Psalm LI
To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.
1 Have mercy upon me, 0 God, accoi’ding to thy lovingkindnesses: 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. G Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts:
And in the hidden parts 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 my 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.
160 PSALM LI. — THE BROKEN-HEARTED SINNER’s
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.
ti!is psahii“” n*d “^^^ riches, the power,” (says a well-known writer), the subject of it glory of a kingdom, could neither present nor remove the torrent of sin, which puts the monarch and the beggar upon a level.” No one has more keenly scrutinized his own backslidings, and more bitterly lamented them, “laying bare the iron ribs of misery,” than David, in this Psalm. We saw a series of considerable length concluded in Psalm 1. The Psalm before us stands in an isolated position. It is not part of any series. It has a peculiarity that no previous Psalm has exhibited, for it is written (and the Hebrew title authenticates the fact) on occasion of David’s adultery, and his detestable attempts to hide his adultery by murder of the basest kind. Now, no such circumstances as these could ever have in them aught that corresponded in the remotest manner to any circumstances in the life of the Surety, David’s Son. On the contrary, so far is this Psalm from being fitted to express the work of the Surety, that it seems introduced at this point in order to lead us to look back on the former songs of David, and to say of what was set forth therein,” Surely this David, who here appears as a leper all over, with a heart as vile as the worst action of his life, cannot be the David of whom such glorious things were formerly spoken V Viewed in this light, the Psalm before us is fitted, both by its title and its contents, to direct us in the other Psalms to the true David, as He of whom the lofty things of preceding Psalms were sung. The pum. Coming, as this Psalm does, close upon one which set the
principles of judgment before us, it is not uninteresting to observe that it falls into its place very appropriately. For here we find a sinner — an individual sinner — realizing his position at that bar, and consenting to the decisions of a tribunal whereat nothing but justice has free course. The sinner acknowledges in verse 4 that his sin is all his own, and done in direct opposition to the Holy One; and he owns his folly before all the universe.
“That thou mayest be justified, in the matter of the law proclaimed by thee, And be clear, in regard to the judgment pronounced by thee on the law-breaker.”
He finds nothing in the terms of the -law too strict, nor aught in the penalty annexed too severe. The use of ‘^”^^^ may be a reference to Exod. xx. 1, where the Ten Commandments are called DnH’in.
It is as if God had printed the diary of David, and, in order to humble him, handed it to the “Chief musician,” that all Israel might know his bitter repentance, and might say, in substance, what Augustine writes, (” Ion ergo cadencU exeriiplum propositum est, sed si cecideris resurgendi. Tu hoc amas in David, quod in se edit David V) “It is not an example of falling into sin that is set before thee, but of rising if thou hast fallen. Dost thou love in David that which David hated in himself?”
1. Deep groans for pardoning mercy, from the pit of pollution. (Ver. 1, 2.)
2. Confession of sin, and acknowledgment of the Lord’s
righteous law. (Ver. 3, 4.)
3. An awful gaze upon the source of all actual sin. (Ver. 5.)
4. Deliverance from falsehood, folly, and guilt, must come
from God alone. (Ver. 6, 7.) “Purge me from sin with hyssop,” as the leper is purged,
5. The voice of a reconciled God heard again. (Ver. 8.)
Perhaps it was the idea of Resurrection that suggested “bones rejoicing.”
6. On the foundation of thorough forgiveness, prayer is made
for thorough and constant holiness. (Ver. 9, 10.) “Renew to me the gift of a fixed (P3ij spirit.”
7. He seeks permanent holiness, as well as permanent fellowship. (Ver. 1].)
8. The joy of full salvation (i. e., of both pardon and holiness)
is sought, and the presence of the Holy Spirit, the true and natural equipment for future usefulness. (Ver. 12.) “U’pholdme with the Spirit, who is generous” — princely.
9. Efforts are to be made for the good of others. (Ver. 13.)
1 0. Sorrow for having, in days past, injured others is expressed.
(Ver. ]4, first clause.)
11. Closing strain of adoring gratitude. (The last clause of
verse 14, and 15, 16, 17.)
1 2. A closing prayer for the glory of God in the land and in
the earth. (Ver. 18, 19.) This desire for God’s glory, the unfailing mark of a soul in communion with God, is expressed in terms that indicate hope as well as faith. “Be favourable to Zion for thine own sake, as a fruit of thy free-will,” ‘’JJiiJ”!!!. This is the sense; as if he said, “I have given thee cause to forsake my kingdom and people, and even to abandon Zion, where thine ark stands; but wilt thou not rather shew free grace?”
“Build the walls of Jerusalem /”
Make thy people in Jerusalem strong against their foes; build up * this city which I took from the Jebusites and am seeking to beautify, though my sin might provoke thee to give it back to the Canaanite again. Make Zion and Jerusalem strong in their bulwarks as thou wilt yet do in the latter day. (Psalm xlviii. 11.)
“Then shall tJiou be pleased with sacrifices of righteoxisness.”
In that spot where thy name has been blasphemed by me thou shalt yet again be honoured, if instead of judgment thou sendest us victory and peace. We shall testify of thee to all lands by the “sacrifices according to just rule and measure” (Levit. xix. 36), and by “bullocks,” as our D’’13 “calves of thank-offering.” (Hosea xiv. 3.) This city Jerusalem shall be a place wherein atonement is proclaimed, and thy praises sung by thy forgiven ones, whose contrite, broken hearts shall be a dally thankoffering. (Ver. 17.)
This last result was specially attained under Solomon. But in addition to what we have stated as the primary meaning, is there not a look into the future? Is not the strain to this effect: — Hasten Zion’s final glory, and then shall there be no
* “Build” signifies here as in Mieah iii. 10; Prov. xxiv. 3; Josh. vi. 26; 2 Chron. viii. 2, fortifiiinfi and ornamenting.
more scandals to give the enemy cause to blaspheme, no more backslidings, no more falls; then shalt thou be fully honoured as the God of atonement and fully praised with the calves of our lips. Hasten the day of Jerusalem’s glory under the true Solomon.
Such is this Psalm of David — The broken-hearted sinner’s cry to the God of grace.