Ash Wednesday Meditation
Ash Wednesday Meditation
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. - Psalm 51:1-5
In the Old Testament it was common practice for individuals to show sorrow over sin by wearing sackcloth and sitting in ashes. It was an attempt to show on the outside the misery that was going on inside. As Christians celebrate Ash Wednesday today, we continue to be sorrowful over the sins we have committed.
The writer of Psalm 51, King David, had reason to be sorrowful over his sin. 2 Samuel 11,12 paint an ugly picture of David the sinner. He slept with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, and she became pregnant. After attempts to cover up the affair failed, he arranged to have Uriah killed. David’s sin was horrible and damnable.
David asked for forgiveness that he knew he did not deserve. So rather than trying to candy-coat his actions, he was honest. He admits sin, iniquity, transgression and evil which had affected and infected him from the time he was born. David did not deserve to be forgiven, so he simply threw himself on God’s mercy begging for forgiveness. It was a forgiveness that God freely gave him.
Today is a day for all to be honest with God about sin. We also need to admit sin, iniquity, transgression and evil that have come from our sinful hearts. But this is also the start of Lent. Lent is a Christian season when we consider the payment Jesus made for our sin. As we follow Jesus to the cross on Calvary, we see God’s undeserved love and mercy which he offers to all people.
Join King David today in confessing your sin. Be assured that through Jesus Christ you have been forgiven!
Prayer:
Almighty and merciful Father, you freely forgive those who, as David of old, acknowledge and confess their sins. Create in me a pure heart, and wash away all my sins in the blood of your dear Son, Jesus Christ my Savior and Lord. Amen.
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