Psalms 51

Psalms 51:1

Psalm 51: Sweet Perfumes of PenitenceAlexander Maclaren once said, “The alchemy of divine love can extract sweet perfumes of penitence and praise out of the filth of sin.” We have an illustration of this in Psalms 51. As the heading explains, it was written by David after Nathan the prophet had boldly exposed him for committing adultery with Bathsheba and for murdering Uriah. Utterly convicted of his sin, David pours out this torrent of penitence from his broken and contrite heart. We might paraphrase his confession as follows: 51:1 Mercy, . . . O God! I ask for Your mercy! I deserve to be punished. But You are a God of lovingkindness and on that basis I ask that You not treat me the way I deserve. Your mercies are super-abounding and because of that I dare to ask that You erase my awful violations of Your holy law. 51:2 Wash me through and through from every instance where I have departed from Your straight line, and cleanse me from the frightful ways in which I have missed the mark. 51:3 Oh my God, I publicly acknowledge that I have broken Your law. My sin was public and my repentance is public, too. The guilt of my sin has been haunting me day and night, and I cannot stand it any more. 51:4 I now see clearly that it was against You, and You alone that I sinned. Oh, I realize that I also sinned against Bathsheba and against her faithful husband, UriahGod forgive me for my treachery to this valiant general. But I realize that all sin is first and foremost against You. Your law has been broken. Your will has been flouted. Your name has been dishonored. So I take sides with You against myself. You are absolutely justified in any sentence You hand down, and no one can find fault with Your decisions. 51:5 Lord, I am no good. I was born in iniquity, and going back even farther, I was conceived in sin. In saying this I don’t mean to cast any shame on my mother, or even to extenuate my own guilt. What I mean is that not only have I committed sins but that I am sinful in my very nature. 51:6 But You hate sin and You love faithfulness in a man’s inward being, so now I am coming to You and asking You to teach me wisdom deep in my heart. 51:7 You directed that hyssop and running water should be used in the ceremony for cleansing a leper (Lev_14:1-8). Well, Lord, I take the place of a moral leper. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.51:8 When I sinned, I lost my song. It has been so long since I have known what real joy and gladness are. Let me hear the music of rejoicing once again. In my backslidden condition, it seemed that You had crippled me by breaking my bones. I could no longer dance before You in the holy festivals. Now heal those fractures so that I may join Your people in praising Your name in the dance. 51:9 Oh, my God, I beg You to turn away Your face from looking on my sins in judgment and punishment. Blot out the last vestige of my enormous iniquities. How they stab me every time I think of them! 51:10 Looking back, I realize that the trouble all started in my mind. My thought-life was polluted. I entertained evil thoughts until at last I committed the sins. So now I ask that You create in me a clean mind. I know that if the fountain is clean, the stream flowing from it will be clean as well. Yes, Lord, renew my entire inner self so it will be steadfast in guarding against future outbreaks of sin. 51:11 Don’t give up on me, Lord, or banish me from Your presence. I can’t stand the thought of being away from You, or of having Your Holy Spirit taken from me. In this age in which I live, You do take Your Holy Spirit from men when they walk in disobedience to You. You did it to Saul (1Sa_16:14)I shudder to think of the consequences. Please, Lord, spare me from this fate. 51:12 As I said before, I have lost my song. Not my soul, but my song. Not Your salvation, but the joy of Your salvation. Now that I have come to You in repentance, confession, and forsaking of sin, I pray that the “chords that are broken may vibrate once more.” And not only do I pray that You will restore to me the joy of Your salvation, but also that You will uphold me by Your generous Spirit. In other words, I want Your Spirit to make me willing to obey You and to please You in all things. Then I will be maintained in paths of righteousness. 51:13 One by-product of my forgiveness will be that I will aggressively witness to other transgressors and tell them Your ways of pardon and peace. When they hear of what You have done for me, they will want to return to You also. 51:14 Then, too, if You deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the whole world will hear my testimony of Your deliverance. The guilt of Uriah’s blood is heavy upon me, O God of my salvation. Wipe the slate clean and I’ll praise You forever. 51:15 My lips have been sealed shut by my sin. Open them by Your forgiveness and my mouth will be dedicated to speaking and singing Your praise. 51:16, 17 Lord, I am not depending on rituals or ceremonies for forgiveness. I know that You are not a ritualist. If I thought You wanted animal sacrifice, I would bring them. But burnt offering does not delight Your heart. It is true that You instituted sacrifices and offerings, but they never represented Your ultimate ideal. And so I come to You with a broken heartthat is the sacrifice You require. You will not despise this shattered and contrite heart that I bring to You. 51:18 And now, Lord, I want to pray for Your dear people as well as for myself. Be pleased to shower them with good things. Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. My sins have doubtless hindered the progress of Your work. I have brought reproach upon Your name. Now may Your cause move forward without hindrance. 51:19 When we all walk in fellowship with You, confessing and forsaking our sins, then You shall be pleased with our sacrifices of righteousness. Offerings that speak of complete dedication to Yourself will gladden Your heart. We will offer bulls on Your altarin praise to the God who forgives sin and pardons iniquity.