Salmos 51
Warren Wiersbe · Citado em PreceptAustin
Salmos 51
Wiersbe says David prays three things in Psalm 51: “Forgive me.” "Cleanse me.” "Use me.” I like Charles Simeon's introduction to his sermon "True Penitence Described" on Psalm 51:1-3… SIN is, for the most part, thought a light and venial (meriting no particular censure or notice) evil, especially among the higher ranks of society: as though the restraints of religion were designed only for the poor; and the rich had a dispensation granted them to live according to their own will. But sin, by whomsoever committed, will, sooner or later, be as the gall of asps (small venomous snake of Egypt) within us; nor can all the charms of royalty silence the convictions of a guilty conscience. View the Psalmist. He had been elevated, from the low condition of a shepherd’s boy, to a throne: yet, when he had offended God in the matter of Uriah, there was not found in his whole dominions a more miserable wretch than he. Before his repentance became deep and genuine, “his bones waxed old through his roaring all the day long: for day and night God’s hand was heavy upon him; and his moisture was turned into the drought of summer.” (Ps 32:3, 4) Even in his penitence (sorrow for sins) we may see how heavy a load was laid upon his mind. This psalm was written on that occasion: and the words before us, while they declare the workings of his mind, will serve to show us, in a general view, the true penitent. (Psalm 51:1-3 True Penitence Described) J R Miller…The fifty-first Psalm tells the story of David's great sin. It tells of his penitence after his sin had been shown to him by Nathan. We see in it the path by which he returned to God. Since David wrote the words of this Psalm, thousands have used them, and they have become the liturgy of penitence for all who seek divine mercy. Notice David's thoughts of God, as we find them in his confession. He saw Him as a God of unfailing love. In all the poignant sense of guilt that pressed upon his soul, there was not a shadow of despair. The moment he saw his sin—there poured upon him also a glorious disclosure of God's love. He confessed, "I have sinned," and at once Nathan said, "The Lord also has put away your sin." (2Sa 12:13) From this revealing of the divine mercy—hope came at once. Had David not seen God in this light when the sense of his sin overwhelmed him, utter, hopeless darkness would have come upon him, and he would have been lost in the gloom. Thus it was with Judas, after he had betrayed his Lord, when the terrible tide of conviction swept over his soul. He saw no ray of hope, and in his dark despair—he went out and hanged himself. On the other hand, when Peter had denied his Master, and when, beneath the grieved look of that holy Eye (Lk 22:61), a sense of sin overwhelmed him—he went out and wept bitterly (Lk 22:62). But through his tears—he saw God as a God of mercy and love, and instead of despair—hope sprang up in his soul, and he was restored, living to be a glorious apostle (Ed: Remember beloved, as with Peter, Jesus is praying for you in your hour of failure - Lk 22:32, Heb 7:25-note, Ro 8:34-note). It is most important that the convicted sinner shall see God—as a God of mercy and love—as David saw Him, as Peter saw Him. Notice also David's thoughts of his sin. First, he thought about his sin as his own. "My transgressions," "my iniquity," "my sin," "I have sinned," are the words he uses. He does not try to lay the blame of his wrongdoing, on some other one, as our first parents did. He does not plead the peculiar strength of his temptation and try to excuse himself for sinning so grievously. He does not talk of his peculiar environment or circumstances. He does not try in any way to explain his fall, or to mitigate in any measure the degree of his guilt. He frankly takes the whole responsibility on himself. This shows the sincerity of his repentance. "He does not throw blame on circumstances, or talk about temperament or maxims of society or bodily organisation. All these had some share in impelling him to sin; but after all allowance made for them, the deed is the doer’s, and he must bear its burden.” (Maclaren) An old writer said, that nothing else in the world is so much our own—as our sins. We cannot push the responsibility off on any tempter or on any circumstances. Others may tempt us—but no one can compel us to sin. There is no sin in being tempted—sin begins when we yield to the temptation. Jesus was tempted in all points like as we are—but He was without sin. We are commanded to resist the Devil, and we are told that he will flee from us. Others may tempt us—and the guilt of the tempter is great. But no one can compel us to sin. Until we lift the latch—sin cannot enter our heart's door. We are responsible, therefore, for our sins, and must bear the burden of them ourselves. We must also personally seek and find forgiveness for our own sins. No intercessor can obtain pardon for us; we must be penitent ourselves. Christ's expiation is for sinners—but even Christ's intercession will not bring forgiveness, if we do not personally repent and seek mercy. No one can obtain forgiveness for us—for any unconfessed sin of ours. (Devotional Hours with the Bible) C H
Salmos 51
Wiersbe - All of us struggle with sin. Human nature pulls us down as gravity does, yet God has made us and saved us to lift us up (1Jn 1:5-2:6). There are three ways we may deal with our sins. Cover them. We cover our sins with our words. This is lying-- deceiving others and ourselves and lying to God. Lies are darkness, whereas God's truth is light. When we lie, our character erodes (Pr. 28:13). When we cover sin, we lose God's light, fellowship and character. Confess them. Admit and judge them--agree with God about your sin. This involves the heart and the will. Some people have died because they repeatedly, willfully, proudly and arrogantly defied the will of God. Admit you are a sinner, say what is wrong and then come to Him and name it. Confess your sin only in the circle of those influenced by it--individuals or family. (Don't become an exhibitionist with the public.) Confession brings release, freedom, forgiveness and a new beginning. Conquer them. Jesus is in heaven today as our Advocate--as a Lawyer before the Father. Abide in Him, love Him, walk with Him in the light of His Word. Keep His commandments. Fellowship is a by-product of our walk with God. To love Him is to serve Him and obey His commandments. Are you covering sin or conquering sin in your life? Confess any known sin and ask God to clean your heart. He wants to forgive you so He can restore fellowship with you (Psalm 51:1-2 The High Cost of Committing Sin). William G Heslop… This is the hymn of the broken heart. David had willfully sinned and grievously disobeyed. Convicted at last and fully repentant, he poured his heart out to GOD. This well known and never to be forgotten song was forged upon the anvil of intense suffering and sorrow consequent to personal sin. "Be sure your sin will find you out." From the contrite spirit and broken heart of the sweet singer there arose a ten-fold cry: (1) "Have mercy upon me." (2) "Blot out my transgressions." (3) "Wash me thoroughly." (4) "Cleanse me." (5) "Purge me." (6) "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." (7) "Create in me a clean heart." (8) "Renew a right spirit within me." (9) "Restore unto me the joy … " (10) "Uphold me… Then will I teach … " This versatile, sagacious, and incomparable hymn (Psalm 51)` has been repeated and rehearsed ten thousand times in the lives and testimonies of the people of GOD in all ages. It will be sung by the remnant of Israel when their King takes the throne. This prayer will be prayed, heard, and answered fully just before the millennial kingdom begins. (Psalms 50-59) QUESTION - What does it mean that God will blot out our transgressions? ANSWER - Several passages of Scripture refer to God’s promise to “blot out our transgressions.” In Isaiah 43:25 the Lord says to His people, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” Twice in Psalm 51, David prays for the Lord to “blot out” his sin (verses 1 and 9). The Hebrew word translated “blot out” in Psalm 51 means “to abolish, destroy, erase, or utterly wipe away,” according to Strong’s Concordance. In verse 1, the appeal to God to blot out sin is based on God’s mercy and “unfailing love.” That request is followed by a prayer that God would “wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin” (verse 2). In verse 9, God’s blotting out of sin is linked to David’s request to “hide your face from my sins” and “create in me a pure heart” (verses 9–10). The picture is that our sin is recorded in a heavenly book. The bookkeeper is God, and our sins are entered in a ledger in our debit column. Revelation 20:12 presents a similar picture of the dreadful great white throne judgment, when “the dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” The psalmist, keenly aware of his sin (Psalm 51:3), pleads with God to erase the record of his sin and cancel his debt. As a sinner, his only hope is that God, in His mercy, will blot out his iniquity. As Isaiah 43:25 reveals, God is the only one who has the ability to wipe away our spiritual defilement. To the praise of His glory, He is a God who forgives His children: “I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you” (Isaiah 44:22, ESV). For God to refuse to blot out transgression is a severe judgment (see Nehemiah 4:5 and Jeremiah 18:23). Although our sins are many, God has mercy. To those who have faith in Jesus Christ, His Son, God applies the blood of Christ to our sin and cancels the debt we owe Him. Colossians 2:13–14 explains how that happens: “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (ESV, emphasis