Have Mercy On Us, O God

Psalm 51 is a prayer of King David that has been used by people of faith for generations to confess our wrongdoings and to seek restoration and transformation. It’s a prayer which came out of David’s own abuse of power, recorded in 2 Samuel 11-12. The fact that it’s in the Bible is a testament to David’s victims. It ensures that their stories won’t be forgotten. 

One day, as David’s army was out at battle, David saw a woman bathing on her rooftop. He had her brought to his house after he discovered that she was the wife of Uriah, one of David’s soldiers. Her name was Bathsheba and David slept with her. This wasn’t an affair, but an abuse of power. David neglected his responsibility and used his position to cause harm.

When David heard that Bathsheba was pregnant, he tried to find a way to cover up his sin. So he schemed to have Uriah brought in from battle so he could go home and sleep with his wife. Uriah would be none the wiser and the truth would remain hidden. That plan failed because Uriah refused to go home while his comrades were fighting. So David moved to Plan B. He told his commander to send Uriah to the front of the battle and to pull everyone else back. And sure enough, the plan worked. Uriah was killed and David took Bathsheba into his own house to be his wife.

The cover-up was almost complete when a prophet named Nathan showed up to confront David. He told the king a parable about a wealthy person with a lot of cattle who stole a lamb from a poor man who only had one. David got so angry and demanded that the rich man be punished. Nathan then revealed that David was that man. 

David’s sin wasn’t covered up. He couldn’t take it back. He couldn’t justify it or explain it away. He was caught and realized just how serious his sin was. Psalm 51 is David’s response to Nathan’s confrontation and his realization that his act of violence against Uriah and Bathsheba was also an act against God.

In Psalm 51, David appeals to the only thing that is left - God’s unfailing love and compassion. He has no other defence. He has no one else on his side. Were it not for God’s mercy, that would be the end for David. But he recognizes that the sin he committed tainted him and that he needs to be cleansed - something only God can do. 

David confesses his sin before God. Although he may have thought he could get away with it because he was the king, he no longer tries to shove it under the rug. There’s no Plan C because he has been exposed. Instead, he admits his guilt and knows he needs to face it.

But David doesn’t stop with confession and asking for forgiveness. He realizes that what he really needs is a complete transformation. He needs a pure heart and a renewed spirit. He needs to be changed from the inside out - again, something only God can do. David realizes that all he can do is to throw himself at God’s feet and pray that God would act to bring restoration and healing.

Psalm 51 has become a powerful tool for many of us who have been confronted with our own sin. But it’s more than just a personal prayer. It’s also a prayer that has been prayed corporately to recognize our collective and systemic sin that we’re complicit in. In this sense, Psalm 51 is the prayer we need to be praying today, after hearing news that the remains of 215 children were found at an Indian Residential School in Kamloops, B.C.

Canada has once again been confronted with the sins we’ve committed against the first peoples of this land. We have committed systematic cultural genocide. Indian Residential Schools were instituted to forcibly remove children from their homes in order to assimilate them to settler life. Many children never returned home. The last school only closed in 1996.

There are no words that will justify these actions. 215 children, some as young as three, were so insignificant that their deaths were never recorded and their graves were never marked. 215 children who were forgotten by those who abused their power and forsook their responsibility. We need to face this evil. We need to ask for mercy. Our country needs God to change us from the inside out.

This prayer, edited from Psalm 51, is my prayer today. 

Have mercy on us, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out our transgressions.

Wash away all our iniquity
    and cleanse us from our sin.
For we know our transgressions,
    and our sin is always before us. 

Create in us a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within us.
Do not cast us from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from us.

You do not delight in sacrifice, or we would bring it;
    you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
Our sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart.

Our hearts are broken,
    for the 215;
for all those who never returned home;
    for those we thought we could forget.
Have mercy on us, O God.