The lost words of our confessions
Albert Bogle
December 15, 2020
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Psalm 51 (NIVUK)
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 you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Saviour,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.18 May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Despite the Christmas carols referencing of King David as a heroic figure there is much in his life
that requires forgiveness that can only come from a saviour like Jesus.
Psalm 51 is an amazing psalm of penitence . In it King David opens himself up to God and confesses his sinfulness. This psalm is written in the light of his deception and murder of Uriah, the Hittite, having committed adultery with Bathsheba — Uriah’s wife.
The beginning of the road back to God has to start with genuine repentance and penitence. The amazing thing about this prayer of David’s is this, he believes God will not “despise a broken and a contrite spirit”. Surely we can take comfort from this prayer. Here is a man lost for words because of his transgressions. His tears flow constantly. If he is to praise God — it has to be God who will open his lips in order that his mouth can declare all that is happening in his heart. The mouth, the heart and the lips take on a new sound when God says “You’re forgiven — be opened. Ephphatha!”
Advent Action:
What are your unspeakable sins and hurts that you need to confess and confront in order that you might be opened and forgiven and come out of the darkness? Take them to God in quiet prayer.
PRAYER:
Oh God my lips are sealed
Stuck together
My transgressions are like glue in my mouth
I have bonded with them
I’m overwhelmed with grief and torment
Sadness bubbles up within me
The enormity of my actions confront me
The pressure builds
The pain of regret breaks in my head
My sorrow finds an exit
through the tears in my eyes
The pain rolls down my checks
My ears continually
Play back my guilty actions
My heart breaks for those
I have injured and lost
Can I find hope this Christmas?
Can I be redeemed after all this?
Can I pray David’s prayer
“Create in me a clean heart O Lord
and renew a right spirit within me”?
Could I dare ask you
to allow me to return to your presence without facing your judgement?
O, Lord
I cry
Leave your Spirit with me
Then only will my lips be opened
And my mouth refilled with praise and gratitude
Then I will sing
Redemption has surely come to my life this Christmas.
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