Psalm 51– To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. 1 of 2
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight— that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will 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 hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
This Psalm “contains instruction so large, and doctrine so precious, that the tongue of angels could not do justice to the full development.” (Victorinus Strigelius) It is “a ladder which climbs from the horrible pit, with its miry clay, into the heights of sunny joy, where the song breaks from the forgiven penitent. Here is the cry of the lost sheep which has been torn by briers, harried by wild dogs, drenched in the morass, but which the shepherd has found and brought home rejoicing. This path has been worn by myriads of penitents.” (F.B. Meyer) It “may be wept over, absorbed into the soul, and exhaled again in devotion; but, commented on—ah!’” (C. H. Spurgeon) “Having committed adultery with Bathsheba, David then arranged for her husband Uriah to be killed, so that he could take Bathsheba as a royal wife (2 Sam 11:1-27).”(Bridgeway Bible Commentary) David hid his sins but all of Israel knew about them. And Nathan the prophet went to him and told a story convincing him of the subject’s guilt. David burned with anger exclaiming that the man in the story deserved death. And in climax, the prophet thundered the judgment on David, “You are the man [deserving death]!” See Psalm 50.
But then David acknowledged, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan responded, "The LORD also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die."(2 Samuel 12:13-14) So Nathan went to his house. And “we may suppose that David retired to his chamber full of confusion, remorse, and anguish; and there poured forth his soul before God in unreserved confessions and fervent prayers.” (Thomas Scott)—>
“'Have mercy upon me, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.’ (1)We are reminded of the man who, though a publican, beat upon his breast, and cried, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner.’ Again, we are reminded of the blind man on the Jericho road, who cried, ‘Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.’He who comes into the presence of the holy and righteous Lord, dare not come parading his own goodness, thereby, seeking justice. He must of necessity approach God, acknowledging his sins and pleading for His mercy. How gracious is the Scripture found in 1 John 2:1 ‘If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins.’ The word ‘propitiation,’ is ‘mercy-seat.’ We have a mercy-seat with the Father. Christ is that mercy-seat. How, then, dare we plead anything with God concerning our own work, or merit? If we think that we shall receive anything of the Lord on such a basis, we do err.” (Wells of Living Water)
“‘Wash me throughly from mine iniquity’ (2a)— “literally, ‘multiplica, lava me,’ or ‘multiply, wash me’: that is, ‘very much.’” (Joseph Benson) “The language is taken from the washings and purifications of the Mosaic law.” (Thomas Scott) “Let it not merely be in type [or ceremony only] that I am [considered] clean, but by a real spiritual purification, which shall remove the pollution of my nature.” (Treasury of David) Guide me to do Your work, O God. “Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” (Isaiah 1:16-17)— “’And cleanse me from my sin.’ (2b) This is a more general expression; as if the psalmist said, ‘Lord, if [ceremonial] washing will not do [to clear my conscience from dead works], try some other process; if water avails not, let fire [of trials], let anything be tried, so that I may but be purified. Rid me of my sin by some means, by any means, by every means, only do purify me completely, and leave no guilt upon my soul [that I may approach the Holy Place].” (Treasury of David)—“For I acknowledge my transgressions” as You require; yet “my sin is ever before me,” keeping me from Communion with You. (3)
“‘Against You, You only, have I sinned,’ — which is not to be understood absolutely, because he had sinned against Bathsheba and Uriah, and many others; but comparatively. So the sense is, ‘Though I have sinned against my own conscience, and against others, yet nothing is more grievous to me than that I have sinned against thee.’” (Joseph Benson)— “‘And done this evil in thy sight.’ Whilst thou wast looking on. For a thief to steal in the presence of the Judge is impudence indeed, but yet in thy presence, O my God, I have done this evil.” (C. H. Spurgeon) — “‘that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.’ (4) The issue was how God could judge justly if He allowed such behavior. When defending God’s Judgment on the established religion of his day, as well as the pardon of gentiles, Paul asked: “For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: ‘That You may be justified in Your words, and may overcome when You are judged.’ (Ps 51:4) (Romans 3:3-4) God's forgiveness is the cornerstone. His promises are made only to believers who ask for forgiveness according to the established Way. Thus the unbelief of some, cannot make His faithfulness of no effect. He will fulfil His promises to His friends, and bring His threatened vengeance upon His enemies.
“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” The object of this important verse is to express the deep sense which David had of his depravity. That sense was derived from the fact that this was not a sudden thought, or a mere outward act, or an offence committed under the influence of strong temptation, but that it was the result of an entire corruption of his nature - of a deep depravity of heart, running back to the very commencement of his being.” (Albert Barnes)
“Purge me with hyssop”— first mentioned in the Passover, Exodus 12:22. “Sprinkle me with the blood of Christ by the hyssop bunch of faith.” (John Trapp) “For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people.”(Hebrews 9:13-14) —
“’Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.’ (7b) Isaiah likewise- "'Come now, and let us reason together,’ Says the LORD, ‘Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.’ For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 1:18-20)
Only by Your washing will I be made to "hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice.’ (8) David "laid prostrate as a criminal with broken bones; he was overwhelmed with grief and gloom, and entreated for joy and gladness [as before].” (Joseph Sutcliffe)
“'Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.' (9) The Lord was willing, but “’No,’ said Peter, ‘you shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered, ‘Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’”(John 13:8) At the end of days, John prophetically saw a vision: “Then one of the elders asked me, ‘These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?’ I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their Shepherd; He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:13-17)
Psalm 51– To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. 2 of 2
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You. 14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise. 16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, abroken and a contrite heart— these, O God, You will not despise. 18 Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.