added). Other translations of Colossians 2:14 bring out the same truth in various ways: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances . . .” (KJV). “God wiped out the charges” (CEV). “He erased the certificate of debt” (CSB). “Having blotted out the handwriting . . .” (BLB). “He canceled the record of the charges” (NLT). The fact is that, in Christ, our sin has been effaced; no trace of it remains. In ancient times, people hand-wrote deeds, receipts, and bills with reed or quill pens and black ink made of soot, gum, and water. When they made a printing mistake on a document (other than the Scriptures), they might choose to blot it out with ink, rewrite the letter or word correctly, and move on. The mistake had to be covered. That’s a picture of the “blotting out” of our transgressions. Our sin must be made right if we are to be fit for God’s presence. The only substance that can cover our sin is the blood of God’s own Son. Under the Old Testament Law, God allowed the substitution of bulls, sheep, and goats (Numbers 29:11; Leviticus 6:25; 2 Chronicles 29:24). When their blood was spilled, it symbolized what God intended to do when He sent His Messiah to be the final propitiation for sin (Romans 3:25–26; 1 John 2:2; 4:10). With Jesus’ shed blood, God blots out the transgression of every person who comes to Him in faith (John 3:16–18; Matthew 26:28). “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:25–26). Those who have had their transgressions blotted out by the blood of Jesus are forgiven and will spend eternity in heaven with Him. Without Christ, however, sins remain a dark stain on the soul, and the fate of the unforgiven is eternity in hell (2 Peter 2:4–10; Luke 12:4–5). No amount of sincerity, religious fervor, or good deeds on the “credit” side of our ledgers can blot out our transgressions. Only the blood of the spotless Lamb of God can blot out our transgressions, erase our debits, and make us clean before God (John 1:29; Hebrews 9:13–14). GotQuestions.org QUESTION - What are the penitential psalms? ANSWER - The book of Psalms is a collection of 150 poems, hymns, and songs originating from worship in ancient Israel. Throughout history, church fathers and Bible scholars have classified individual psalms into various categories according to their content, theme, and structure. One grouping known as the penitential psalms shares the key feature of expressing penitence—the psalmist’s sorrow over sin and spiritual failure. There are seven penitential psalms: Psalms 6; 32; 38; 51; 102; 130; and 143. In each, the author acknowledges or confesses his trespass before the Lord and recognizes his need for God’s favor and forgiveness. The penitential psalms make fitting prayers for the repentant sinner. From as early as the time of Origen (AD 184—253) and Augustine (AD 354—430), the penitential psalms were set apart for liturgical use in the Christian church for the confession of sin and repentance. Medieval Pope Innocent III (AD 1161—1216) ordered that the penitential psalms be recited during Lent and Holy Week. The Roman Breviary, an ancient service book of the priests of the Roman Catholic Church, provided a special place for the penitential psalms. Likewise, the Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer designates the penitential psalms as appropriate for use on Ash Wednesday and in other Lenten prayer services. The most familiar penitential psalm, Psalm 51, has been called the Sinner’s Guide. It is King David’s prayer of repentance after the prophet Nathan confronted him with his sins (2 Samuel 12). David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and covered it up by having her husband, Uriah, killed. The words of Psalm 51 pour forth from David’s darkest moment of self-awareness. He acknowledges the depth of his sin and guilt and pleads for God’s mercy. Then, gripped with confidence in God’s faithfulness, David believes his plea will be heard and answered. Psalm 32, the follow-up to this psalm, reveals that God does indeed grant David’s prayer. Besides serving as a personal prayer of confession, contrition, and restoration, Psalm 51 also gives voice to the nation of Israel in its plea for repentance and salvation. Psalm 6, the first of the penitential psalms, reveals the author in deep affliction, weary in body and spirit, and desperately appealing to God for mercy and relief from punishment. Again, the psalmist here is David, who has been suffering from an illness. Trusting in God’s gracious reply, David closes his prayer knowing God will hear and help him. Psalm 38 is the prayer of an individual suffering from an illness that he views as a punishment inflicted by God. The psalmist confesses his sins and asks God for forgiveness. Similarly, Psalm 102 is the lament of an individual who is sick, suffering, lonely, and threatened by his enemies. However, in this prayer, the psalmist asks for help for himself and for Jerusalem. Psalm 102 mixes personal concerns with those of the whole kingdom and includes a hymn of praise to God. The author of Psalm 130 neither specifies the nature of his affliction nor explicitly repents of sin. But he does express awareness of his sinfulness and his need for God’s grace. The closing verses suggest that this penitential psalm is not only an individual confession but a national prayer of repentance for all of Israel. The last of the seven penitential psalms is Psalm 143. It contains a universal acknowledgment of guilt: “Don’t put your servant on trial, for no one is innocent before you” (Psalm 143:2, NLT). But this is the only reference to sin and forgiveness in the psalm. Repentance of one’s sins before a holy God is one of the major themes of Scripture, and the penitential psalms are perfect examples of the value of repentance and a firm reliance on the God of all grace and comfort.GotQuestions.org QUESTION - How could David be considered a man after God’s own heart? (See accompanying video) ANSWER - To understand why David was a man after God’s own heart, we need to see what characteristics he had to qualify for such an exalted description. In the book of Acts, the apostle Paul speaks of God’s feelings about King David: “After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do’” (Acts 13:22+). The answer to why David was considered a man after God’s own heart is found right in the verse: David did whatever God wanted him to do. An obvious question is how could God still call David a man after His own heart when David committed such terrible sins, including adultery and murder? We learn much of David’s character in the book of Psalms as he opened up his life for all to examine. David’s life was a portrait of success and failure, and the biblical record highlights the fact that David was far from perfect. But what made David a cut above the rest was that his heart was pointed toward God. He had a deep desire to follow God’s will and do “everything” God wanted him to do. He was a man after God’s own heart. Let’s look at some characteristics of David’s life to discover what that entails: Part of why David is called a man after God’s own heart is that he had absolute faith in God. Nowhere in Scripture is this point better illustrated than in 1 Samuel 17 where David as a young shepherd boy fearlessly slew the Philistine, Goliath. Shortly before the duel, we see direct evidence of David’s faith when David says, “‘The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the LORD be with you!’” (verse 37). David was fully aware that God was in control of his life, and he had faith that God would deliver him from impending danger. How else would one venture into a potentially fatal situation with such calm and confidence? David knew early on in life that God was to be trusted and obeyed. As we see in Scripture, David’s faith pleased God, and God rewards David for his faithfulness. Another reason David was a man after God’s own heart is that he absolutely loved God’s Law. Of the 150 psalms in the Bible, David is credited for writing over half of them. Writing at various and often troubling times in his life, David repeatedly mentioned how much he loved God’s perfect Word. We find a beautiful example of this in Psalm 119:47–48: “For I delight in your commands because I love them. I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees.” It is not hard to see his complete adoration for God’s Word. Also notice how David “meditates” on God’s statutes. God granted David understanding and wisdom through daily meditation. We would do well to not only read God’s Word but also think about it throughout the day, for God loves us to think about Him. “Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways” (Psalm 119:2–3). David was a man after God’s own heart in that he was truly thankful. “I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O LORD, proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds” (Psalm 26:6–7). David’s life was marked by seasons of great peace and prosperity as well as times of fear and despair. But through all of the seasons in his life, he never forgot to thank the Lord for everything that he had. It is truly one of David’s finest characteristics. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (Psalm 100:4, ESV). As followers of Jesus Christ, we would do well to follow David’s lead of offering praise through thanksgiving to our Lord. After he sinned, David was truly repentant. David’s sin with Bathsheba is recorded in 2 Samuel 11:2–5. The mighty fall hard, and David’s fall included adultery, lying, and murder. He had sinned against God, and he admits it in 2 Samuel 12:13: “David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the LORD.