God Be Merciful to Me (Psalm 51)

this is technically branching out ~ a tried and true, staple RUF song. notably, it is based heavily on psalm 51 and was written by martin luther. (two in a row! can you believe it?) oh, and it's long.

God Be Merciful to Me (Psalm 51)
God, be merciful to me; on Thy grace i rest my plea.
plenteous in compassion Thou, blot out my transgressions now.
wash me, make me pure within; cleanse, o, cleanse me from my sin.

my transgressions i confess; grief and guilt my soul oppress.
i have sinned against Thy grace and provoked Thee to Thy face.
i confess Thy judgment just; speechless, i Thy mercy trust.

i am evil, born in sin; Thou desirest truth within.
Thou alone my Savior art - teach Thy wisdom to my heart.
make me pure, Thy grace bestow. wash me whiter than the snow.

broken, humbled to the dust by Thy wrath and judgment just,
let my contrite heart rejoice and in gladness hear Thy voice.
from my sins, o hide Thy face - blot them out in boundless grace.

gracious God, my heart renew; make my spirit right and true.
cast me not away from Thee; let Thy spirit dwell in me.
Thy salvation's joy impart; steadfast make my willing heart.

sinners, then, shall learn from me, and return, o God, to Thee.
Savior, all my guilt remove and my tongue shall sing Thy love.
touch my silent lips, o Lord, and my mouth shall praise accord.
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1) the most beautiful thing about this song is the progression of confession - and the fact that bringing it all to the throne of grace, where safety and healing can be found, is the resounding theme. david (and luther... and we...) is (/are) are approaching God in supplication, begging for His mercy. acknowledgement of the guilt and internal suffering felt because of sin, as well as the general state of affairs within us (that doctrine of original sin thing). the climax of the song is about the restoration of relationship with God. and then, the conclusion is us talking up the mercy of God (which is, of course, never going to do it justice). forgiven people don't forget. and they don't shut up.
2) the wrong done has been done against God Himself, and only God can forgive and restore what wrong we have done. the point is this: we cannot make amends. there is no way we can placate the wrath of a righteous God, undo the damage we have done to others, or clean ourselves up. each of those tasks must be done by God, Who is the very one we have offended. the miracle is that He is not only willing, but pleased to do this. He delights in doing this for us.