Purge
me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (Psalms
51:7)
Job asks some intriguing questions among which are these: “Hast thou entered
into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle
and war? By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon
the earth?” (Job 38:22-24) God loves to relate His
mysteries to us through the medium of His natural Creation. The phenomenon that
I wish to emphasize in this devotion is the Treasures of the Snow, that is, the
nature of snow, its formation, and how God relates it to our salvation in
Christ; but first, let us examine the nature of hyssop.
God has told us in the 7th verse of the 51st Psalm the process by
which we are made to appear clean and righteous before God. It is a double
featured process. He cleanses our inward soul first, and then our outward
being. Though hyssop is sometimes used to denote an outward application of
cleansing (as in Leviticus 14:1-7 & Numbers
19:1-19), the
Psalmist has another cleansing in mind for this particular verse of Psalm 51.
David is concerned with the cleansing of the unseen filth which lies hidden in
the heart of man – even in his own heart. Just as the in the purification
of the leper and offering of the red heifer as mentioned in Leviticus and
Numbers, the hyssop was dipped in blood and water to apply. The
application of the blood and water is figurative to the washing away of sin
from the heart. “….the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin.” (1 John 1:7) The Blood and Water of old
represent the cleansing Blood of Christ in His sacrifice for us and the
efficacy of His Word. The Water represents the WORD. “….he might sanctify
and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.” (Eph
5:26) You
will note that this cleansing is of an inward nature, and not of the outward
form. That is the purpose of the plant herb, hyssop. It is a purgative that
cleanses the intestinal tract of unhealthful waste products (which sin is.)
So, God cleanses our inward being before we appear clean without in our outward
appearance. If we are cleansed inwardly, our outward appearance and
conduct will reflect that sanctified inward nature…. “Purge me with hyssop,
and I shall be clean!”
Now we come to the outward cleansing that results in our being whiter than
snow. Perhaps you may wonder, “How can anything be whiter than snow since snow
is one of the whitest compounds known to man?” The answer to that question lies
in the manner in which snow is formed. First of all, it is formed high in the
heavens – in the upper atmosphere. Our salvation also begins in the highest of
heavens. Water vapors begin to condense around some particle of dust, smoke, or
sand. A solid substance is necessary for that condensation to take place just
as dew forms on blades of grass or leaves. As the water droplets formed from
that condensation rise to high altitudes in the atmosphere, they are cooled to
the point of forming ice crystals. The secret of every snowflake is that, at
the center of each, is a tiny particle of impurity around which that snowflake
formed. Regardless of our outward appearance of righteousness, there remains in
the heart of man some impurity at his core. But when we are purged first by the
blood of Christ, that inward impurity is neutralized by His imputed
righteousness and imputed purity. We are clean both inside and outside.
The spiritual properties of snow are scattered throughout God’s Word. The
connotation is always of cleanliness and holiness. There are four major areas
in which SNOW represents the divine and spiritual:
I.
GOD’S POWER:
“God thundereth marvellously with
his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend. For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the
earth.” (Job 37:5-6)
II.
THE WORD OF GOD:
“For as the rain cometh down, and the snow
from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it
bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the
eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not
return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isaiah
55:10-11)
III.
HOLINESS AND PURITY:
“His
countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow.” (Matt
28:3) “His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and
his eyes were as a flame of fire.” (Rev 1:14)
IV.
THE SOUL CLEANSED:
“….me,
and I shall be whiter than snow.” (Psalms
51:7b) &
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be
as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)
We are incapable of both purging
and washing ourselves. We cannot command the snows, and we cannot cause hyssop
to grow without the natural resources that God has provided. So we are also
totally dependent upon the Blood (inward purge) of Jesus and the outward
sanctification (washing of water – or snow) to make us clean before God. Our
outward actions will be determined by our inward values that derive from the
Holy Ghost indwelling the deep chambers of our hearts.
Being dead in trespasses and sin, it is just as impossible for us to revive
from that sleep of spiritual death as it is impossible for a dead man to return
to life in the body. (Eph 2) Our souls need to be separated from the mud and
grime of the world, wafted on high by the winds of God, and cleansed by the
crystallized formation of the snows of heaven. The blood of Christ cleanseth
from all sins!
Is there snow in your forecast?
