To the chief musician, a psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone with Bathsheba
51
📚Have mercy on me, O God,according to your loving kindness.
According to the multitude of your
tender mercies blot
out my transgressions.
51:1 The only hope David had for the forgiveness of his terrible sins was the mercy and grace of God. No good work of his could earn forgiveness, no sacrifice he could make could blot out his sin – vs 16,17. Mercy was his one hope and mercy he craved (compare Ps 41:4; Dan 9:18; Luke 18:13).⚜
2 📚Wash me thoroughly
from my wickedness,
and cleanse me from my sin.
51:2 David uses three words to describe his wrongdoing – transgression, wickedness (or guilt), and sin. See Ps 32:1-2. Transgressions are against the law of God and need to be forgiven and blotted out. Wickedness and sin are like stains and spots and filth which need to be washed away. God does all this for the repentant believing person who turns to Him – Isa 44:22; 43:25; Jer 33:8; Acts 3:19; 1 John 1:7, 9.⚜
3 📚For I acknowledge
my transgressions,
and my sin is always
before me.
51:3 We see David’s confession was not an empty, easy, insincere thing that he made simply because his sin had been found out. His sin troubled him constantly, was an agony to him. It was a sword in his heart, a mountain of guilt that always faced him, hiding God’s face. Such conviction is produced only by the Holy Spirit of God. And this psalm of confession is given also by the Holy Spirit to those who have been convicted by Him. Let us use it.⚜
4 📚Against you, you only,
have I sinned and done this evil
in your sight,
so that you are just when
you speak and pure 📖
when you judge.
51:4 According to the Bible all sin is primarily against God, because individuals involved in other people’s sin are God’s creation, God’s possession. Injuring the King’s property is an offense against the King Himself, and breaks the King’s laws (Ps 41:4; Gen 9:6; 13:13; 20:6; 39:9; Num 5:6; 32:23; 2 Sam 12:9, 13; 1 Cor 8:12). One principle of the judgment of men is seen in Matt 25:40, 45. What men do to Christ’s people is done to Him, and what they do not do to them is not done to Him (compare Acts 9:4-5). David was so conscious of sinning against God it swallowed up every other consideration at the moment.⚜
5 📚Behold, I was brought forth
in evil,
and in sin did my mother
conceive me.
51:5 David has been speaking of his sins. Here he goes to the root of it all. He confesses that his nature is bad from the time of his conception. This is true of every human being born into the world, except the Lord Jesus (Who was conceived by God’s Spirit and born of a virgin and so was not as other men are – Matt 1:18-23; Luke 1:30-35). Since the fall of Adam and Eve all parents have sinful natures and transmit them to their offspring (Ps 58:3; Gen 5:3; 8:21; Lev 12:6; Job 14:4; Eph 2:3). David is not saying that his mother conceived him while engaged in an act of sin. We have no reason to think that she was not a very moral woman, completely faithful to her husband – but still a sinner, as we all are.⚜
6 📚Behold, you desire truth
in the inner parts,
and in the hidden heart
you will cause me to know
wisdom.
51:6 Since man’s inner nature is corrupt there is the necessity of inner change. God desires sincerity, honesty, integrity in the heart. This is opposed to the hypocrisy, deceitfulness, and dishonesty men have by nature. Nothing that a person can say or do can satisfy God if there is not this inner love of the truth, this change that puts truth at the core of his or her being (Ps 15:2; Prov 12:22; Eph 4:15, 21-25; 6:14; 2 Thess 2:10; 1 John 3:19). And no wisdom is good wisdom except what God gives, and He gives it also in the inner man (1 Kings 3:12; Job 38:36; Prov 2:6; Eph 1:17-18; Jam 1:5).⚜
7 📚Purge me with hyssop,
and I will be clean.
Wash me, and I will be whiter
than snow.
51:7 Hyssop was a shrub used in sprinkling the blood of animal sacrifices – Ex 12:22; Lev 14:4; Heb 9:19. That blood was but a symbol of the blood of Jesus Christ which now purges sin (1 John 1:7). Only God’s great grace and skill can make something white which was scarlet (Isa 1:18).⚜
8 📚Cause me to hear joy
and gladness,
that the bones which
you have broken may rejoice.
9 📚Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my evil deeds.
51:9 Blot out means erase from the record. This is exactly what God does, and He refuses to put them back in the record again (Ps 32:2). But observe that David does not ask that God cancel all the punishment due to his sin (compare 2 Sam 12:9-10). He is willing to face God’s chastening hand if only he can be cleansed and restored to God’s fellowship.⚜
10 📚Create in me a clean 📖 heart,
O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit
within me.
51:10 See how David’s concern is with his inner state and not with outer appearances. And he knows that only God can make him right and pure within.⚜
11 📚Do not cast me away
from your presence,
and do not take your Holy Spirit
from me.
51:11 David was convinced of his depravity, weakness, and sin. However, he believed that God had not yet cast him away or taken His Spirit from him. But he seems to fear that God might do so. David may have been referring to his anointing as king (1 Sam 16:13-14) and the fear that he might be rejected as Saul was. In any case, in Old Testament days believers did not have the full revelation of God’s truth and His purposes toward them. And they did not have the full bestowal of the Spirit as the Church now has (John 7:39; 14:16-17; 16:7). And they did not have the promises of John 6:37, 40; 10:28; 14:1-3; Rom 5:9-10; 8:38-39, as believers now do. But even we who live in this age of grace should fear that sin might rob us of the Spirit’s sweet and powerful influences, that we may lose fellowship with God. See Eph 4:30.⚜
12 📚Restore to me the joy
of your salvation,
and uphold me with your
gracious Spirit.
51:12 The Holy Spirit had not gone from him but joy had fled. Spiritual joy and sin cannot exist together. Joy follows pardon and purity, and only God can give it. David wanted it back, and longed for a mind that willingly, gladly, spontaneously serves God.⚜
13 📚Then I will teach
transgressors your ways,
and sinners will be converted
to you.
51:13 Who can better teach other transgressors than the person who has fallen himself and been restored to spiritual health? Thus his fall and restoration will work for good, for God will use the account of it in the lives of others.⚜
14 📚Deliver me from blood guiltiness,
O God, the God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud
of your righteousness.
51:14 He means his guilt in the death of Uriah (2 Sam 11:14-17). If God delivers him from this guilt he will not sing of his own righteousness (as some like to do), but of God’s.⚜
15 📚O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth
will declare your praise.
51:15 Even opening the lips in God’s praise is a gift of God.⚜
16 📚For you do not desire sacrifice,
or I would give it.
You do not delight in burnt
offering.
17 📚The sacrifices of God are
a broken spirit.
A broken and a contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
18 📚Do good in your good pleasure
to Zion.
Build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 📚Then you will be pleased
with the sacrifices of righteousness,
with burnt offering and whole burnt
offering.
Then they will offer bulls
on your altar.
51:18-19 David had truly repented and forsaken his sin. His heart is now free to pray for others. Had trouble and disgrace come on Israel by the sin of David their king? Our sins affect others and when we are pardoned and restored we should pray for their welfare. In this psalm we may make a list of those things only God can do for the person fallen into sin. These are: show mercy and blot out sin (v 1), wash and cleanse (v 2), create a clean heart and give a steadfast mind (v 10), restore joy and a spirit of spontaneous obedience (v 12), open lips to praise (v 15).⚜