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.’” But admitting our sin and asking for forgiveness is only half of the equation. The other half is repentance, and David did that as well. Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of repentance to God: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!" (Psalm 51:1–2). In conclusion, David was a man after God’s own heart because he demonstrated his faith and was committed to following the Lord. Yes, his faith was tested on a grand scale, and he failed at times. But after his sin he sought and received the Lord’s forgiveness. In the final analysis, David loved God’s Law and sought to follow it exactly. As a man after God’s own heart, David is a role model for all of us.GotQuestions.org The Wonder Of Grace The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. —Psalm 51:17 Today's Scripture: Psalm 51:1-19 When I was a young boy, a few of my friends had fathers who led their families in daily Bible reading and never missed a church service. But I also knew that some of them were proud, tyrants at home, ruthless in their business dealings, and heartless toward people in need. Although I was young, I knew this kind of hypocrisy did not please God. I was grateful that my father and several other men I knew modeled true faith and humility. They were quick to admit their wrongs and treated others with compassion. They obviously saw themselves as unworthy recipients of God’s wonderful grace. In Psalm 51, David expressed his deep sense of guilt and his desperate need for God’s forgiveness and cleansing. As he grieved over his sin, he came to the Lord with the sacrifice of “a broken and a contrite heart” (v.17). When David thought about God’s love, mercy, and grace, he was filled with gratitude and praise. The Lord is drawn to broken hearts And saves each sin-sick, contrite soul. With healing touch His grace applies, And makes the wounded spirit whole. —Bosch Spiritual wholeness begins with a broken heart. Great News! Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love. Psalm 51:1 Today's Scripture & Insight: Psalm 51:1–7 The article in the local newspaper was short but heartwarming. After attending a faith-based program on building stronger family ties, a group of prison inmates were given a rare treat of an open visit with their families. Some hadn’t seen their children in years. Instead of talking through a glass panel, they could touch and hold their loved ones. The tears flowed freely as families grew closer and wounds began to heal. For most readers, it was just a story. But for these families, holding one another was a life-changing event—and for some, the process of forgiveness and reconciliation was begun. God’s forgiveness of our sin and offer of reconciliation, made possible through His Son, is more than a mere fact of the Christian faith. The article’s news of reconciliation reminds us that Jesus’s sacrifice is great news not just for the world, but for you and me. In times when we’re overwhelmed by guilt for something we’ve done, however, it’s news we can cling to desperately. That’s when the fact of God’s unending mercy becomes personal news: because of Jesus’ dying on our behalf, we can come to the Father washed clean, “whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). In such times, when we know we don’t deserve His mercy, we can hold on to the only thing we can depend on: God’s unfailing love and compassion (v. 1). By: Leslie Koh Father, I’m sorry if I’ve taken Your mercy and love for granted. Thank You for this wonderful gift and privilege that I don’t deserve yet You’ve promised unconditionally. Forgiveness isn’t just big news. It’s wonderful, personal news! Old Year's Resolution - What we propose to do in the new year is not as important as what we actually do with the old year. That’s why I suggest that instead of thinking about new year’s resolutions, we should think about the resolution of the old year. Sound confusing? Here’s what I mean. Before we make plans for our lives in the new year and in our service for God, we need to take care of any problems we still have with the old year. We should deal with unconfessed sin before we begin making new plans. So as the old year winds down, try getting away from everyone else for a little while and have a meeting with God. Take along a Bible, a pen, and a blank sheet of paper. First, spend some time reading and meditating on Psalm 51, David’s prayer of repentance. Then write down all of the junk from this past year that you can think of that you still need to confess to God. Next, following David’s example, ask God’s forgiveness. Then, just to remind yourself that He will blot out your transgressions (Ps 51:1), take that piece of paper, tear it into bits, and throw it away. We're thankful, Lord, that when we fall We can begin anew If humbly we confess our sin, Then turn and follow You. —Sper We have to face our sins before we can put them behind us. God, Be Merciful to Me --Richard Redhead, The Psalter, 1912 God, be merciful to me; on thy grace I rest my plea; Plenteous in compassion thou, blot out my transgressions now; Wash me, make me pure within, cleanse, O cleanse me from my sin. My transgressions I confess, grief and guilt my soul oppress; I have sinned against thy grace and provoked thee to thy face; I confess thy judgment just, speechless, I thy mercy trust. I am evil, born in sin; thou desirest truth within. Thou alone my Savior art, teach thy wisdom to my heart; Make me pure, thy grace bestow, wash me whiter than the snow. Broken, humbled to the dust by thy wrath and judgment just, Let my contrite heart rejoice and in gladness hear thy voice; From my sins O hide thy face, blot them out in boundless grace. Gracious God, my heart renew, make my spirit right and true; Cast me not away from thee, let thy Spirit dwell in me; Thy salvation’s joy impart, steadfast make my willing heart. Sinners then shall learn from me and return, O God, to thee; Savior, all my guilt remove, and my tongue shall sing thy love; Touch my silent lips, O Lord, and my mouth shall praise accord. Handfuls of Purpose Psalm 51 James Smith The Penitential Psalm A THREEFOLD VIEW OF SIN PSALM 51:1–5 INTRODUCTION. 1. The 51st Psalm is one of the great Penitential Psalms. 2. It has been called “The Sinner’s Guide.” 3. Have you ever read it on your knees? For years the Author has read this Psalm on his knees every Lord’s Day morning. 4. Remember it was the prayer of “a man after God’s own heart,” who had gone astray. 5. It is thus the prayer of a sinning saint. 6. A whole year had elapsed between David’s crime and David’s penitence (Far, far too long). 7. It had been a year of misery, as Psalm 32 shows. (Psalm 32 is David’s account of his experiences during that year.) 8. In mercy came Nathan the Prophet. 9. The cold frost that had bound his soul melted away, and he confessed his sin. 10. Though forgiven immediately, yet he comes into the sanctuary and wails out this hymn of agony and sorrow. 11. This Psalm repays careful study. 12. First, let us study David’s view of sin. 13. Here we see how David viewed his sin after (not before) his restoration. No one can have a right view of sin until forgiven. 14. There is a threefold repetition that is very impressive. “It is not a mere piece of Hebrew parallelism. It is more than the requirements of poetical form. It is the earnestness of a soul that cannot be content with once asking for the blessing, but dwells upon them with repeated supplication.” What a Man Thought of Sin who had Sinned. 1. The very hard things that are said in this Psalm about sin, are said by this man about himself. 2. Pray remember, we have here not merely what a man thought of sin, but what a man thought who had sinned. 3. We have something more than a theological treatise. Tread Softly. 1. And because of that we must tread softly. 2. We must handle the words with the reverent sadness with which we enter the house of mourning. Why have we Largely Lost the Sense of Sin? 1. A young minister put this question to an eminent Christian Judge, and he replied: “Because the world is losing its consciousness of God, and when men lose the consciousness of God’s existence they lose their fear of sin.” 2. Fear is a very wholesome preventative in our civic and national life. 3. Men fear to break the laws of the country because of punishment for so doing. 4. When I am possessed of a consciousness of God I not only fear to sin, but fear because of sin. I. HE VIEWED HIS CRIME AS TRANSGRESSION (Ps 51:1,3). 1. The startling fact discovered from a study of the word “sin” is that it means much more than stepping over a mark, the interpretation usually given. 2. For it is the English translation of the Hebrew word “pesha”—rebellion. 3. By Young’s Concordance we find the word “transgress” in our English Bibles is the translation of several different Hebrew and Greek words. a. Deceive—to deal treacherously—“Bagad.” b. Trespass—“Maal.” c. Passover—“Abar.” d. Rebel—“Pasha.” 4. In the New Testament the words there carry all these meanings: “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth (does lawlessness) the law.” 5. That is the root idea in the word transgression. 6. It really means rebellion, a breaking away from, and a setting of oneself against lawful authority. 7. Transgression is rebellion against a rightful sovereign. 8. In this word we get the outward aspect of sin. 9. And this is the first view of sin in the Psalm. II. HE VIEWED HIS CRIME AS INIQUITY (Ps 51:2, 5). 1. Observe, he first used the plural, now the singular. 2. This is the inward aspect of sin. 3. Young gives “perversity” as the meaning of “avon,” the Hebrew word here. 4. This indicates that iniquity means that which is twisted, bent, wrung, or warped from the straight line of right. 