CHAPTER 51

A PSALM OF DAVID: A PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS AND CLEANSING

¹Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your Lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of Your tender Mercies blot out my transgressions. (This is a Psalm of David, written when Nathan the Prophet came unto him after the sin with Bath-sheba and the murder of her husband Uriah [II Sam., Chpt. 12]. This Psalm was given by the Holy Spirit to David when, his heart broken and contrite because of his sin against God, he pleaded for pardon through the Atoning Blood of the Lamb of God, foreshadowed in Exodus, Chapter 12. Thus, he was not only fittingly provided with a vehicle of expression in Repentance and Faith, but he was also used as a channel of prophetic communication.

David, in his sin, Repentance, and Restoration, is a forepicture of Israel. For as he forsook the Law and was guilty of adultery and murder, so Israel despised the Covenant, turned aside to idolatry [spiritual adultery], and murdered the Messiah.

Thus the scope and structure of this Psalm goes far beyond David. It predicts the future confession and forgiveness of Israel in the day of the Messiahs Second Coming, when, looking upon Him Whom they pierced, they shall mourn and weep [Zech., Chpts. 1213].

As well, this is even more perfectly a vivid portrayal of the Intercessory Work of Christ on behalf of His People. Even though David prayed this prayer, the Son of David would make Davids sin [as well as ours] His Own, and pray through him that which must be said.

This means that this is the truest prayer of Repentance ever prayed, because it symbolizes the Intercessory Work of the Son of David.)

²Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin (mans problem is sin, and man must admit that; the only remedy for sin is Jesus Christ and Him Crucified, to which David, in essence, appealed [Heb. 10:12]; the Blood of Jesus Christ alone cleanses from all sin [I Jn. 1:7]).

³For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me (the acknowledgement of Verses 3 and 4 is the condition of Divine forgiveness; all sin, in essence, is committed against God; therefore, God demands that the transgressions be acknowledged, placing the blame where it rightfully belongs on the perpetrator; He cannot and, in fact, will not, forgive sin that is not acknowledged and for which no responsibility is taken).

⁴Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight: that You might be justified when You speak, and be clear when You judge. (While Davids sins were against Bath-sheba, her husband Uriah, and all of Israel, still, the ultimate direction of sin, perfected by Satan, is always against God.

All sin is a departure from Gods Ways to mans ways.

David is saying that God is always justified in any action that He takes, and His judgment is always perfect.).

⁵Behold, I was shaped in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. (Unequivocally, this Verse proclaims the fact of original sin. This Passage states that all are born in sin, and as a result of Adams Fall in the Garden of Eden.

When Adam, as the federal head of the human race, failed, this means that all of humanity failed. It means that all who would be born would, in effect, be born lost.

As a result of this, the Second Man, the Last Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, had to come into this world, in effect, God becoming Man, to undo what the original Adam did. He would have to keep the Law of God perfectly, which He did, all as our Substitute, and then pay the penalty for the terrible sin debt owed by all of mankind, for all had broken the Law, which He did by giving Himself on the Cross of Calvary [Jn. 3:16].

To escape the judgment of original sin, man must be born again, which is carried out by the believing sinner expressing Faith in Christ and what Christ did at the Cross [Jn. 3:3; Eph. 2:89].)

⁶Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part You shall make me to know wisdom (man can only deal with the externals, and even that not very well; God Alone can deal with the inward parts of man, which is the source of sin, which speaks of the heart; in other words, the heart has to be changed, which the Lord Alone can do [Mat. 5:8]).

⁷Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (The petition, purge me with hyssop, expresses a figure of speech. Purge me with the blood which on that night in Egypt was sprinkled on the doorposts with a bunch of hyssop [Ex. 12:13, 22] portrays Davids dependence on the Blood of the Lamb.

David had no recourse in the Law, even as no one has recourse in the Law. The Law can only condemn. All recourse is found exclusively in Christ and what He did for us at the Cross, of which the slain lamb and the blood on the doorposts in Egypt were symbols [Ex. 12:13].)

