Create In Me . . .


Psalm 51:7-12
7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
11Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
The Bible mentions hyssop several times, mostly in the Old Testament. In Leviticus, God commanded His people to use hyssop in the ceremonial cleansing of people and houses. Hyssop is also used symbolically in the Bible. When the Israelites marked their doorposts with lamb’s blood in order for the angel of death to pass over them, God instructed them to use a bunch of hyssop as a “paintbrush” (Exodus 12:22). This was probably because hyssop was sturdy and could withstand the brushing, but it also likely signified that God was marking His people as “pure” and not targets of the judgment God was about to deal out to the Egyptians.

Hyssop also appears at Jesus’ crucifixion, when the Roman soldiers offered Jesus a drink of wine vinegar on a sponge at the end of a stalk of hyssop (John 19:28–30). This was, in fact, Jesus’ last act before He declared His work on earth finished and gave up His spirit. While the hyssop stalk may have been used for purely practical purposes (i.e., it was long enough to reach to Jesus’ mouth as He hung on the cross), it is interesting that that particular plant was chosen. It is possible that God meant this as a picture of purification, as Jesus bought our forgiveness with His sacrifice. Just as in the Old Testament blood and hyssop purified a defiled person, so Jesus’ shed blood purifies us from the defilement of our sin.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God.” These words need to ring through our ears and our hearts on a regular basis. Jesus purchased our holiness on the cross at the price of His own blood and the Holy Spirit brings that truth to our lives.

With the words “Create in me,” David is praying for a miraculous act that can be performed by God alone. His prayer can be answered only through the work of the Holy Spirit, who alone can work in him repentance, faith, and willing service. The Holy Spirit not only creates in us faith through which we receive forgiveness but also a willingness to serve God, so that we begin to keep God’s law. Because this renewal is never perfect in this life, David prays that the Spirit will keep him steadfast and sustain him so that he will not fall again.
Brug, J. F. ©1989. Psalms 1–72 (2nd ed., p. 214). Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Pub. House.

The Apostle John talks about our cleansing also in the words of His wonderful confession.

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.

Just God provided safety from the Angel of Death during the Passover in Egypt, so He provides our cleansing in Jesus. As New Testament believers we recite this Psalm with the full knowledge of how God made that cleansing possible. The person who recites this psalm daily will be well served by this prayer for it embodies God’s complete story.

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