5. To that line, drawn by God’s law, our lives should run parallel, bending neither to the right hand nor to the left. 6. “I was shapen in iniquity.” This does not mean that motherhood is a sin, and maidenhood more holy and blessed, but that the twist in our natures is inherited from our parents. 7. Sin consists not only in wrong doing, but in wrong being. 8. It also consists not only in actual wrong committed, but in the intention, the will, the wrong attitude of the soul. An aged and wealthy physician in Prussia was found dead in his bed, with finger marks around his throat, and a knife wound in his chest. His house had been plundered. Soon after an upholsterer was arrested in a neighbouring town with some of the stolen property in his possession. He made a full confession, telling how he had killed the aged physician in his sleep. But the Doctor who had performed the post-mortem examination declared that the man had died of apoplexy, and must have been dead before the burglar had broken into the house. The prisoner, in spite of his murderous intent was only punished for burglary. Under human law he was a burglar; under Divine law he was a murderer. III. HE VIEWS HIS CRIME AS SIN (Ps 51:3, 4, 5). 1. Young gives the Hebrew word to be “chata,” i.e., missing the mark. 2. Sin is coming short of God’s mark. 3. It seems to point out that every sin is a blunder as well as a crime. 4. “Thee only.” What is the meaning of this? Has not David made a mistake? Had he not wronged man as well as God? Answer: a. Here we have the language of a thoroughly penitent man. The half repentant man fixes his eye on the humiliation and shame, on the opinion of his fellows, on the disgrace it will mean to him. But the man who has got to the heart of the matter puts men and reputation out of view, forgetting every one but God. b. Strictly speaking, sin can only be against God. c. The returned prodigal in Luke 15 put Heaven first, then his parent: “I have sinned against Heaven and in thy sight.” A sure and convincing proof of his genuine repentance. And how this prayer was answered we shall see in our next study. A TRIPLE BLESSING “Blot”—“Wash”—“Cleanse” Psalm 51:1, 2 INTRODUCTION. Opinions. 1. “The 51st Psalm is theology made luminous” (Prof. Elmslie). 2. “The 51st Psalm is the noblest expression of Penitence.” What it Follows. 1. It is well to remember that this Psalm followed Nathan’s declaration of the Divine forgiveness toward David. 2. This teaches: a. The revelation of God’s love and wonderful grace precedes and is the cause of the truest penitence. b. The assurance of pardon, so far from making a man think lightly of his sin, is the thing that drives it home to his conscience, and teaches him what it really is. c. Here is the true reason of verse 4. Pardoned, you think less of the consequence of sin, and more of the act (see Ezek. 16:60–63). Mercy. 1. He appeals at once to the mercy of God before he mentions his sin. 2. Mercy is a foremost attribute of God. The Lord passed by before Moses and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful” (Exod. 34:6). 3. The word “merciful” in Latin is very expressive—it is “misericordia,” “miseria”—misery, and “cor” heart, i.e., a heart touched and pained at the misery of another. “According to,” i.e., in proportion to. 1. Note how he heaps up these phrases. 2. “Love-in-kindness;” “multitude of Thy tender mercies.” 3. His whole hope rests upon God’s own character as revealed in His Word and in the endless continuance of His acts of love. Triple Blessing. As he spoke of sin in a threefold fashion, so he asks for a triple blessing. A Query. 1. Have we here David’s cry for pardon? 2. Have we here how David thinks of forgiveness? 3. Why he was forgiven already! 4. We know that he knew very well that he was already forgiven (Psa. 32:5), and certainly he would not ask for what he already possessed. 5. We shall see in our study that he was asking for three further blessings: a. God’s forgetfulness of His crime. b. God’s sanctification of his soul. c Fellowship with God and His people. I. “BLOT OUT”—FORGETFULNESS OF SIN (Ps 51:1, 9). 1. Young gives meaning of original as “To rub or wipe off.” 2. He deserved to be blotted out of God’s Book (Ex. 32:32), instead he asks for his sin to be blotted out. 3. I wonder if the Psalmist had Nu 5:23 in mind—the blotting out of the curse from a scroll? 4. Here David asks the Lord to deal with his sin as an erasure of a writing or indictment, as the wiping out of a record of rebellion. 5. Is this possible? We know from Isaiah 43:25 and Isa 44:22 that it is. 6. Praise God, He not only forgives but forgets. 7. And it is done because of the Cross (Col. 2:14). II. “WASH”—DESIRE FOR PURITY (Ps 51:2). 1. An examination of Young’s Concordance shows that the Hebrew word “Kabas” (met with 37 times) is always used in relation to the cleansing of a garment. Another word is used for cleansing of hands and feet and body. 2. He recognises that sin, though pardoned, has defiled his soul, and now, being forgiven, he requires cleansing. 3. The garments of the soul require purity. 4. Note “Wash me throughly,” literally “again and again.” 5. He is praying for purity. III. “CLEANSE”—ADMISSION INTO FELLOWSHIP (Ps 51:2). 1. This is ceremonial cleansing. 2. It is the technical word for the priestly act of declaring ceremonial cleansing from the stain of leprosy (Lev. 13:6–34). 3. Observe, the leper already was clean from his leprosy, but he had to be pronounced ceremonially clean before being allowed fellowship with God and Israel in Tabernacle or Temple worship. 4. David recognised that sin cut him off from fellowship with God; he is craving for restored fellowship. THE JUSTIFICATION OF GOD INTRODUCTION. Uncommon. 1. This certainly is an uncommon subject. 2. The justification of the sinner is a well-known topic. 3. Not so the justification of God. Important. 1. Yet one can easily see its importance. 2. Can God be justified in all His dealings with mankind? 3. You see, His very character is at stake. True Meaning. 1. I don’t think anyone will doubt that here David is anxious for the justification of God. 2. Bishop Patrick’s paraphrase makes it clear: “If Thou shouldest pronounce the heaviest sentence upon me for my crimes, and execute it with the greatest severity, I could not accuse Thee of too much rigour, but must still justify Thee in Thy proceedings, and clear Thee from all such unjust imputations.” Unique. 1. This is a unique illustration, and proof of a great desire for the glory of God. 2. More than desire—a consuming passion. 3. Contrast this with other illustrations: a. Adam and Eve—Silent at the judgments of God. b. Cain (Gen. 4:13). Here is a puzzle. Was he complaining at the severity of the judgment? Or was he admitting his case as hopeless? c. Eli (1 Sam. 3:18). Resignation, but that alone. d. Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:19). I. MAN JUSTIFYING GOD BY REPENTANCE AND A TURNING TO CHRIST (Luke 7:29+). 1. These were the words of the Lord Jesus Himself. 2. This is a very unusual way of putting the truth. 3. In what way did these people justify God? a. They believed and accepted the message God had sent to them by John. b. That message contained much that was stern. It foretold judgment to the unrepentant. c. They admitted the justice of God’s condemnation and accepted His offer of mercy. 4. At the proclamation of the doom of the impenitent many charge God with injustice. 5. But we justify God. II. MAN JUSTIFYING GOD IN THE JUSTIFICATION OF THE SINNER (Rom. 3:26). 1. What is the message of the Epistle to the Romans? Justification of repentant sinners? 2. No; not the justification of the sinner, but the justification of God in justifying the sinner. 3. Remember it is more important that God be justified in this act of mercy than that sinners be justified. 4. If in the justifying of the sinner God became unjust, then the whole scheme of salvation falls to the ground. 5. But the Divine plan of Redemption is so wonderful that God is justified in justifying the sinner. III. MAN JUSTIFYING GOD IN HIS DEALINGS WITH JEWISH NATION (Rom. 3:4). 1. This is part of one great argument. 2. Here Paul is dealing with objections to the levelling of the Jew to the plane of the Gentile. 3. In doing this, does not God prove faithless to His promises to the covenant people? 4. No; and then Paul quotes the LXX rendering of Psalm 51:4. IV. MAN JUSTIFYING GOD IN THE SEVERE JUDGMENTS AND CHASTISEMENTS HE HAS TO BEAR (Psalm 51:4). 1. And for this David provides by a frank acknowledgment of his sin, and by confessed meriting of all God’s severities. 2. What an example here for all to copy: a. For the saved sinner, suffering physically as a result of a life of vice and sin in the unregenerate days. b. For the saint suffering through the breaking of some of nature’s laws. THE HOLY SPIRIT Psalm 51:10, 11, 12 INTRODUCTION. 1. Three Petitions. Connected with the word Spirit, we have in the great Penitential Psalm three separate petitions. 2. Though we have the same word three times, we have not the same thought. 3. The first one most certainly stands for disposition or character; the second word stands for the Third Person in the blessed Trinity; the last some think is like the first, standing for disposition or character; but surely it stands like the middle one, for the Holy Spirit, only it gives another view of His character. 4. Shall we take them in the order in which they occur? I. “RENEW A RIGHT SPIRIT WITHIN ME” (Ps 51:10). Introduction. 1. He desired an inward work. 2. “Renew,” once it had been there. 3. What is a right spirit? Best answer to that question is the other renderings. Renderings. 1. R.V., “Steadfast.” 2. A.V., margin, “Constant.” 3. F.F., “Put a new mind in my breast.” Significance of “Steadfast” Rendering. 