September 12, 2019
Psalm 51
by Ralph Skinner
CLS Laity of Middlebrook Pike UMC (Knoxville, TN)
Tennessee Valley District
Psalm 51 New International Version (NIV)1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do you know who you are?
Do others know who you are?
Maybe those questions seem a little odd... Surely, each of us knows who we are don’t we? We know our own name, we know where we live, we know what we like, what we dislike, what motivates us, what turns us off, what athletic teams we like and support. We know what makes us happy and what makes us sad.
Do you know who you are?
Do others know who you are?
If you are in Christ, if you have repented and accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then the Bible is clear about who you are. You are a Chosen Child of God. Isn’t that awesome!! And even better, Christ Jesus lives within you!!
1 JOHN 3:1-2, ‘How great the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.’
We are children of God! We are made children of God through a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ as our Savior.
In Christ and Christ alone we ransomed, healed, restored and forgiven. Jesus has paid the price to restore our relationship with our Heavenly Father.
Before we are saved by Jesus, all of us are sinners. We are born into an imperfect world. A world that is damaged by rebellion against God. We live in a fallen world.
Thankfully, Jesus Christ is the Savior from sin! Our sin has been crucified on the cross of Jesus, and now “in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
God, in His infinite wisdom, has provided the remedy for our sin and sinfulness, and that remedy is available to everyone who comes to Jesus. Through Jesus, the forgiveness of sins is possible for all who believe and trust in Him.
Prayer: Gracious God, as the Psalmist writes in Psalm 139, you have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know everything about me, including those times and places where I sin. But, through Jesus, you have forgiven all those sins!! Help us to trust always. Amen.