Devotion for March
A Lenten Devotion on Psalm 51
As we are in the season of Lent in our church year, I have been thinking about Psalm 51, the psalm that we read on Ash Wednesday.
Psalm 51 stands as one of the most profound prayers of repentance in Scripture. Written by David after his sin with Bathsheba, the language he uses points us to the struggle of a heart that has wandered from God and the desperate longing for restoration, a heart that cries out to God: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
There is also an acknowledgment that sin is deeply personal. Sin is not just a mistake but a deeply personal offense against the Lord. We hear this when David says: “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (v. 4). This can be confronting to many because we learn that we cannot hide what is going on in our hearts from the Lord.
When we think about repentance during the season of Lent, what do we usually think about? I suspect for many it’s about changing our actions: stopping our bad behaviour, trying hard to do and act better, being better people. These are very good desires to have; however, true change does not come until we acknowledge the reality of what is happening on the inside, in our hearts.
In this psalm, David doesn’t only ask for forgiveness but for complete renewal: “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” The word “create” (bara in Hebrew) is the same word used in Genesis 1 for God creating the world out of nothing. David knows he cannot clean up his own heart but is asking the Lord to create and shape a clean heart in him.
When God creates clean hearts in us, when he does his work in us, our cleansed hearts overflow with praise: “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise” (v. 15).
While David could only anticipate what God would do, we now understand that this cleansing comes through Christ’s sacrifice for us. The hyssop David mentions (v. 7) foreshadows the blood of Jesus that thoroughly purifies (or cleans) us. Christ Jesus has taken our sin and given us His righteousness in return. It is in and through Him that the Lord cleanses our hearts.
Prayer
In this Lenten season, may we like David in Psalm 51, pray that God’s creative Word of power cleanse our hearts, trusting that in Christ Jesus, the Lord will do this work in us.
Pastor Nicholas Kitchen
Auckland
March 2025
