Whiter Than Snow

In recent weeks we have watched with dismay as David, King of Israel, fell deeply into sin  and gave ‘great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme’. David committed adultery with Bathsheba, a local girl, betrayed and murdered her husband, Uriah, and along with him caused the death of several other soldiers caught up in the king’s devious scheme. It has been painful to witness David’s shame and be reminded that the best of men are but sinful men at their best.

 You are the one

God sent Nathan to charge David with his sin and the prophet did so using a parable. At first David was so hardened he did not realise his crimes were the theme of the story. Finally, Nathan accused David directly which brought him to confess and acknowledge his guilt. David repented and was forgiven. Shortly afterwards David penned Psalm 51 and left it to the church as a testimony of his sin and remorse. It is a penitential psalm but it is also a psalm of hope. It serves to instruct all of us how to seek forgiveness when we sin against God in our own lives.

 The burden of sin

In this remarkable psalm David seeks mercy from God. In a series of powerful confessions he lays bare his soul and his deep sense of personal shame. David shows how conviction can be a blessing when it brings with it the hope of forgiveness. David concealed his guilt and shut up his conscience for nine months before the Holy Spirit made him face up to his state. Now he owned his sinful actions, acknowledged he had sinned against God and pleaded his need of forgiveness and cleansing. 

 Original sin

David teaches us the true nature of sin. Sin is personal, far-reaching and debilitating. David’s prayer is full of personal pronouns like ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘my’ and ‘mine’. Sin must be owned. David knew he had sinned and he knew against whom he had sinned. He knew where the guilt for his sin lay. He also knew his sin-guiltiness ran much deeper than just his recent actions. Rebellion against God stained David’s soul and lay at the heart of his nature. He had been born in sin and shapen in iniquity. The very fabric of his being was opposed to holiness and truth.

 Helpless

Furthermore, there was nothing David could do personally to remedy his state or remove his guilt. The LORD required truth in the inward man, purity of heart and soul-knowledge of Christ, none of which David could provide. David knew if God did not cleanse him he would not be clean. He needed the LORD to supply the tender mercy to blot out his transgressions or they must remain forever before him. Friend, take note, if you need peace of conscience it is to the tender mercy of Christ you must apply.

 Love and blood

David’s psalm is full of hope. Though broken and humiliated David employs the language of grace and leans on the promise of forgiveness. In the opening verse he races straight to the lovingkindness of God and appeals for mercy founded upon God’s love. He draws on God’s own words to Moses to remind God of His promise to forgive those who repent. He speaks of purging with hyssop, recalling the blood-covering of the Passover Lamb in Egypt.

 If you will, I shall

David sought cleansing and the blotting out of sins. He knew God Himself must grant these mercies. He knew the LORD could be trusted. Notice David’s confidence, ‘Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow’. How can a sinner be clean before God? By purging of blood and washing of regeneration, but only God can do it. When God removes a sinner’s sin and lays it on a Substitute He is both merciful and just. He deals with sin according to justice while the sinner’s soul is made whiter than snow.

 A lesson in hope

David’s prayer in this psalm is a framework for every sinner who is sensitive to their sin and sick of the guilt it brings. Psalm 51 is a message of hope built on grace, and of mercy that flows from love. It points us to the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Truth required in the inner man. It signposts the God Man ‘who is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption’. It teaches us to hope in the covenant promises of grace, saying, ‘If David found mercy with God then why can’t I?’

 Amen.