Reflection on Psalm 51:1-2
“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”
This psalm was written by King David in the situation described in 2Sam 12:1f: “Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: ‘There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. And a traveller came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.’ So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity.’ Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul…’ So David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.’”
If a person gradually sinks into sin, be it a common man or a ruler, it slowly dulls his conscience and then he logically justifies his acts and is no longer able to accept even a kind admonition. When God uses shock therapy, as in the case of King David through the Prophet Nathan, people respond in two ways. The first group behave similarly to David, who immediately realized his guilt and admitted, “I have sinned.” That is why he was told, “God has forgiven your sin.” Of course, he had to suffer for that sin to some extent. In David’s case, this suffering was the death of his child right after birth. When he pleaded God to save the child’s life, God did not hear David’s prayer in this case. The second group of people react after shock therapy in such a way that their pride grows into fury, revenge and even greater obstinacy, and they try to destroy, sometimes even physically, the one who is a reproach to them. This is already a sign that the person concerned has rejected God’s grace for saving repentance. He has already united himself with sin so much that he does not want to break with it, and he is 99.9% likely to die in impenitence and be eternally damned. This psalm of penitence was recited by generations before us because original sin, which manifested itself in David’s actions in the form of a certain evil, manifests itself in each of us, albeit in different forms. The following applies to each of us without exception: “My sin is always before me. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” The following also applies to each penitent: “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. … Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.” As for confession, David cries out at the very beginning: “Have mercy upon me, O God” (Lord, have mercy). David prays: 1) blot out my transgressions, 2) wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and 3) cleanse me from my sin.
In verses 10-13, he cries out: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. … Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.” And he emphasizes the essence of repentance in the words: “Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart You never scorn, O God.”
We will recite this word of life in the time of Advent, a time of repentance and anticipation of the coming of our Saviour. He has already come and was born in poor Bethlehem, died for our sins and rose from the dead. Because of our sin, God is far from us; grave sins make Him depart and minor sins obscure our spiritual sight, so that we do not perceive God’s nearness. But if we have learned to repent, or if we have received the Spirit of truth, through repentance our spirit unites itself with the Spirit of God in intimate union again – our union with God is restored. External suffering often intensifies the perception of God’s presence, so that we feel God’s closeness very strongly. There is no salvation without repentance. And repentance consists in admitting our sin, as David cries out: “Have mercy upon me, O God” (v.1), “I acknowledge my transgressions” (v.3), “against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight” (v.4). Our heart is then filled with peace and joy: “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.” (v.12) “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise.”
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The Byzantine Catholic Patriarchate (BCP) is a community of monks, priests and bishops living in monasteries. The BCP is headed by Patriarch Elijah with two Secretary Bishops, +Timothy and +Methodius. The BCP arose from the need to defend the fundamental Christian truths against heresies and apostasy. It does not recognize pseudo Pope Bergoglio and is not subordinate to him.
