This is a portion of Scripture, which can never be read too often. If any among us have never found mercy, let them use this Psalm as their own personal prayer; while those who have found mercy can read between the lines, and read the sweetness of pardon into the bitterness of sorrow for sin. This Psalm was written by David when Nathan came to him after his great sin with Bathsheba. He needed Nathan to come to him to rebuke him. If David had not been in a very sad state of heart, he would not have fallen into the sin; and it was that state of heart which left him so hardened, so obdurate, that he needed Nathan pointedly to say to him, «Thou art the man.» After that, he wrote and prayed this truly penitential Psalm.
Psalms 51:1. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness
He used to talk about being God's servant; but he says nothing about that now. He used to speak of God's great love to him; but he cannot realize that now. Yet he appeals to God for mercy: «Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness.»
Psalms 51:1. According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
«There they are, they stare me in the face; nobody but thyself can blot them out; do it, Lord, for thy sweet mercy's sake. Blot them out of existence, and out of memory; and when thou hast blotted them from thy book of remembrance, then blot them from me, too.»
Psalms 51:2. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
«If washing will not do, use fire, use blood, use anything; but cleanse me from my sin.»
Psalms 51:3. For I acknowledge my, transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
«Lord, do help me. There is my sin; I cannot shut my eyes to it. I dare not deny it, or excuse it; I make a clean breast of it. I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.»
Psalms 51:4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight
«I have sinned against others; but this is the foulness of the blot, the venom of the sting, that I have sinned against my God.»
Psalms 51:4-5. That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was sharpen in iniquity and in sin did my not mother conceive me.
«'Behold,' for this is a wonder, and I look at it, and I mourn over it; behold, before I had a shape, I was out of shape. Before I saw anything, still there was sin antecedent to my very existence.»
Psalms 51:6. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
«But, alas! Lord, what thou desirest, is not there. In my inward part, I find falsehood; in my hidden part, I find folly. Lord, what thou desirest thou must also bestow, or else I shall never have it. Oh, hear thy servant's supplication now!»
Psalms 51:7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
This is delightful pleading on David's part. He had seen the priest take the sprigs of hyssop, and dip them in the blood, and then sprinkle the leper therewith; so his prayer is, «Lord, give me purification through the atonement. ‘Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.' « It requires strong faith, when under a deep sense of sin, to be quite sure that God can put the sin away. It is a grand thing to be able to say, «Wash me, foul as I am wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.»
Psalms 51:8. Make me to hear joy and gladness;
«Lord, I have heard nothing but groans lately, and I have made no sound but sighs; ‘Make me to hear joy and gladness'
Psalms 51:8. That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
When God makes us feel the weight of sin, it is a bone-breaking operation, he seems to strike as though he would kill; and only he that thus strikes can afterwards heal. Then he makes each fragment of the bone to sing and praise him.
Psalms 51:9. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
You see that the psalmist has many names for sin, for evil, like a great rogue, has many aliases. So it is sometimes sin; sometimes it is transgression, passing over the line of right; and sometimes it is in-equity, or a departure from perfect equity. «Call it by whatever name it may be called, Lord, let me be rid of it. ‘Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.'»
Psalms 51:10. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
«My Creator, I am spoiled; come and make me over again. My heart has grown foul. Thou who didst make me, clean me.» The watchmaker best cleans the watch that he made. «Create in me a clean heart, O my Creator, and renew a right spirit within me.»
Psalms 51:11. Cast me not away from thy presence;
«I have acted as if you were not present, but, oh, do not fling me away!
Do not take away thy presence from me.»
Psalms 51:11-12. And take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;
«I was so happy once. Oh, give me back my joy!»
Psalms 51:12. And uphold me with thy free spirit.
«I have fallen foully; let me not fall again. Henceforth, I cannot trust myself; do thou uphold me. I have made free to sin. Lord, send me a freer spirit, that I may be free to follow after righteousness.»
Psalms 51:13. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways;
He would turn preacher if God would but bless him. He would tell others what great things God had done for him.
Psalms 51:13. And sinners shall be converted unto thee.
He felt sure that, if he once told his tale of love, others would he melted, and would turn to God; and no doubt it was the case.
Psalms 51:14. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
Oh cleanse me from my sin, and I will sing thy praises forever; and I will sing earnestly, too: ‘My tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.'»
Psalms 51:15. O Lord, open thou my lips;
He felt as if he was going too fast when he promised to speak and to sing, so he prayed: «O Lord, open thou my lips»-
Psalms 51:15. And my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
When good men have had a fall, they walk very tenderly afterwards. Put them on their legs, and they are very careful how they move. They are afraid to speak except as God opens their lips.
Psalms 51:16. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it
David remembered that, under the law, there was no sacrifice appointed for the expiation of adultery. There were some sins that were left out of the catalogue, and this was one of them.
Psalms 51:16-17. Thou delightest not in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. Even for the man who has committed the most atrocious crimes, there is still acceptance if he brings to God the sacrifice of a broken spirit.
Psalms 51:17-18. A broken and a contrite heart, O God thou will not despise. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
Now that he feels himself forgiven, be begins to pray for the good estate of the Church of God and the Lord's people everywhere. We cannot do that when sin is breaking our bones; but when we get peace and rest, then the first instinct of the newborn life is to pray for God's kingdom «Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.»
Psalms 51:19. 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.