Cleansing

Psalm 51:7 (ESV)

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

This is David’s prayer of repentance after he committed adultery and murder. He prayed not just for forgiveness but for cleansing from the very stains of his sins. Why hyssop?

Hyssop was an ordinary plant. On the night of the Passover, God commanded Israel to use a bunch of hyssops to apply the blood of a lamb on the doorpost of their homes. When the Lord would see the blood, He would pass over that home and not judge it.

Hyssop was also used to sprinkle blood on a leper who had been healed. After that, the man could be restored back to society.

David was asking to be cleansed by the blood. The blood brought God’s mercy. It cleansed and restored unclean people. Today we have, not the blood of animals, but even better – the blood of Jesus.

1 John 1:7 – “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin”.

In this verse, there are three verbs: walk, fellowship and cleanse. All three are in the continuous present tense. That means if we continue walking in the light, then we continue having fellowship and the blood of Jesus continues to cleanse us. It is very important to see that this is conditional.

Many people claim the cleansing and protection of the blood but do not meet the conditions to receive them. The condition is to walk in the light as God is in the light. The blood of Jesus only cleanses when you are in the light!

Let’s come to the light. Let’s return to true fellowship. Let the blood cleanse us continually!

Dear Lord, we ask You to make us a clean vessel of honor, ready for your use and prepared for every good work. Please purify our thoughts, attitudes, and words. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.