Psalm 51:7 “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” (NIV)

I was reading this and I got hung up on “hyssop” and began to do some studying on it. What a wondrous plant! First of all, its an herb with a pleasing aroma and a pleasant taste. In fact I couldn't imagine eating pasta without one of it's family members (oregano) around to spice up the sauce! Not only does it taste pleasing, but it is also an antiseptic. Not only that, but the plant itself is a cough suppressant and expectorant! This plant was what was required for ritual cleansing and when it was used as a scrubbing aid, the bruising of the leaves would clean and heal small cuts and abrasions in the skin of whomever used it. What a wondrous plant!

However, I found that I had gotten so caught up in the plant that I missed the importance of the rest of the verse, nay the rest of the chapter! David was crying out to be cleansed totally and completely. He cried out that He could not clean himself up well enough, that God would have to do it for David to be truly clean – ritually, spiritually, mentally, and even physically. In fact David wanted God to clean him so thoroughly that the very next verse (vs 8) says “Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.” Thats right, David wanted God to eradicate every vestige of sin, unrighteousness, and uncleanliness from his life that his very bones would be crushed by the force of the scrubbing. What a prayer! What a desire! I had become so caught up in my study of the herb that I missed the main point about why he wanted to be cleansed, and why he wanted God to cleanse him. It was because he knew that he was not strong enough, powerful enough, righteous enough, or even that he believed enough. He knew that it was only God that was strong enough, only God who had the ability, only God who was truly pure and righteous, and only God who understood that David had no other motives or desires apart from being pleasing to God.

This week, why don't we make an effort of capturing this same desire of David's. Let us seek to be pleasing to God, bring Him all the glory in our every day lives and actions. Let us seek after God, to be persistent in begging Him to totally cleanse us and remove all our sins, all our baggage, all our transgressions, all our bloodguilt, our lies, our idols, and even our personal conceits! He is fully capable and willing to do so! By His name, at the Name of Jesus we are more than conquerers, victors who are made and re-made into His image!

One thing I of the Lord desire, for all my path hath miry been,
Be it by water or by fire, oh make me clean, oh make me clean.
Wash me, Thou, without, within, or purge with fire, if that must be,
Anyhow, if only sin die out in me, die out, die out in me.