Wash Away My Sins

 “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” (Psalm 51:2)

Have I told you that spring is my favorite season of the year? Trick question. It’s true, I love the beauty of the flowers, and I am enthralled as I watch nature awaken from its winter slumber.

But there’s one thing about spring of which I am not a big fan. It kinda grosses me out. It’s the pollen. Between the pine trees, the flowering shrubs, and all the other plants erupting in full bloom, pollen is everywhere. It coats every outdoor surface. When you rub up against something, you come away with a yellow smudge on your clothes. 

I didn't want to shame anybody
by taking a picture of their car,
so I used this meme instead.
Totally accurate depiction.

Cars are especially vulnerable to the pollen. Well, and our noses, too.

Even when I open the door to the car, the pollen has found its way inside, on top of the wheel well. 

It’s everywhere, I tell you. Everywhere.

Thank God for the March rains and April showers, though. Not only do they bring the May flowers, but they also wash the pollen off of everything. After a good shower you will find streams of yellow-streaked runoff carrying the pollen away, and psychedelic pools of water with swirls of pollen floating in them. And just like that, the pollen is gone. Until it comes again. But for a moment, at least, everything is clean.

"For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me."

(Psalm 51:3) 

Whenever I see the spring pollen, I can’t help but think about the pervasive nature of our sin. It’s probably because I’m a Presbyterian, and we are sort of fixated on sin. Sin is everywhere, both personally and collectively. I know a lot of people don’t like to talk about sin, because it sounds preachy. But believe me, sin is real. And it finds its way into every aspect of our lives. Presbyterians, who love to throw around big words, call the thoroughgoing nature of sin “total depravity.” Because simply saying that we are sinners isn't enough.

Sin is everywhere. And here’s the deal: You and I can’t get rid of it, at least not by ourselves. We need help. We need a bath. Or maybe a power wash.

One of my favorite people of the Bible is David. A lot of people like David because he threw a rock at a giant and killed him. I like David because he bares his heart before God. And because he wrote a ton of psalms, he also bares his heart before us. “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me… Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:3,5) 

David was a very self-aware person. He knew that on his own he could not escape his sinfulness. The solution to his sin had to come from outside of himself. And so he turned to God:

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” (Psalm 51:1, 2)

“Purge me with hyssop (whatever that is – probably some kind of supersoap), and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7)

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a right and new spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)

In an act of profound faith, David sought what he needed – forgiveness, cleansing from his sin – from God. Because David knew that God is gracious and compassionate, and that God is about the business of forgiving us and renewing us. 

A few hundred years later, one of Jesus’ disciples would offer this assurance: “If we confess our sin, God is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) There’s that word again – cleanse. God washes our sins away, even better than the spring rains wash away the pollen.

I don’t know about you, but I always feel much better after taking a shower.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, O God, and cleanse me from my sin.