1. I have so easily yielded to temptation. 2. Renew within me a steadfast mind, a mind steady in following the path of duty, an unyielding spirit. 3. John Bunyan, in his immortal allegory, has a Mr. Standfast, a most attractive character. Meaning of Rendering “Constant.” 1. Think of a mariner’s compass or a clock. 2. A compass or a clock, always right and dependable, are to be prized and valued. 3. Oh, to have a mind always set on God! (LORD, LET IT BE SO FOR ALL WHO READ THESE NOTES. IN JESUS' NAME. AMEN) Right Spirit. A wrong spirit can take possession of us. Renew. 1. It was once there. (cf Rev 2:2-5+) 2. Lord, put it there again! “Within.” Here he desired an inward work of grace. How Often should we Offer this Prayer? 1. More frequently than we imagine we should. 2. For our dispositions seem mercurial, as changeable as the weather. 3. The ideal is: “The same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.” 4. The same, without sameness. 5. God alone can accomplish this work. 6. Let us present this prayer daily. II. “TAKE NOT THY HOLY SPIRIT FROM ME” (Ps 51:11). He Possessed. 1. David regards himself as still possessing the Spirit. 2. We know when the Spirit first possessed him (1 Sam. 16:13). 3. What longsuffering on the part of the Spirit to remain in an unclean life. Saul. 1. Had David Saul in mind when he prayed thus? (1 Sam. 16:14). Dispensation. 1. Is this a prayer for this dispensation? 2. Scofield’s valuable note: “No believer in this dispensation aware of the promise of His abiding (John 14:16) should pray, ‘Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me’ (Eph. 4:30); but, while Christian position is not bound here, Christian experience in essence is.” 3. Observe the force of John 14:16. What can be taken away? 1. THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THAT HOLY PRESENCE. a. This is our Heaven below. b. We may live in the regular enjoyment of that presence. c. The manifestation of the Spirit is the fruit of loving obedience and watchfulness. 2. THE POWER OF THAT ALMIGHTY PRESENCE, though not the presence. a. When we lose that power we become “weak as other men,” as in Samson’s experience. b. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that makes all the difference between preachers and workers. III. UPHOLD ME WITH THY FREE SPIRIT (Ps 51:12). Introduction 1. Two facts attract one in this prayer—the desire to be upheld, and the adjectives describing the character of the Spirit. 2. This is the prayer of conscious weakness. Renderings. 1. “Willing.” R.V., margin, “Thy willing Spirit.” 2. “Princely.” Lit., “Thy princely Spirit.” 3. “Free.” Spirit has wonderful freedom. “Thy free Spirit.” A Wonderful Description of God’s Holy Spirit. 1. God’s Spirit is Royal and Princely in character, and communicates a Holy, and Royal, and Princely dignity to us. 2. God’s Spirit is a “Willing Spirit,” willing to work for and in us, and will communicate to us a willingness and an ability to do God’s will. 3. God’s Spirit is a “free” Spirit, imparting wonderful freedom. Uphold. Oh, keep me! Hold me up! Application. Thos. Waugh discovered “though he had the Spirit, he was not filled with the Spirit; though he had welcomed the Spirit as Guest, he had not welcomed him as Host.” Let the Guest become Host, i.e., Lord. Instead of, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty,” Rotherham has, “Where the Spirit is Lord, there is liberty.” WHITE, THEN WHITER THAN SNOW Isaiah 1:18; Psalm 51:7 Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. Psalms 51:7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. NOT SYNONYMOUS. 1. These are not statements that mean one and the same thing. 2. POINTS OF DIFFERENCE are easily noted: a. One was the Word of the Lord to Israel, the other a prayer by a king to the Lord. b. The first is the Lord’s promise, the second a penitent’s plea. c. At least 300 years separate the two utterances. d. The first describes the work of God when He pardons and justifies the sinner; the second describes a deeper and an inward work of grace desired by the restored sinner. e. This order is always observed: White as snow, then whiter. f. The one is righteousness imputed, the second is righteousness imparted. 3. This does not mean that the first work was imperfect. No. It was a perfect work of justification. I. WHITE AS SNOW. How familiar is this statement in Isaiah 1:18. It is: 1. A Word of Authority: “Come now.” a. Therefore it is a word that cannot be treated lightly. b. What is behind a command is of importance. c. If I say, “Move on,” to loiterers in the street, they can afford to treat it lightly; if a policeman says the same, they will either have to “Move on” or “Move in!” 2. An Appeal to Reason. God appeals to reason as well as to affections, to our heads as well as to the heart. 3. An Importunate Word: “Now.” It brooks no delay. 4. A Word for All. And that is so because it concerns sin. 5. A Word for the Double-dyed Sinner. a. Those who understand the original declare that the word translated “scarlet” here really means the double-dyed—the twice dipped. b. For the scarlet colour in ancient times was the result of two dippings. c. “But I am not a double-dyed sinner,” do you say? But you are. d. We are all twice-dipped sinners—first in the vile pool of original corruption, then in the bath of actual transgressions. e. In other words, we are sinners twice over—by birth and by choice. 6. A Word Teaching the Permanency of Sin. a. Scarlet is a fast colour, fixed and permanent. b. It is the Bible colour for sin, not black. c. There is no power in chemistry that can take the scarlet colour out without destroying the fabric. d. But what is impossible in chemistry is possible in grace. II. WHITER THAN SNOW. Arctic Grave. Away in the far North, on the brow of a hill covered with snow, illuminated by the light of the Polar Star, a member of an arctic expedition lies buried. A large stone covers the dead, and, on a copper tablet at the head of the grave, this text is inscribed: “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” There, amidst the eternal snows, man’s passionate longing for purity finds a voice. David’s Mistake. 1. But did David not make a mistake when he prayed thus? 2. Surely nothing can be whiter than snow. 3. The fact is that the snowflake is not pure. 4. It seems that everything that touches this sin cursed earth is contaminated. 5. Elements of earthliness are wrapped up in the bosom of every snowflake that falls upon the earth. 6. It has been calculated that a slight fall of snow carries to the surface of the county of London alone 343 tons of solids in the following parts: 75 tons of dissolved solids, 142 tons of suspended matter, 100 tons of coal, 25 tons of salt, 1 ton of ammonia. 7. So this is a passionate longing after a deeper purity. Oh, for a purity as God counts purity! He who imparts the longing and inspires the prayer will grant the desire. A THREEFOLD JOY Psalm 51:8, 14, 15 INTRODUCTION. In this Penitential Psalm we not only have a threefold view of sin, a threefold blessing, and a threefold reference to the Spirit, but also a threefold view of joy and gladness. Songless Birds. 1. The Psalmist had been for a year songless. 2. No Psalms had he composed and sung, and no song could be found in his heart. 3. “When I kept silence”—suggestive phrase. He had been silent. “My bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long”—strange paradox. Silent in praise, but conscience roaring—that is the meaning. Longing for Old-Time Joy. 1. Here he longs for the old-time joy. 2. Here he longs and asks for double joy—joy and gladness. 3. Read verse 12: “Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation.” 4. Observe: a. He wanted and longed for God’s joy. b. The joy associated with His salvation. c. A joy that deepens as our salvation becomes more thorough. Three Organs. 1. David refers to three important organs—ear, tongue, and lips. 2. Each of which have to do with joy and gladness. 3. Let us take them in the order in which they are found. I. CONCERNING THE EAR (Ps 51:8). Introduction. 1. It is notable that he begins with the ear. 2. Deafness and dumbness are associated. Sin has a Sad Effect upon our Spiritual Hearing. 1. The unforgiven one has no ear for joy and gladness. He feels out of harmony with heavenly melody, for the great discord has entered his soul. He cannot bear or tolerate joy in others when in that sad mood. 2. How could he be expected to enjoy music when he was as a wretch with every bone broken. a. For he likens himself to one whose bones are crushed. b. And crushed by no ordinary means. c. He groaned under no mere flesh wounds. Like some poor sufferer, he is swallowed up of himself. 3. Then sin had made him hard of hearing. Sin always does. He prays for the recovery of hearing. 4. Before joy and gladness there must come: a. Forgiveness and cleansing. The sense of forgiveness is like a glad morning to song birds. b. The recovery of hearing. c. The mood to enjoy music. 5. Another rendering: “If you hear me I joy and am glad” (F.F.). Joy and gladness the result of the assurance of God hearing and answering prayer. What a joy that brings! II. CONCERNING THE TONGUE (Ps 51:14). Literal. 1. It is clear that David has in mind the guilt of Uriah’s death. 2. Uriah’s blood weighed upon his soul. 3. Is there a condition of soul more awful than this, to have another man’s blood resting on us! 4. Well might he be songless. Spiritual. 1. But there is such a thing as spiritual blood-guiltiness. 2. Read Acts 20:26. 3. Without doubt Paul had Ezekiel in mind. Read Ezek. 3:17 to 21; Ezek. 33:1 to 9. 4. What a serious view this is of pastoral responsibility. 5. Watchmen were the police of the East, or rather, a combination of police, soldier, and sentinel. 