David had been praying for pardon. (1-9) “He now requests that the grace of the Spirit, which he had forfeited, or deserved to have forfeited, might be restored to him. The two requests are quite distinct, though sometimes confounded together, even by men of learning. He passes from the subject of the gratuitous remission of sin to that of sanctification.” (John Calvin)
“Create in me a clean heart, O God’ (10a) - Mending will not avail; my heart is altogether corrupted; it must be new made, made as it was in the beginning… ‘Neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation;’ and the salvation given under the Gospel dispensation is called a being created anew in Christ.” (Adam Clarke) “Keeping God's commands is what counts.” (1 Corinthians 7:19)
“The word rendered ‘create,’ ברא berâ' - is a word which is properly employed to denote an act of ‘creation;’ that is, of causing something to exist where there was nothing before. It is the word which is used in Genesis 1:1: ‘In the beginning God ‘created’ the heaven and the earth,’ and which is commonly used to express the act of creation. It is used ‘here’ evidently in the sense of causing that to exist which did not exist before; and there is clearly a recognition of the divine ‘power,’ or a feeling on the part of David that this could be done by God alone.” (Albert Barnes)
“‘And renew a steadfast spirit within me.’ (10b)— ruach nachon, a constant, steady, determined spirit; called Psalm 51:12, ruach nedibah, a noble spirit. a free, generous, princely spirit.” (Adam Clarke) “He prays for a heart that would be firm in the purposes of virtue; that would not yield to temptation; that would carry out holy resolutions…” (Albert Barnes)
“‘Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.’ ( 11)—That Spirit which came upon David at his anointing as king, (1 Samuel 16:13,) and by which he had achieved all his victories, he had now forfeited, and he deprecates the justice which would take back the forfeiture.” (Daniel Whedon)
“‘Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation’ — the comfortable sense of thy saving grace, promised and vouchsafed to me, both for my present and everlasting salvation. ‘And uphold me’— A weak and frail creature, not able to stand against temptation and the corruption of my nature.” (Joseph Benson) ‘by Your generous Spirit.’” (12) ”’Then will I teach transgressors thy ways’— Two ways the saints teach us. saith Augustine: First, By their doctrine. Secondly, by their falls and failings. David had taught men this last way to his cost, that it is, now he promiseth by his example and instruction to teach transgressors… ” (John Trapp)— “‘and sinners shall be converted to You.” (13)
“‘Deliver me from bloodguiltiness,’ from [the guilt of] the murder of Uriah and the others who were slain with him, (2 Sam 11:17) [by reason of the sin which I had treasured in my heart]. ‘O God, thou God of my salvation: [and] my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.’” (Geneva Study Bible) “‘O Lord, open thou my lips’— which are shut with shame and grief [and supposition that my enemies may be right] — ‘and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.’” (John Wesley)
“‘For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;’— Chandler renders this verse, ‘For thou takest no pleasure in sacrifice, that I should give it; thou approvest not whole burnt-offerings.’ (16) There were no sacrifices of atonement appointed by the law for murder and adultery; and therefore the Psalmist says, that God did not in his case desire them; and that if he was to offer them as a propitiation for his sins, they would not be accepted; the punishment annexed to these crimes being death.” (Thomas Clarke) “‘The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit’ - As my crimes are such as admit of no legal atonement, so thou hast reserved them to be punished by exemplary acts of justice, or to be pardoned by a sovereign act of mercy: but in order to find this mercy, thou requirest that the heart and soul should deeply feel the transgression, and turn to thee with the fullest compunction and remorse. This thou hast enabled me to do. I have the broken spirit, נשברה רוח ruach nishbarah; and the ‘broken and contrite heart,’ ונדכה נשבר לב leb nishbar venidkeh .” (Adam Clarke)
“‘Do good in thy good pleasure unto Sion’—Having made his own peace with God, he now prayeth for the Church: and the rather, because by his foul sins he had hazarded, or rather exposed, both Zion and Jerusalem, Church and State, to divine displeasure.” (John Trapp) “Such a prayer as is here offered he would also be more naturally led to offer from the remembrance of the dishonor which he had brought on the cause of religion, and it was natural for him to pray that his own misconduct might not have the effect of hindering the cause of God in the world.” (Albert Barnes)“‘Build thou the walls of Jerusalem’— i.e. Protect, defend, and maintain the civil state, grant all things necessary for its safety and well-being; supply of all wants, confirmation and increase of all blessings. Thus pray we, Jeremiah 29:7, Psalms 122:6-8; ‘for except the Lord keep the city,’ etc. See Isaiah 5:1-3; Isaiah 27:3. He is a wall of fire, Revelation 20:9, of water, Isaiah 33:20-21; say, therefore, as Isaiah 26:1, and beware of security, sensuality, senselessness, etc.” (John Trapp)
“‘Build thou the walls of Jerusalem’— This phrase “has been the pretext for transferring this psalm to a date after the captivity, when the walls of Jerusalem were prostrate. But the Psalmist does not say 'build them again,' but 'build them.'” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown) Perhaps this was a longing to build physical wall or perhaps “this is figurative language - a prayer that God would favor and bless his people as if the city was to be protected by walls, and thus rendered safe from an attack by the enemy. Such language is, in fact, often used in cases where it could not be pretended that it was designed to be literal. See Jude 1:20; Romans 15:20; 1 Corinthians 3:12; Galatians 2:18; Ephesians 2:22; Colossians 2:7.” (Albert Barnes)“Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering;’ i.e. such sacrifices as God had appointed by the law; offered on such occasions, and for such ends, as God Himself had prescribed, in opposition to those which he had just before declared God would not accept.” (Thomas Coke) ”Such as are offered in faith, and according to the will of God. ‘Then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar’—They shall be free hearted and frequent in thy work and service.” (John Trapp)