Psalm 51
The title to this psalm shows that David wrote it after Nathan the prophet confronted him about his sin with Bathsheba.
This is one of seven penitential psalms (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143). It is an individual lament, showing David’s awareness and deep sorrow over is sin. It is also a prayer for restoration of fellowship with God, seeking God’s grace.
David Prays For Forgiveness
51:1-2
David realized his need. He did not presume upon God. He did not feel entitled even though he was king. Instead, he appealed to God’s mercy. He said God had abundant mercy.
This mercy flowed from God’s steadfast love. It is a covenantal love. God had a covenant with Israel the nation and with David the individual. David asked God to act out of that love to have mercy on him.
David asked that God, in mercy, forgive him of his sins. He asks it two ways. First, he asked God to blot out his transgressions, meaning to erase them and remember them no more. Psalm 103:11-12 says:
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the East is from the West, so far does he remove our transgressions from us”.
Second, David asked God to wash him thoroughly and cleanse him from iniquity and sin. The metaphor of washing\cleansing has been used repeatedly through out history and we use it today. We speak of sin as a blot or a stain. We speak of forgiveness as being washed and cleansed.
These verse two verses resonate with the instructions given to believers regarding confession and repentance in the New Testament. 1 John 1:6-9 tells us not to deny our sins, but to confess them. When we do, he forgives our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
God does this because he is faithful and just; he has steadfast love for us.
David Acknowledged His Sin and Sinfulness
51:3-6
We get the impression here that David was haunted by his sins between the time he committed them and the time Nathan rebuked him. He knew his sins and they were ever before him. It must have been real mental and spiritual torture to love Bathsheba but have every thought and sight of her remind him of the terrible things he had done.
David confessed his sin again God. He acknowledged that he had done evil. David contrasted God’s nature with his.
God is just, or as David said, blameless in judgment and justified in his words. Of course, God sets the standards of right and wrong. But he always acts according to his standards.
That is in contrast, for example, to the Greek gods. They often acted capriciously. They were more like sinful humans with special powers than they were our Holy God.
David also acknowledged that he was born in sin. He said he was conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity. He is not saying that sex is sinful. He is saying that he, and every human being are born sinners because we have inherited that sinful nature from Adam.
The theological term for this is often called “Original Sin”. Romans 5:12 speaks of this: “…sin came into the world through one man and death through sin”.
The Baptist Faith & Message puts it this way in Article III:
Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin.
The 1689 London Baptist Confession states:
Our first parents, by this sin, fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and we in them whereby death came upon all: all becoming dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body.
In verse 6 we see that God looks on “inward being”, our heart and mind. This actually reflects God’s words to Samuel at David’s anointing: “…the Lord looks on the heart”. He means that appearances and rituals do not please him. He reiterated that thought in verse 16, saying that God did not delight in burnt offerings, but in a broken spirt and contrite heart. It is a heart devoted to him that pleases God. And that is one to whom he will teach wisdom.
David’s Plea For Restoration
51:7-12
In addition to forgiveness, David sought restoration of his fellowship with God. He wanted a clean heart and a right spirit. He wanted to experience joy again. He wanted to know the continual, consistent communion with God through the Holy Spirit.
David Promises To Praise God
51:13-17
Having received forgiveness and restoration, David promised to praise God. Specifically, he praised God for his righteousness. Righteousness is similar to justice. God always acts in accordance with what is right and is the standard of what is right. “God is light and in him is no darkness at all.” (1John 1:5)
God’s righteousness here is in sharp contract with David’s recent unrighteousness. But it is also David’s acknowledgement that God’s consequences to David’s sin were righteous actions.
David’s Plea For Israel
51:18-19
David ended the psalm with a plea for the restoration of Jerusalem. He asked God to do good to Israel and to accept their sacrifices in worship to him.
Takeaways
Psalm 23 can be a guide for us when we need to confess and repent of sin and restore our fellowship with God. You can even pray this psalm.
This principles of this psalm and the 1st chapter of 1 John are remarkable similar. John tells us we cannot have fellowship with God while we walk in darkness. (6) He cautions us against denying sin, saying it means the truth is not in us. (8) And, he tells us that God is faithful and will forgive us and cleanse us when we confess.
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