Psalm 51 is a heartfelt cry to God from a remorseful sinner who has committed a terrible sin in the eyes of God. David’s sin was epic. So was his repentance. He is remembered as “a man after God’s own heart, who will do all My will” (Ac. 13:22). He did sin lusting after Bathsheba. . . and he is the perfect role model of repentance. Recognizing his guilt, knowing he deserves to be excluded from the House of the Lord, he prostrates himself before God, contrite of heart and broken in spirit. David implores God to cleanse and atone for him, remove his sin and free his heart from the desire to sin. David is seeking to be restored to purity, petitioning God to cleanse him like a woman at the time would wash dirty clothes, stomping them with her feet.

David is asking God to “unsin me with hyssop.” He is not seeking merely an outward, superficial cleansing. To be permitted into the Holy Temple would require restoration of ceremonial purity, made possible by the ashes of the Red Heifer mixed with purification water and sprinkled with hyssop (Num 19:1-10). This is a picture of the Passover when the Israelites put the blood of a lamb on the doorposts of their house to escape the death angel (Ex. 12). Jesus is our sacrifice; He came by water and blood (I Jn. 5:6). When we are washed with the blood of Christ, we are thoroughly cleansed and restored to a right standing with the Lord. His blood sprinkled on our heart has the power to cleanse us from an evil conscience, purging us from dead works and sin. When we have been washed in the blood of Christ, our crimson sins are made exceedingly white. We can stand with the saints on earth and bow before our Lord in heaven, purified from all blemishes of the heart and soul.

David sought an internal change of heart from the fountain of Christ’s blood. How about you? Are you willing to tell Jesus of the guilt and heavy load you are harboring deep within your soul? He already knows and is waiting for you to place yourself in His arms and be completely honest with him, sharing your innermost, deepest sins. Let David be your role model as you earnestly cry out to Him from the depths of your being. Today is your day to say ‘yes’ to the question, “Would you be whiter, yes brighter than snow? There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood.”