A new light went on in my heart the last time I read Psalm 51. David’s cry for mercy was not new. His three words for sin drove an old point home again. His relentless conscience came through again loud and clear. The “I was sinful at birth” phrase still elicits old questions. “Create in me a pure heart” remains a familiar signature passage for David. Finally, his plea for the return of joy tugs at my heart every time.

The new notion for me was when David declared God’s deepest desire. On his knees. He knew his real sin was not just adultery and rubbing out a loyal husband. It was his refusal to give God what he wanted most: truth! This led to all the other sins.

Three millenniums later, Oliver Wendell Holmes nailed it: “Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle that fits them all.”

Repentance is the ultimate moment of truth. It is where faith begins. The pain of David’s guilt enabled him to see the bottom line with God: “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts.”

Desire godliness. Cleanliness is next to godliness, but truthfulness is its full embrace!

A wit’s a feather, and a chief a nod.
An honest man in the noblest work of God.
- Alexander Pope