⁸Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which You have broken may rejoice. (Forgiveness for the past never exhausts the fullness of pardon. There is provision for the future.

The expression, bones which You have broken, presents a figure of speech meaning that one cannot proceed until things have been made right with God. It is as though a mans leg is broken, and he cannot walk. Unforgiven sin immobilizes the soul the same as a broken bone immobilizes the body.)

⁹Hide Your Face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. (Unforgiven sin stares in the Face of God. This can only be stopped when the sins are put away, which can only be done by proper Confession and Repentance, with the Blood of Jesus being applied by Faith. When this is done, the iniquities are blotted out as though they had never existed. This is Justification by Faith [Rom. 5:1].)

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. (Davids heart was unclean. Sin makes the heart unclean. The word create is interesting. It means the old heart is infected by sin, is diseased, and cannot be salvaged. God must, spiritually speaking, create a clean heart [Ezek. 18:31].

Also, it is impossible for any individual to have a right spirit if there is unconfessed sin.)

¹¹Cast me not away from Your Presence; and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. (If sin is unconfessed and rebellion persists, God will ultimately cast away the individual from His Presence. He will also take the Holy Spirit from the person. This refutes the doctrine of Unconditional Eternal Security.)

¹²Restore unto me the joy of Your Salvation; and uphold me with Your free Spirit. (Part of the business of the Holy Spirit is restoration, but only if the individual meets Gods conditions, as David did, and as we must do. With unconfessed sin, all joy is lost. With sin confessed, cleansed, and put away, the joy of... Salvation returns. A clean heart, a willing spirit, and a steadfast will are then given by the Holy Spirit.)

¹³Then will I teach transgressors Your Ways; and sinners shall be converted unto You. (Before Repentance, David was in no condition to proclaim Gods truth to transgressors, because he was a transgressor himself.

Upon true Repentance, David was now ready to teach and to preach, and the Holy Spirit attested to that.)

¹⁴Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, You God of my Salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your Righteousness. (This refers to the terrible sin of having Uriah, the husband of Bath-sheba, killed [II Sam. 11:1421].

Only the consciously pardoned sinner can sing aloud of Gods Righteousness. Unpardoned men can speak of His Mercy, but their thoughts about it are unholy thoughts.)

¹⁵O LORD, open You my lips; and my mouth shall show forth Your praise. (Proper praise to the Lord cannot go forth as long as there is unconfessed sin. This is the reason for such little praise in most Churches, and far too often the praise which actually is offered is hollow. True praise can only come from a true heart!)

¹⁶For You desire not Sacrifice; else would I give it: You delight not in Burnt Offering. (No penance, sacraments, or costly gifts of Churches or men, regarding expiation of past sins, are desired or accepted by God. Only Faith and trust in Christ and what He has done for us at the Cross can be accepted by the Lord.

Unfortunately, the world tries to create a new god, while the Church tries to create another sacrifice. There is only one Sacrifice for sin [Heb. 10:12].)

¹⁷The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. (True Repentance will always include a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart. Such alone will accept Christ and what Christ has done at the Cross. God will accept nothing less.)

¹⁸Do good in Your good pleasure unto Zion: build You the walls of Jerusalem. (Verses 1819 are not, as some think, a meaningless addition to the Psalm by some later writer. They both belong to the structure and prophetic scope of the Psalm.

Davids sin, confession, and Restoration illustrate this future chapter in Israels history. With their idolatry [spiritual adultery] and murder forgiven, they will go forth as messengers of the Gospel to win other nations to wholehearted faith and service in and for Christ.

Upon Israels Repentance, the Lord will once again build You the walls of Jerusalem.)

¹⁹Then shall You be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with Burnt Offering and Whole Burnt Offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon Your Altar. (The sacrificial program under the old system was lawful, because it pointed to the coming Redeemer. Since Christ and the Cross, they are no longer necessary, and for all the obvious reasons. Why the symbol when the substance is available?

During the Millennial Reign, the sacrificial system will be restored, but only as a memorial of what Christ has done at the Cross [Ezek., Chpts. 4048].)