Psalm 51:1-7

It snowed at our house last week. We had an accumulation of 20 inches of that white stuff piled high. It covered the plants, the sidewalks, and everything that was on the ground. How beautiful! If there was anything unsightly, it was covered with a blanket of pure white snow!

The Psalmist appreciates the beauty of snow. In Psalm 147 he writes of God’s gracious gift: “God gives snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes.” (Verse 16)

Psalm 51 begins as a prayer for cleansing and forgiveness. (1-2)

“Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy,
    blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin.”

In verse 7 we hear: “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Hyssop is a fragrant, blue flowered herb of the mint family. It makes me think that the stinky nature of our sins is made sweet in God’s forgiveness.

David, the Psalmist, had sinned mightily in God’s eyes. Yet, with a humble heart, David prays this prayer for forgiveness. God does forgive. God blankets our sin or sins or evil thoughts, words, and deeds with such loving forgiveness that it is like snow covering the ground, the sin wiped or melted away because of God’s love. Wow!

Prayer: O God, I have sinned against you and others in words, thoughts, and deeds. Forgive me. Wash me that I might be white as snow. Amen