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Psalm 51
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
KJV Commentary
Verses 1-2
Have mercy upon me, O God. David begins his penitence with a plea for mercy. He addresses God (Heb <eloµhiµm)></eloµhiµm)> in a way that shows himself feeling unworthy to utter the Covenant name of Jehovah. According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions (lit., rebellion, Cf. 19:13; 32:1). David's initial plea for mercy is quickly followed by the plea that his sins be blotted out, as from a register, a record book of sin accurately kept by God (cf. Ex 32:32; Isa 43:25; 44:22). Wash me thoroughly … and cleanse me. As Spurgeon observes, “The hypocrite is content if his garments be washed; but the true suppliant cries, ‘wash me.’”
Verses 3-4
My sin is ever before me. The first step in repentance is contrition for sin. David has shown such contrition. The second step is confession of sin. True confession is acknowledging your sin to God and admitting that you cannot deal with it alone (I Jn 1:9). Against thee, thee only, have I sinned. There can scarcely be sins that more directly harm mankind than adultery and murder. Yet, David is aware that all sin culminates in wrong against the Being and will of God. There is no such thing as private sin. Regardless of whom we hurt when we sin, God is alwasy hurt the worst. And done this evil in thy sight. David has a keen consciousness that he has Committed his moral iniquity in the full view of Jehovah God.
Verses 5-6
Behold, I was shaped in iniquity. It cannot intelligently be denied that David here speaks of original sin. He claims that the source of his life is just as polluted as its streams. He has a natural bent from birth towards sin, as do we all. Given the option, we would choose wrong every time. In sin did my mother conceive me. This verse does not indicate that David was conceived out of wedlock; his mother was chaste, the Lord's handmaid. Rather, his intent is to trace a congenital depravity which is asserted not only here, but also in 58:3; Job 14:14, and implied in Isaiah 43:27; Hosea 6:7; etc. God desires purity in the inward part, but it is the wisdom of God to know that we are impure from the very moment of conception. Hence, David does not try to excuse his sin, but simply to acknowledge it.
Verses 7-12
There is a noticeable progression in the prayer of David which begins each of these verses. Purge me is the cry to remove defilement. According to the Levitical law, hyssop alone could cleanse one from contact with a corpse (Num 19:18) or from the defilement of leprosy (Lev 14:4). Wash me implies a thorough, deep cleansing as a man washes his garments, and not simply as he washes his skin. Make me is a prayer to experience the joy and gladness that comes from receiving God's forgiveness Hide thy face from my sins is the psalmist's plea for God not to view him as he really is, i.e., a sinner. Create in me a clean heart shows that David is interested in more than just forgiveness of sins. He is interested in the creative power of God making him a new creature with a new, clean heart. Cast me not away from thy presence extends David's plea to include the possibility of Constant fellowship with Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation is David's prayer to return to the conscious favor of God and to know know that he walks again hand in hand with his Creator. And finally, uphold me means to preserve me from falling, by the power of God's spirit.
Verses 13-15
Then will I teach transgressors thy ways. With his sin confessed and forgiven, David is ready to live a converted life for his Lord. His first responsibility is to teach transgressors the ways of God so as to prevent their making the same mistakes he did. His intent, like that of all faithful servants of the Lord, is that sinners shall be converted unto thee. Since God has delivered David from the guilt of shedding blood (5:6;11 Sam 12:9-10), the psalmist's tongue would ever sing aloud of thy righteousness and his lips and mouth shall show forth thy praise.
Verses <!-- end bible text -->16-17
For thou desirest not sacrifice … thou delightest not in burnt offering. The Mosaic law allows no reconciliation or sacrifice for the sins of adultery and murder. David correctly recognizes that the only acceptable sacrifices are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart. God does not want a show of ceremony when we sin. Rather, God delights in a quiet softening of the heart and a personal contrition and confession of sin.
Verses 18-19
Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion. It is quite characteristic of David to pass from personal prayer to prayer for his kingdom. He prays that God will not reject the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering. David knew full well that people rise only as high as their leadership and that he must right himself with God if Israel were to be blessed. As a true leader, he concludes his personal prayer of penitence with a prayer for God's blessing on his nation.
