Create in Me a Clean Heart

Four words. That is all it takes. A prophet looks a king in the eye and says, “Thou art the man.” And the most powerful man in Israel has nowhere left to hide.

We are in Jerusalem, in the palace of King David, about three thousand years ago. David is the shepherd boy who faced Goliath, the man who wrote songs to God. But David has done something terrible. He took Bathsheba, the wife of another man, Uriah, a loyal soldier in his army. Then, to cover it up, David arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle. Months have passed. David has married Bathsheba. Life in the palace carries on as if nothing happened. But the Bible says simply: the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

So God sends Nathan, a prophet, to the king. Nathan does not start with an accusation. He tells a story. There were two men in a city, he says. One was rich, with flocks and herds beyond counting. The other was poor. All he had was one little ewe lamb. He had bought it and raised it with his children. It ate from his plate, drank from his cup, and slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. One day a traveller came to visit the rich man. And rather than take one of his own animals for the meal, the rich man took the poor man's lamb, and served that instead.

David is on his feet, furious. As the Lord lives, he says, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay back four times over, because he had no pity. And Nathan says, quietly, “Thou art the man.” Then Nathan gives God's message. I made you king. I rescued you from Saul. I gave you everything, and would have given you more. Why have you despised my word? Trouble will come to your own house because of this. The room is silent. David does not call the guards. He does not make excuses. He says, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan answers: the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die. There will still be painful consequences. But David is forgiven.

Later, David does what he has always done with his deepest feelings. He writes a song. The heading of Psalm 51 says it was written when Nathan the prophet came to him. It begins: “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness.” David does not blame anyone else. I know my wrongs, he says. My sin is always in front of me. Against you, God, I have sinned. Then he asks to be washed. “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” And then the line people have prayed for three thousand years: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Don't throw me away, he begs. Give me back the joy of your salvation. Then I will teach others your ways, and they will turn back to you. David knows that animal sacrifices cannot fix this. What God wants, he says, is a broken and humble heart. And that kind of heart God will never turn away.

Why does David mention hyssop? Hyssop was a small, bushy plant. In the law of Moses, a bunch of hyssop was dipped in water or blood and sprinkled on people who were being made clean, for example after touching a dead body or recovering from a skin disease. So when David says, purge me with hyssop, he is using the picture of a ceremony he knew well. But he is asking God to do it himself, on the inside.

Nathan's story is in Second Samuel chapter twelve, and David's prayer is Psalm fifty-one. A king who did great wrong, told the truth about it, and asked God for a brand-new heart. So here is a question to carry with you. When you have done wrong, what helps you stop hiding and say sorry to God and to the people you hurt?