A Psalm of David, after Nathan had rebuked him, and he had been convinced of his great guilt in having sinned with Bathsheba. The music to which this Psalm can be sung must be composed of sighs, and groans, and sobs, and cries. I believe that many of us here present have prayed this prayer of David many times; and he who has never prayed it has need to begin to do so at once. That is an old proverb, but a true one: «There is no road to Heaven except by Weeping Cross.» He that has never repented will have to repent if he is ever to enter into life eternal. Hear, then, the prayer of David.
Psalms 51:1. Have mercy upon me, O God,
«Nothing but mercy will meet my case. Thy justice frowns upon me; thine anger frightens me. ‘Have mercy upon me,' great mercy, unmeasured mercy, undeserved mercy, ‘Have mercy upon me, O God,'»
Psalms 51:1. According to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
David cannot bear himself while he reads the black record, so he prays, «Lord, blot it out! Blot it out from the sight of my eyes; but, chiefly, blot it out from thine eyes. Let not the record stand against me in thy Book of Remembrance. I cannot blot it out; not even with my blood, much less with my tears; but thou canst blot it out with a Saviour's blood. Lord, blot it out, according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies.»
Psalms 51:2. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
You see, the psalmist multiplies the expressions he uses because he sees the indelible character of sin apart from a miracle of mercy. «Wash me, O Lord! Water must be used; but if that will not cleanse me, then use fire; use anything; only do cleanse me. First, blot my sin out of thy book, and then blot it out of my nature. Take my sin away, O God! What can I do unless thou dost wash me and cleanse me?»
Psalms 51:3. For I acknowledge my transgressions:
That is the great point; there can be no cleansing, no washing, no blotting out of our guilt till there is a fair and square acknowledgment of it. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.»
Psalms 51:3. And my sin is ever before me.
«Wherever I go, I see it, as though it were painted on the very ball of my eye. I cannot see anything without seeing my sin. It stares me in the face: it is ever before me.»
Psalms 51:4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight:
Oh, what an awful thing, to commit adultery in the sight of God! It is horrible; but what must it be to commit any sin in the sight of God? Will a rebel talk treason in the presence of his king? Most men court the darkness that they may not be seen to do evil; but it is the venom of our sin that we commit it when God is present, and looking on. Ah, me!
Psalms 51:4. That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
Another judge has to decide by the evidence that is brought before him; but this Judge has seen the evil for himself. It was done before his very eyes, and therefore he is clear when he judges.
Psalms 51:5. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
«If I had not been bad, I should not have acted so badly. The streams betray the fountain. If I had not been wicked at the core, I should not have acted so wickedly; but the evil tree has brought forth evil fruit.» It is well when actual sin leads us to feel the depth of our original and natural sin.
Psalms 51:6. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
The outward part is very important, but the inward part is much more so, because the outward springs from the inward, and a man would not be outwardly guilty if he were not first inwardly evil. Hence, David cries for cleansing and truth and wisdom in the inward parts.
Psalms 51:7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:
«Take the bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood of the lamb, and then purge me with it, and I shall be clean.» What a wonderful faith this is! «I who am so black, I who am black as hell; yet, if thou dost but purge me with the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ, I shall be clean.»
Psalms 51:7. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Again, I say, what grand faith this is! The faith which believes that another can be cleansed, is very easy. The faith which, in times of joy, believes that the soul can be cleansed, is very simple; but when guilt lies heavy on you, and the hand of God seems to break you into pieces in his wrath, it is grand faith to be able then to say, «Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.» May God give every sinner here thus blessed faith!
Psalms 51:8-9. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
«Do not look at my sins, Lord. Forget them; turn thy back upon them; and blot out all mine iniquities.» David comes back to his first prayer. «End my sins, Lord; blot them out, as when an account stands against a debtor, and the creditor erases it from the book. Do just so with my sin.»
Psalms 51:10. Create in me a clean, heart, O God;
Yes, we need our Creator to come, and deal with us again. None but God can save us. The omnipotence that made the heavens and the earth must be put forth to make us anew.
Psalms 51:10. And renew a right spirit within me.
Are you praying this prayer, dear friend? Is your heart praying it while we read it?
Psalms 51:11. Cast me not away from thy presence;
«Dismiss me not thy service, Lord.» «Chase me not out of doors; banish me not from where thy face may be seen: ‘Cast me not away from thy presence.'»
Psalms 51:11. And take not thy holy spirit from me.
«For, if thou do so, I am utterly undone. I shall go from bad to worse;
I shall never repent; I shall never believe. I am as good as damned already if thou take thy Holy Spirit from me; therefore, O Lord, take not thy Spirit away from me.»
Psalms 51:12. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;
«I had it once, Lord; restore it to me, bring it back.»
Psalms 51:12. And uphold me with thy free spirit.
«That I shall not turn aside again. O lift me up, and keep me up, and help me to rise higher and higher!»
Psalms 51:13. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
Pardoned sinners make fine preachers. The man who has never felt the burden of sin is not fit to preach to burdened souls. Oh, but when that burden is taken off our backs, and our hearts, we are ready to leap for joy! Then we cry,
«Now will I tell to sinners round
What a dear Saviour I have found;
I'll point to thy redeeming blood,
And say, ‘Behold the way to God.'»
Psalms 51:14. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
It took David a long time to come to that point, and to call his sin by its right name. He had really been the murderer of Uriah, and he tried to cover his guilt by saying, «The sword devoureth one as well as another.» But now he tells the whole truth: «Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,»
Psalms 51:14. Thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
«Once let me get rid of my great sin, and I will give thee great praise. Wash my bloodguiltiness away with the blood of Jesus, and then I will never leave off proclaiming the glory of thy grace.»
Psalms 51:15-16. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it:
«Bullocks, rams, lambs, thou carest not for these?
Psalms 51:16-17. Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Come, poor souls, you that are heavy with guilt, you that lie at death's dark door, condemned by reason of a whole life of sin, offer to God this sacrifice that he will not despise. The Jews brought their bullocks; come you and bring your broken hearts and contrite spirits. They presented to God the fat of fed beasts; come and bring your broken-hearted groanings, for God will not despise them.
Psalms 51:18-19. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 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.
If sin is pardoned, we may offer to God anything that we can, and he will accept it; but first of all we must get pardon, pardon through Jesus Christ, or else our offerings are a vain oblation. God bless the reading of this Psalm to every one beneath this dome, for Jesus Christ's sake! Amen.