6. Note, the watchman’s: a. Commissioner—God (Ezek. 3:17). Usually the people appointed a watchman, but God appointed this Watchman. b. Privilege. Friendship with God. Hear the Lord’s voice “at my mouth.” c. Self-sacrifice. Self-denial; awake when others were asleep. Self-sacrifice—sometimes to die for others. d. Chief Duty. “Give them warnings.” How to be Free from Blood-Guiltiness. 1. Unwearied labour. In rules drawn up by John Wesley for the guidance of his young preachers, we have this: “Only through unwearied labour and perseverance can we really be ‘free from the blood of all men.’ Go into every house and teach every one therein, young and old.” (He meant the house of all members of the Wesleyan Society.) 2. Declaring the whole counsel of God. 3. Warning. III. CONCERNING THE LIPS (Psalm 51:15). 1. Praise is not easy. It is spoken of as sacrifice. 2. Only God can make praise possible. 3. How does God unlock the lips? By way of the heart. For praise is the employment of happy and thankful hearts. 4. It was sin that closed his lips; God would open them by dealing satisfactorily with his sin. CONCLUSION. 1. Sometimes it happens that the older we get the more songless we become. 2. Should this be so? (O LORD, DELIVER ME FROM A SONGLESS END. IN JESUS' MIGHTY HEALING, RESTORING NAME. AMEN!) THE PROBLEM IN THE PENITENTIAL PSALM Psalm 51:16–19 INTRODUCTION. A Problem. 1. These verses present several problems for solution. 2. What affinity has Ps 51:18 and 19 with the rest of the Psalm? Have they never grated upon your spiritual senses? Have you never felt a jar upon your spiritual sensibilities when you reached them? You are confessing sin and unworthiness and pleading with the Heavenly Father for soul fitness and spiritual equipment, when you come smack up against Zion and bricks and mortar. What has the blotting out of sin and sanctification of the soul to do with the Walls of Jerusalem? Why, this sentence seems an alien, a stranger, in this torrent of confession. 3. Then again, are not verses 16 and 17 in flat contradiction to the evangelical teaching concerning the Atonement. Is not salvation by blood repudiated? Does not David try to saddle God with those heterodoxical views? An Attempt. Feeling the sentence to be alien, several solutions have been suggested, some of whom are very drastic, more in the nature of the surgeon’s knife. 1. F.F. makes another Psalm of them. 2. Prof. Blaikie says they are a “Later Addition.” 3. Dr. B. says “probably added by Hezekiah.” 4. Dr. Adam
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Wiersbe - In the Jewish society of that day, to wash and change clothes marked a new beginning in life (Gen. 35:2; 41:14; 45:22; Ex. 19:10, 14), and David made such a new start (2Sa 12:20). John Donne spoke of spiritual cleansing "Sleep with clean hands, either kept clean all day by integrity or washed clean at night by repentance. Roy Hession noted that one of the dominant themes of the great awakening in East Africa was a constant cleansing from sin which prompted him to write "We do not lose peace with God over another person's sin, but only over our own. Only when we are willing to be cleansed, will we have His peace." (Calvary Road) Norman Grubb had these thoughts about the revival in East Africa (in his preface to the Calvary Road)…I am sure from my own experience, as well as from what we have seen in the ranks of our Mission these last three years, that what the authors tell us about in these pages is one of God's vital words to His worldwide church today. For long I had regarded revival only from the angle of some longed for, but very rare, sudden outpouring of the Spirit on a company of people. I felt that there was a missing link somewhere. Knowing of the continuing revival on a certain mission field and because it was continuing and not merely sudden and passing, I long felt that they had a further secret we needed to learn. Then chance came for heart to heart fellowship with them, first through one of our own missionary leaders whose life and ministry had been transformed by a visit to that field, and then through conferences with some of their missionaries on furlough and finally through the privilege of having two of the native brethren living for six months at our headquarters. From them I learned and saw that revival is first personal and immediate. It is the constant experience of the simplest Christian who "walks in the light," but I saw that walking in the light means an altogether new sensitiveness to sin, a calling things by their proper name of sin, such as pride, hardness, doubt, fear, self-pity, which are often passed over as merely human reaction. It means a readiness to "break" and confess at the feet of Him who was broken for us, for the Blood does not cleanse excuses, but always cleanses sin, confessed as sin: then revival is just the daily experience of a soul full of Jesus and running over. (Calvary Road) And cleanse me from my sin - Cleanse is the idea of purifying in order to approach the altar or to participate in worship at the Tabernacle. J R Miller…"Cleanse me from my sin." It is the language used of cleansing lepers. The word "wash" refers to garments and surface stains, and the word "cleanse" refers to sin as a disease, a leprosy in the soul. This prayer, therefore, is for the cleansing of the very nature. (Devotional Hours with the Bible) Barrick concludes that this compilation of verbs, blotting, washing, cleansing "look at the totality and absoluteness of divine forgiveness. Note the reverse order of the same three terms in Ps 51:7-9." R C
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Wiersbe - If we really understood what sin is and what sin does, it would keep us from deliberately sinning against God. But we don't see sin the way He does. Charles Horne comments that…The penitent's second plea for mercy is, that he doth not deny, excuse, or palliate his fault, but confesses it openly and honestly, with all its aggravations, truly alleging that it haunts him night and day, causing his conscience incessantly to reproach him with his base ingratitude to a good and gracious Father. (Psalm 51 Commentary) Jamieson rightly reminds us that…Conviction precedes forgiveness; and, as a gift of God, is a plea for it (2Sa 12:13; Ps 32:5; 1Jn 1:9). I know (yada; Lxx - ginosko) my transgressions (peaha) - CSB = "I am conscious of my rebellion." NET - "I am aware of my rebellious acts." The Hebrew word "yada" speaks of intimate knowledge. The Lxx uses ginosko in the present tense indicating that David continually knew about or was continually conscious of his rebellious acts against God. In other words, David had a continual conscious awareness of his wanton rebellion against God during that dark time (estimated at from 6-9 months based on Bathsheba's pregnancy -2Sa 11:5, 12:14, 15) when he tried to keep his sins (adultery, murder, lying) secret! No wonder his body wasted away from the overwhelming sense of guilt (Ps 32:3, 4, Pr 28:13). I pray we who are under the New Covenant of grace will learn from David's sad example (1Co 10:6, 11, 12) and when we experience the heaviness of unconfessed sin against a righteous God Who is rightly angered at our sin, we will quickly bow low, humbling ourselves, rending our hearts not our garments, agreeing with God that our rebellion was against His perfect, priceless love, and radically turning from (repenting) the darkness of that sin and unto the light of His presence (communion and intimacy with the Almighty restored), all made possible by the mercy and grace won for us (and David) at Calvary (David looked forward toward the Cross). Roe - David wants them blotted out. He can't handle his guilt. It is squeezing him dry, and it is doing it night and day. What is one of the basic problems of sin? I can't forget it. I can have remorse and shame and even repentance, but I can't forget the sin. Now God will forget it [speaking anthropomorphically, in human terms] but I don't forget it. So the next time I look God in the face, there is a barrier of my shame and humiliation. My ego has been crushed. I have done something you wouldn't believe, and I can't believe that God has forgotten and blotted it out, even though he says so. So there comes an alienation from God that is not from God. It is from me. I have been forgiven. I have been cleansed but I still have a sense of shame and humiliation. I don't really feel clean. I John 1:9 says, "If you confess your sin, [If you agree with God about your sin] he is faithful and righteous to forgive your sin and to cleanse you from ALL unrighteousness." Why do you feel dirty five minutes later? Because of shame. Secondly, sin also produces a new chink in your armor. That snowball as it gains mass also gains inertia, resistance to change. The more I say "yes" to sin, the easier it becomes to say "yes" to sin and the more difficult it becomes to say "no." So David knows he has to have this thing dealt with. He does it by facing up to his responsibility. Martin Luther has a pithy comment on this passage writing that…The difference between the true saints and the sham saints is this: the former see their transgressions and realize that they are not what they should be and want to be. Therefore they judge themselves and are not concerned about others. The others, however, do not perceive their own wickedness; they imagine they are as they should be. They always forget about themselves and sit in judgment on the wickedness of others. They pervert this psalm and say: “I perceive the sins of others, and the sins of others are always before me.” This is because they have their own sins on their back and a log in their eyes (Mt 7:3, 4, 5). (Luther's works, vol. 14 : Selected Psalms III) Martin Luther