LISTEN
NASB:
Be gracious to me, O God, according to your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of your compassion blot out my transgressions.
NIV:
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Observations:
Following David’s sin of adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband, Uriah, he penned this Psalm as a petition to God for his iniquity.
He asks for God’s grace and mercy on the basis of God being loving and kind. Keep in mind, this is before the coming of Jesus and the establishment of the covenant of grace. They lived by the law in the Old Testament, and there was little mercy for failing to do so.
He acknowledges that God’s compassion is great, and with that asks for the blotting out of his transgressions.
Takeaways:
No matter what we have done, we can approach God and ask for forgiveness.
God is gracious and merciful to us. He love never fails, and he is kind. His compassion toward us is great, and he will be faithful to completely blot out our sin.
David did not know Jesus, but we know that he came and took our sin upon himself at the cross so that we could be eternally forgiven.
