Psalms 51:7 (DBY)

Passage

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Nearby Context

Psalms 51:5 Behold, in iniquity was I brought forth, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Psalms 51:6 Behold, thou wilt have truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden [part] thou wilt make me to know wisdom.

Psalms 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Psalms 51:8 Make me to hear gladness and joy; [that] the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

Psalms 51:9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "purge", "hyssop", "shall", "clean", "wash", "whiter", and "than". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "purge" and "hyssop", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "Behold thou wilt have truth in the..." into verse 8's "Make me to hear gladness and joy...", so "purge" and "hyssop" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "purge" and "hyssop" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.