Purge me

(Psalms 51:7)  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

The entire concept of sacrifice in the Old Testament was to bring an offering of livestock, a male without a blemish, symbolic of the requirements God needs from mankind to be able to approach him because of who His is, perfect and Holy! Salvation has the perfect sacrifice all encompassed in the Lord Jesus’ perfect atonement for mankind’s sin. He lived a life without sin and therefore was able to approach the throne of God in person to pay the price for sin. It is a phenomenal achievement! Many other individuals throughout time lived for God, men sold out for Him, but they all lacked a certain ingredient, which was to live sinless lives. The prophet Ezekiel makes reference to three individuals that seemed to come very close; “even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.” (Ezekiel 14:20) – It is obvious that God saw their commitments but it may only have helped them and not the rest of their families. But the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice has covered a multitude of sin; God is satisfied to call us brothers because of what the Lord Jesus did on our behalf. Those who are truly saved, that is! Not the rest! It is God’s work that is needed to save an individual and to open their eyes to this reality.   

 

Flesh and blood, human wisdom and effort will never get us to a point of salvation, it is impossible. We must be sanctified by the blood of the Lord Jesus and Him alone. In other words we have to acknowledge His role in our rescue, if not we will drown in our own sins. If we call upon the name of the Lord we will be saved, why? Because God sees Him, the One who paid the price for an individuals sin and not our sin; we have His covering and this is why we are now acceptable within the beloved. Stop trying to find your own justifications from God to accept you on your own merits if that is what you are doing. It is an impossible task!

David in this Psalm asks God to purge him with Hyssop; he asks God to do the work. The Apostle Peter was the first of the twelve to see the light when the Lord Jesus asked them who they thought He was; How did it happen? Observe –“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”” (Matthew 16:13-17) – Just as God opened Peter’s eyes to which the Lord Jesus is and what He came to accomplish and David understood that God needed to be merciful to him in order to be sanctified, we too need the same act of kindness bestowed on us if we are to see the light. It is God’s work and not ours!

We must seek out His mercy in order for this to become our actuality; prayer is the key to it all. Call upon the name of the Lord and you shall be saved, is the instruction. Our responsibility is to ask God to purge our sin and he shall; “for whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If this call from God went out before the worlds were created and election took place prior to the intervention of mankind which the scripture is clear on; “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world…” (Ephesians 1:4) – It is obvious that God in His brilliance penned His script and then rested and watched His will unfold through the chapters of history, with each character playing their part as He intended. Unaware of their roles and yet finding God’s will for their lives through their lifetimes. Most cannot accept these truths as they are too big for our puny little brains in comparison to the genius of God’s brilliance, but election happened prior to the foundation of the world, the text is clear.

Where does that leave us in relation to sharing the gospel to a dying world? Charles Spurgeon had this to say; “If God would have painted a yellow stripe on the backs of the elect I would have gone around lifting shirts. But since he didn’t I must preach “whosoever will” and when “whosoever” believes he is one of the elect”. Rather simple to understand when we put on the mind of Christ.

The bringing of a person to salvation is all of God, it has nothing to do with our wills, and it’s all about God’s will! If it was any other way we could boast in our choice in choosing God but He chose us, praise His name now and forever more, Amen and Amen! Never let these realities leave our minds; praise the Lord Jesus Christ for His obedience to the call that God placed on Him. Without His accomplishments we would all be on our way to hell because of our sinful natures. But now the elect have been covered by His grace and we all look forward to a sinless eternity with our God and Father. Wow, thank you Father God for saving me!

Signing off

Tyrone