David continued to pray for his sins in Psalm 51. He prayed, "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity (7-9)." David was asking God to cleanse him of his sins. The hyssop is a common wild plant in Israel that you normally see in the valleys and hills. A dry hyssop is like a brush that you can bundle together to use as a brush. The Jews used them as a brush to sprinkle the blood of the lamb on the altar or on the person who was offering the animal during the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament and the time of our Lord Jesus in the New Testament. When David asked God to cleanse him with hyssop, David was asking God to spiritually dip the hyssop in the blood of a lamb and sprinkle it on himself, symbolizing spiritual cleansing. We just celebrated the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus this past weekend, and we remember the suffering of our Lord Jesus. The blood that our Lord Jesus shed on the cross washed away our sins, and this is the reason Jesus' death is very important for the forgiveness of our sins.
The hyssop was used during the time of animal sacrifices, but the need for animal sacrifices ended when our Lord Jesus replaced the animal sacrifices with his sacrifice on the cross. If we want to be cleansed of our sins, we need the blood of our Lord Jesus. The only way that we can be washed by the blood of our Lord Jesus is to genuinely believe in Him as our Lord and Savior. Jesus made all the sacrifices for us in order for us to be forgiven, and the only thing that we need to do is to believe in Him. David longed for God to wash his sins away because his sins only brought the discipline of God into his life and caused sorrow, pain, and despair. He longed to be cleansed and be spiritually renewed. Jesus made a way for us to be cleansed of our sins no matter what we have done.
Our forgiveness of sins comes from the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Jesus suffered and died to pay the penalty of our sins so that we could be forgiven, and Jesus did not stay in the grave but rose on the third day to give us a new life in Him. So, when we want God to cleanse us of our sins, all we have to do is confess our sins to our Lord Jesus, turn away from our sins, and ask for forgiveness; then, He will grant us forgiveness and wash away our sins with His blood.
Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) What did Jesus do to wash away my sins? What can I do to be cleansed of my sins? What does it mean when God cleanses me of my sins?
Write down all the worries you face today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, please cleanse me of all of my sins and forgive me. Thank you, Jesus, for shedding your blood on the cross to wash my sins and to forgive all my sins. In your name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.