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
KJV Commentary
Verses 1-2
Have mercy upon me, O God. David begins his penitence with a plea for mercy. He addresses God (Heb <eloµhiµm)></eloµhiµm)> in a way that shows himself feeling unworthy to utter the Covenant name of Jehovah. According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions (lit., rebellion, Cf. 19:13; 32:1). David's initial plea for mercy is quickly followed by the plea that his sins be blotted out, as from a register, a record book of sin accurately kept by God (cf. Ex 32:32; Isa 43:25; 44:22). Wash me thoroughly … and cleanse me. As Spurgeon observes, “The hypocrite is content if his garments be washed; but the true suppliant cries, ‘wash me.’”
Verses 3-4
My sin is ever before me. The first step in repentance is contrition for sin. David has shown such contrition. The second step is confession of sin. True confession is acknowledging your sin to God and admitting that you cannot deal with it alone (I Jn 1:9). Against thee, thee only, have I sinned. There can scarcely be sins that more directly harm mankind than adultery and murder. Yet, David is aware that all sin culminates in wrong against the Being and will of God. There is no such thing as private sin. Regardless of whom we hurt when we sin, God is alwasy hurt the worst. And done this evil in thy sight. David has a keen consciousness that he has Committed his moral iniquity in the full view of Jehovah God.
Verses 5-6
Behold, I was shaped in iniquity. It cannot intelligently be denied that David here speaks of original sin. He claims that the source of his life is just as polluted as its streams. He has a natural bent from birth towards sin, as do we all. Given the option, we would choose wrong every time. In sin did my mother conceive me. This verse does not indicate that David was conceived out of wedlock; his mother was chaste, the Lord's handmaid. Rather, his intent is to trace a congenital depravity which is asserted not only here, but also in 58:3; Job 14:14, and implied in Isaiah 43:27; Hosea 6:7; etc. God desires purity in the inward part, but it is the wisdom of God to know that we are impure from the very moment of conception. Hence, David does not try to excuse his sin, but simply to acknowledge it.
Verses 7-12
There is a noticeable progression in the prayer of David which begins each of these verses. Purge me is the cry to remove defilement. According to the Levitical law, hyssop alone could cleanse one from contact with a corpse (Num 19:18) or from the defilement of leprosy (Lev 14:4). Wash me implies a thorough, deep cleansing as a man washes his garments, and not simply as he washes his skin. Make me is a prayer to experience the joy and gladness that comes from receiving God's forgiveness Hide thy face from my sins is the psalmist's plea for God not to view him as he really is, i.e., a sinner. Create in me a clean heart shows that David is interested in more than just forgiveness of sins. He is interested in the creative power of God making him a new creature with a new, clean heart. Cast me not away from thy presence extends David's plea to include the possibility of Constant fellowship with Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation is David's prayer to return to the conscious favor of God and to know know that he walks again hand in hand with his Creator. And finally, uphold me means to preserve me from falling, by the power of God's spirit.
Verses 13-15
Then will I teach transgressors thy ways. With his sin confessed and forgiven, David is ready to live a converted life for his Lord. His first responsibility is to teach transgressors the ways of God so as to prevent their making the same mistakes he did. His intent, like that of all faithful servants of the Lord, is that sinners shall be converted unto thee. Since God has delivered David from the guilt of shedding blood (5:6;11 Sam 12:9-10), the psalmist's tongue would ever sing aloud of thy righteousness and his lips and mouth shall show forth thy praise.
Verses <!-- end bible text -->16-17
For thou desirest not sacrifice … thou delightest not in burnt offering. The Mosaic law allows no reconciliation or sacrifice for the sins of adultery and murder. David correctly recognizes that the only acceptable sacrifices are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart. God does not want a show of ceremony when we sin. Rather, God delights in a quiet softening of the heart and a personal contrition and confession of sin.
Verses 18-19
Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion. It is quite characteristic of David to pass from personal prayer to prayer for his kingdom. He prays that God will not reject the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering. David knew full well that people rise only as high as their leadership and that he must right himself with God if Israel were to be blessed. As a true leader, he concludes his personal prayer of penitence with a prayer for God's blessing on his nation.