in another note writes…No one is able to desire forgiveness of sins unless he first acknowledges his sins. Man daily confesses his sins and longs for the remission of sins. Therefore, man acknowledges his sins. The minor premise is proved from the Psalm [51:8], “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” Explanation: I reply that this is revealed through the Word. The whole world is ignorant of the magnitude of its sin and does not want to hear about it, and yes, yes it rather punishes those who expose sins. Even if it recognizes, it still does not wish to acknowledge it. But he who confesses and believes is already justified. Men see sin, to be sure, but they do not want this to be sin. They do not want to believe that we still have sins. (Luther's works, vol. 34 : Career of the Reformer IV) Adam Clarke A true, deep, and unsophisticated mark of a genuine penitent. Wherever he turns his face, he sees his sin, and through it the eye of an angry God. And my sin is ever before me. Sin, by definition and nature, is anti-God. Before (neged from nagad = to place a matter high and conspicuous before a person) means prominently before so that it is conspicuous. God (through His prophet Nathan) used this same word neged to explain how conspicuous David's little secret would become "Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before (neged) all Israel, and under the sun.'" (2Sa 12:12) Imagine every time David looked at his new wife Bathsheba, it must have been a painful reminder of his sin of adultery, but on the other hand a reminder of the greatness of God's forgiveness! Adrian Rogers said "Now if you can sin and easily forget that sin, I doubt that you’ve been saved—because the Holy Spirit of God is there to remind you of that sin. David said, “My sin is ever before me.” “Does that mean, Pastor Rogers, that if I sin, I’ll be thinking about it twenty-four hours a day?” Maybe not in your conscious mind, but it will be there in your subconscious. You may kick it out the front door. It will run around the house and come in the basement window. And it will show up as a migraine headache. It will show up as the inability to concentrate. It will show up as an irritable temper. It will show up as the inability to pray. It will show up in other ways. I’m not saying that if you have a migraine, it’s because you’re a backslider. But I’m saying that some people have one because they are. Their sin is ever before them. It saturates the mind. (See transcript - not exactly the same but close) THOUGHT - When you sin (and you know you have truly sinned), does it bother you? Or is it like water on a duck's back that the minute you move on to something else, you have already lost all consciousness of that sin? If that is the case then read 2Cor 13:5+ "Test (aorist imperative) yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine (present imperative) yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you–unless indeed you fail the test?" Spurgeon on ever before me - My sin as a whole is never out of my mind; it continually oppresses my spirit. I lay it before thee because it is ever before me: Lord, put it away both from thee and me. To an awakened conscience, pain on account of sin is not transient and occasional, but intense and permanent, and this is no sign of divine wrath, but rather a sure preface of abounding favor.
Salmos 51
Wiersbe - Suppose you turn on a faucet at home, and out comes dirty water. You go to the hardware store, buy a brand-new faucet (a more expensive one), install it and turn it on. Out comes dirty water. Obviously, the problem is not the faucet but the water source. So it is with us. Jesus said, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Mt. 12:34+). The heart is the center of our lives, and sin defiles it. This is why David said that everything around him was defiled: his eyes (Ps. 51:3), his ears (Ps 51:8), his heart (Ps 51:10) and his spirit. (Read the full devotional "Good Faucet, Bad Water") Martin Luther explains create in me a clean heart…He is not talking about some momentary operation, but about the continuation of a work that has been begun; as though he were to say: “Thou hast begun Thy work in me so that I trust Thy mercy. Therefore what Thou hast begun, now complete. Confirm, O God, what Thou hast done in me. (Luther's Works, Vol. 12 : Selected Psalms I) This is a prayer we all would do well to pray daily and even many times during the day for a clean heart is a non-negotiable condition for communion with God. When David prayed for a clean heart, God answered affirmatively. How do we know? Because the lasting legacy of David is not a man with an unclean heart, but "a man after God's own heart." (Acts 13:22). It is fitting that this verse is the "center" of Psalm 51 for it serves to emphasize the centrality of the state of our heart in all our interactions with God. Jesus explains the infinite value of a clean heart declaring… Blessed are the pure ("clean" = same word as used in Lxx here in Ps 51:10 = katharos) in heart, for they shall see God. (Mt 5:8+) Comment: Surely this is what David desired. Solomon alludes to the value of a clean heart charging us… Watch over (command) your heart with all diligence, (Why? term of explanation) for from it flow the springs of life. (Pr 4:23-see in depth discussion of this important verse) Blaise Pascal - We come to know truth not only reason, but still more so through our hearts. John
Salmos 51
Wiersbe says "Sin also weakens the spirit. All of us want an enthusiastic, steadfast spirit. But David was vacillating. Every time he saw someone, he wondered, What does he know about me? Whenever people were talking together in a corner, David wondered, Are they talking about me? He had a dirty conscience, a vacillating spirit." (Ref)
Salmos 51
Wiersbe writes…Nehemiah 8:10 says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. When you enjoy doing something, the enjoyment gives you sufficient strength to do the task. On the other hand, all of us have tasks to perform that we don't enjoy. We do them out of duty and because it's the right thing to do, but they don't provide the strength that comes from joy. We need the joy of the Lord to witness for Him. Joy shows unsaved people that it is worthwhile to know Jesus. He is the Power for our service…Joy and willing obedience go together. When you enjoy doing something or when you enjoy the person for whom you are doing it, you serve willingly. David is saying, "I have been in bondage because I have not confessed my sin. Therefore, I lost my joy and my willing spirit. I lost that real delight that comes from obeying God." How can you restore joy? Confess your sin. Then look to Jesus Christ, not yourself. If you look at yourself, you won't rejoice. But if you look to Him, you will rediscover the joy of His salvation. God intends that you rejoice in your salvation. Have you lost the joy of your salvation? Do you miss the delight that comes from obeying the Lord? Make sure your life is free from sin, and then ask Him to restore your joy. (Lost Joy) And sustain me with a willing spirit - Sustain is in the imperfect mood which expresses an action, process or condition which is incomplete. The imperfect adds colour and movement by suggesting the "process" preliminary to its completion. Beloved, this is not just a one and done need (I'll speak for myself), but is a daily, yea even continual, need. My spirit is like a rechargeable battery, the energy of which dissipates during the day as a result of all of the interactions with our enemies the world, the flesh and the devil. Some think "spirit" could refer to the Holy Spirit. Either way, there is no way fallen men can have a willing spirit unless enabled to do so by the Holy Spirit. THOUGHT - Spirit of the Living (life giving) God, "recharge" my flagging spirit today, to be energized to do the will of God which is good and acceptable and perfect (Ro 12:2b+). Adrian Rogers - Sin saddens the heart. Look in verse 8: “Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.” (Psalms 51:8) Look in verse 12: “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.” (Psalms 51:12) Now he’s not asking to have his salvation restored. You can be saved and be miserable. The most miserable man on earth is not an unsaved man....The most miserable man on earth is a saved man out of fellowship with God. Isn’t that true? When God saves you, God doesn’t fix you where you can’t sin anymore. He just fixes you where you can’t sin and enjoy it anymore....So here David is praying, “Lord, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.”