. But He did not do this just to make David feel guilty and dirty. He did this in order to prompt David to desire a clean heart! And when David did, God provided for him the very cleansing that he needed.
And here is the good news! God still works this way! Yes, His Word still exposes our sinfulness. Yes, He still desires for us to repent of the sins He exposes. But above all, He still washes such sin thoroughly away!
As the Apostle John tells us in his First New Testament Letter (chapter 1, verse 9): “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Earlier (in his New Testament Letter to the Romans, chapter 3, verse 23), the Apostle Paul had affirmed that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” He follows that up immediately in verse 24 by reminding us that just as all have sinned, so can all be cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ and made righteous in God’s eyes.
Years ago, the famous hymn writer Elisha Hoffman penned these piercing words:
Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing pow’r?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
If not, my friend, then today could be wash day for you! No matter how dirty or repugnant the stains they may hold, give the innermost recesses of your heart to Almighty God today. You will soon find that you share the joy of salvation that David so longed for and eventually found! And you too will then be declaring God’s praise for that fresh clean feeling that only He can give!
SCRIPTURE SOURCES:
https://biblehub.com/niv/psalms/51.htm;
https://biblehub.com/hebrew/techabbeseni_3526.htm;
https://biblehub.com/1_john/1-9.htm;
https://biblehub.com/niv/romans/3.htm.
HYMN LYRICS SOURCE:
https://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Are_You_Washed_in_the_Blood/.
SEE ALSO:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/GTCMoncton/posts/.
Realizing that he had been exposed, David decided to come clean and confess his sin. II Samuel 12:13 records these words: “Then David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the LORD.’” However, this simple sentence involved much more than might be evident from a mere causal reading. Later on, in Psalm 51, we have recorded for us the full measure and passion of David’s confession:
PSALM 51
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. 5Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. 14Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. 18May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. 19Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Here, one begins to appreciate the earnestness and emotion with which David sought forgiveness for his sins against God. One word in particular stands out. It is the word “wash” in verse seven.
The Hebrew word here translated as “wash” is not the word used for simply washing your face, or rinsing a dish. It is the word “tə·ḵab·bə·sê·nî”, which refers to the thorough washing of clothes by beating and pounding them against a rock or a scrub board. This makes it plain that David is praying for a thorough cleansing from sin and from the guilt and anguish that accompanies it.
Paul Pattison is a minister living in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, where he pastors the Glad Tidings Church. In a message he once delivered on David and Bathsheba, he talked about David’s utter remorse after having been confronted with his sin. He then shared a powerful illustration about carpet cleaning.
Most people run the vacuum over their carpets on a regular basis. But simply vacuuming a carpet is not the same thing as a deep and thorough cleansing. Carpet cleaning businesses understand this. And for this reason, they sometimes offer a special service for removing pet urine stains and odors.
To show potential customers their need for the service, they will darken the room and then turn on a powerful black light or lamp that emits long-wave (UV-A) ultraviolet light but not much visible light. Inevitably, the ultraviolent light emitted will cause pet urine crystals to glow brightly.
Invariably, to the horror of the average homeowner, every drop and dribble of pet urine can now be seen. What is more, it almost always does not just show up on the carpet alone, but also on doors, walls, drapes, furniture, lamp shades, etc…
More times than can be imagined, the homeowner is left chagrined. Some have even begged the carpet cleaner to shut off the light, not wanting to see the ugly stains. Virtually everyone decides to have their carpet deep-cleaned as quickly as possible in order to feel comfortable in their own home once again.
Of course, the point of the story is that the stains were there all along, and were going nowhere until they were dealt with properly. One can ignore the, turn a blind eye to them, or even willfully cover them up and pretend they are not there. But in the heart, everyone who has seen them exposed by the light will forever know they are there until such time as they are properly expunged.
In a similar fashion, God shined the light of His Holy Word on David’s heart and exposed the ugly stain of sin. But He did not do this just to make David feel guilty and dirty. He did this in order to prompt David to desire a clean heart! And when David did, God provided for him the very cleansing that he needed.
And here is the good news! God still works this way! Yes, His Word still exposes our sinfulness. Yes, He still desires for us to repent of the sins He exposes. But above all, He still washes such sin thoroughly away!
As the Apostle John tells us in his First New Testament Letter (chapter 1, verse 9): “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Earlier (in his New Testament Letter to the Romans, chapter 3, verse 23), the Apostle Paul had affirmed that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” He follows that up immediately in verse 24 by reminding us that just as all have sinned, so can all be cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ and made righteous in God’s eyes.
Years ago, the famous hymn writer Elisha Hoffman penned these piercing words:
Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing pow’r?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
If not, my friend, then today could be wash day for you! No matter how dirty or repugnant the stains they may hold, give the innermost recesses of your heart to Almighty God today. You will soon find that you share the joy of salvation that David so longed for and eventually found! And you too will then be declaring God’s praise for that fresh clean feeling that only He can give!
SCRIPTURE SOURCES:
https://biblehub.com/niv/psalms/51.htm;
https://biblehub.com/hebrew/techabbeseni_3526.htm;
https://biblehub.com/1_john/1-9.htm;
https://biblehub.com/niv/romans/3.htm.
HYMN LYRICS SOURCE:
https://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Are_You_Washed_in_the_Blood/.
SEE ALSO:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/GTCMoncton/posts/.