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1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love;
    according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin!

3 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,
    and done that which is evil in thy sight,
so that thou art justified in thy sentence
    and blameless in thy judgment.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.

6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward being;
    therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Fill me with joy and gladness;
    let the bones which thou hast broken rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and put a new and right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence,
    and take not thy holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of thy salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors thy ways,
    and sinners will return to thee.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
    thou God of my salvation,
    and my tongue will sing aloud of thy deliverance.

15 O Lord, open thou my lips,
    and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
16 For thou hast no delight in sacrifice;
    were I to give a burnt offering, thou wouldst not be pleased.
17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

18 Do good to Zion in thy good pleasure;
    rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
19 then wilt thou delight in right sacrifices,
    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
    then bulls will be offered on thy altar. (Psalms 51)

Covid 19 was declared a pandemic because of the alarming levels of spread and severity.  Only a couple of days ago, a sudden surge of more than 80 new cases in British Columbia sent a shockwave to the citizens. The Health Department banned more than 50 people from the meeting, eliminating football games, hockey matches and performances of the arts, suspending schools, sending many to work at home.  Social distancing is promoted to help flatten the curve.  People are asked to stay home isolate themselves.  The churches suspend face to face gatherings a worship.  There is panic buying of masks, hand sanitizers and even daily necessities such as food and toilet paper.  It is like wartime again.

During this time of fear and uncertainty, grumbling starts.  Many blame China for creating this situation, causing global panic.  Some individuals point their fingers at any Asians they see, making racist remarks.   Some accuse the Government of acting late before closing the borders, thus allowing people with the virus to enter.  They also accuse the government of not taking sufficient measures to prevent outbreaks in the community. Individuals have been accused of not wearing masks when they appear in public. When the mood is tense and anxious, people become harsh and uncaring, unwittingly let themselves become a "blamer" (i.e., an accuser).  They can only see the speck of sawdust in other's eye but pay no attention to the plank in their own eye. (Matt. 7:3-4)

In Psalm 51, the psalmist does exactly the opposite. When the psalmist was being attacked by the enemy, he called to God (v.14). However, the focus of the whole psalm is not on how the psalmist asked God to save him from danger, nor is it on his asking God to punish the enemy. Rather, the whole psalm fully expresses the psalmist’s regret for his sins.  He asked God to treat him with kindness and mercy, and to cleanse him with hyssop. He understood that the trouble he was facing was God's discipline, so he confessed to God and repented (v.3-4).

Today, when we complain and start pointing fingers at the source of the epidemic, or when we complain about other people’s wrongdoing, have we learned from the psalmist to reflect on how we may have offended God, causing God to allow this outbreak to admonish us, just as God used the Assyrian army to punish the defiant Israeli people? With the COVID-19 outbreak, God makes the world to stop and reflect on our mistakes:

  • God told us to rule over His creation (Genesis 1:27-28). How are we doing it? What's the result?
  • What do we strive for in our lives today? Do we rely on our own ability more or do we seek God's guidance more?
  • In the face of life's adversity (such as the COVID-19 outbreak), do we blame God and cast a vote of no confidence in God?

The psalmist asked God to give him a pure heart, a renewed steadfast spirit so that he could be restored to the joy of His salvation, because he understood that God was the most important thing in his life. As Good Friday approaches, like the psalmist, let us reflect on our sins, and remember the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross for us, and that Christ is what is most important in our lives.

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. (Psalm 51:17)

With a contrite heart, let us make our offer of atonement to God, and ask the Lord to forgive our sins so that we can face him with a pure heart.