Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Psalm 51:7
Hyssop was a type of plant that God’s people used for ceremonial cleansing. We think it grew in leafy or spriggy bunches allowing Israel to use it almost like a paintbrush. This is the plant they used to paint the blood on their doorposts in Egypt when God struck down the firstborn. But, more to the point, they also used hyssop in purification ceremonies. You can read about this in Numbers 19 or Leviticus 14. But basically, if a person had an infectious skin disease or if they had touched a dead body, then they were declared unclean. They were cut off from the people and the sanctuary of God. And before they could return, they had to be cleansed. The cleansing ceremony involved dipping a bunch of hyssop into water mixed with either sacrificial blood or ashes and then sprinkling it on the person.
Most of us read right over “cleanse me with hyssop” in Psalm 51:7 without giving it a second thought. But when you know this background, you realize that this is a powerful image. David is saying, “I feel unclean. I’m unworthy to come before you, Lord. I’m as polluted as someone who has touched a dead body or who has leprosy. Make me clean again, Father, so I can enter Your presence!”
This is a powerful reminder that sin has consequences. It threatens your intimacy with God. David understood this. In verse 11 he asks God, “Don’t cast me out of your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.” This is a reference to King Saul, whose sin resulted in him being rejected as king and losing the Spirit’s anointing. David doesn’t want the same thing to happen to him, but he fears it will... because of his sin.
Even after you are saved, your sin matters! Your spot in heaven may be secure but your intimacy with God must be maintained. Sin separates you from God. It stuffs cotton in your ears and makes it difficult for you to hear His voice. It smears mud on your eyes and makes it hard for you to see His glory. It turns your heart of flesh into a heart of stone so that you are no longer drawn to love the things of God. And it offends God and makes Him want to move away from you.
Some of you are like David today. You know that you have rebelled against God's commands and sinned against the Lord. You are unclean; and your relationship with God has been affected. Pray the words of David from Psalm 51:7 today. ASk God to cleanse you with hyssop, then you will be whiter than snow.
For further reading...
- Psalm 51- Read all of this confession psalm to learn more about sin and forgiveness.
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