....Happiness is like a thermometer: it registers conditions. Joy is like a thermostat: it controls conditions. It’s the joy of the Lord that is your strength. Joy never changes. You’re to have joy all the time. There’s only one thing that can take away joy. Not circumstances. It is sin. And only one kind of sin: yours. Not what somebody else does. Nobody else’s sin can take away your joy. A disobedient child cannot take away your joy. An unfaithful husband cannot take your joy. An ungodly government cannot take your joy.....It is not joy that removes the pain; it is joy that helps you endure the pain. That’s the joy of the Lord....If the joy is not there, friend, it is because you are not abiding in the Lord Jesus Christ. Someone has well said, “Joy is the flag that is flown from the castle of the heart, when the King is in residence.” (See transcript - not exactly the same but close) Sustain (05564) (samak) means to uphold as when one places something on a person or an animal and figuratively in this verse it describes God supporting the believer. The Septuagint (Lxx) translates samak with sterizo which is used in Peter's description of the stabilizing effect of the God of all grace on those who have suffered for a while (1Pe 5:10+). David's prayer in this section reminds me of Paul's warning in First Corinthians "let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." (1Co 10:12+). THOUGHT - The only way a believer can stand in a sin sick world is if God affirmatively answers this prayer for His stabilizing, sustaining Spirit energizing our walk! And that means we need to pray this prayer! A willing spirit - David desired for God to make him willing to obey. Some such as Spurgeon see this a reference to the Holy Spirit. While I favor the former, I certainly would not discount the latter interpretation because we would not have a willing spirit unless His Spirit willed it in us! (cp Php 2:13-note). A human spirit that says "Not my will, but Thy will" is possible only by His Spirit's enablement. The Hebrew word for willing is translated in the Lxx by the adjective hegemonikos (English - hegemony = preponderant influence or authority over others) which pertains to being in a supervisory capacity, guiding or leading, a translation which does suggest that the spirit David is referring to is primarily the Holy Spirit. Interesting! Thomas Alexander writes that…A loving mother chooses a fitting place, and a fitting time, to let her little child fall; it is learning to walk, it is getting over confident, it may come to a dangerous place, and if possessed of all this confidence, may fall and destroy itself. So she permits it to fall at such a place, and in such a way as that it may be hurt, wholesomely hurt, but not dangerously so. It has now lost its confidence, and clings all the more fondly and trustingly to the strong hand that is able to hold up all its goings. So this David, this little child of the great God, has fallen; it is a sore fall, all his bones are broken, but it has been a precious and a profitable lesson to him; he has no confidence any longer in himself, his trust is not now in an arm of flesh (2Chr 32:8). "Uphold me with thy free spirit." Robert Murray M'Cheyne… I am tempted to think that I am now an established Christian, that I have overcome this or that lust so long that I have got into the habit of the opposite grace, so that there is no fear; I may venture very near the temptation, nearer than other men. This is a lie of Satan. I might as well speak of gunpowder getting by habit a power of resisting fire, so as not to catch the spark. As long as powder is wet it resists the spark, but when it becomes dry it is ready to explode at the first touch. As long as the Spirit dwells in my heart, he deadens me to sin, so that if lawfully called through temptation I may reckon upon God carrying me through. But when the Spirit leaves me, I am like dry gunpowder. Oh, for a sense of this! (Ed: Oh, to continually pray sustain me with a willing spirit!)
Salmos 51
Wiersbe - Have you ever studied the broken things in the Bible? A woman broke a vessel at the feet of Jesus and anointed Him (Mk 14:3, 4, Mt 26:6-13). Jesus took bread and broke it as a picture of His body given for us (Mt 26:26). God uses broken things, and He starts with broken hearts. This is what repentance is all about. God doesn't listen to the lips. He doesn't measure a material sacrifice. He looks at the heart and says, "If your heart is broken, then I can cleanse it."… Even though no sacrifice was available for his sin at the time, God looked down the corridors of time and saw a cross where Jesus Christ would die for David's sin. God looks at the heart, not the hand. He wants sincerity from the heart, not religious routine. A broken heart is not remorse, nor is it regret. It is repentance, a turning away from sin. It's telling God you hate sin, are judging it and claiming his forgiveness. Bring to Him the sacrifice of a contrite heart. (Psalm 51:16-17 Broken Things) Ron Mattoon explains a broken and contrite heart…The idea of these two words (Hebrew = shabar and dakah) deals with humility, submission, shaping and surrender. An object which has been broken has succumbed to the power of a greater force. The blacksmith with his hammer molds and shapes the metal into his image and will. The metal yields to the flame and the hammer over time. The broken and contrite heart is one that is yielded to the will and power of God in his life. The flame of trials, trouble, and tribulation and the hammer of hurt, pain, suffering, and chastisement bring the person to a point where he raises the white flag of "repentance and surrender" to the Lord. The spirit of humility, openness, and teachableness of such a person says, "I repent. Here am I. Do what you wish in my life. Mold me, make me, or break me into what you want me to be. Lead my life and I will follow and trust in you." This is the sacrifice and offering that God wants from us. He wants us to offer a heart that is tender and yielded to Him. This is what He values. He will not despise or treat with contempt someone who has a heart like this. (Treasures From Treasured Psalms) Ryken - The crushing events of life do not automatically make one contrite. They may result either in bitterness (Ex 1:14; Ru 1:20-note) or genuine contrition as with Nebuchadnezzar (Da 4:37-note). Broken/contrite must therefore be distinguished from actions that leave one devastated, immobilized, crushed, hardened or embittered. The contrite, the person broken in the right place, has been bruised or crushed in a way that results in true humility. This person does not carry the anger, fear of punishment or lowered self-esteem that characterize the bitter person. Adversity or a heightened awareness of sin can result in a stripping away of the natural pride, leaving a tender and contrite heart. One passage that deeply shapes the image of contrition is Psalm 51, in which David, humbled by the prophetic denouncement of his sin with Bathsheba, declares that “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Ps 51:17 NIV). In this psalm David also uses the related image of being brokenhearted. (Online Dictionary of Biblical Imagery) Thomas Blackley in his comments on Ps 147:3 describes a broken heart…The broken in heart is one whose heart is affected with the evil of sin, and weeps bitter tears on account of it; one who feels sorrow, shame, and anguish, on the review of his past sinful life, and his base rebellion against a righteous God. Such a one has a broken heart. His heart is broken at the sight of his own ingratitude -- the despite done by him to the strivings of the Holy Spirit. His heart is broken when he considers the numberless invitations made to him in the Scriptures, all of which he has wickedly slighted and despised. His heart is broken at the recollection of a thousand kind providences to him and to his family, by day and by night, all sent by God, and intended for his moral, spiritual, and eternal benefit, but by him basely and wantonly abused. His heart is broken at the consideration of the love and compassion of the adorable Redeemer; the humiliation of his birth; the devotedness of his life; the reproach, the indignity of his sufferings; the ignominy and anguish of his death. His heart is broken when his conscience assures him that all this humiliation, this suffering, this death, was for him, who had so deliberately and repeatedly refused the grace which the blood and righteousness of Christ has purchased. It is the sight of Calvary that fills him with anguish of spirit, that overwhelms him with confusion and self abasement. While he contemplates the amazing scene, he stands, he weeps, he prays, he smites upon his breast, he exclaims", God be merciful to me a sinner!" And adds, "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" The broken in heart must further be understood as one who seeks help from God alone, and will not be comforted till he speaks peace to his soul. It is interesting to note that Martin Luther used contrite or contrition four times in his “Ninety-Five Theses” in his historic statement which had as a principle purpose the urging of true repentance. There is a line in Rock of Ages which I think accurately pictures a broken and contrite spirit… Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling. J. J. Stewart Perowne… When speaking of thankfulness, we might have expected him to say, "a joyful heart, or a thankful heart," but instead of that he says, "a contrite heart." For the joy of forgiveness does not banish sorrow and contrition for sin: this will still continue. And the deeper the sense of sin, and the truer the sorrow for it, the more heartfelt also will be the thankfulness for pardon and reconciliation. The tender, humble, broken heart, is therefore the best thank offering. There are men and women whose self-righteousness would never allow them to descend to the depths of immorality committed by David and yet sadly, whose hearts remain stony hard and almost incapable of penitence (because of the pride of their self righteousness). This brings to mind Jesus' powerful teaching on the Pharisee and the tax-gatherer… Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, 'God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get. But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful (hilaskomai = be propitious, make reconciliation - Christ is the propitiation or satisfaction for our sins 1Jn2:2) to me, the sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified (dikaioo = declared righteous) rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted. (Luke 18:10-14) Behold, I fall before your face; My only refuge is your grace. No outward forms can make me clean, The leprosy lies deep within. he picture of brokenness and contrition is seen in several other passages… The LORD is near to the brokenhearted (Lxx = Suntribo from sun = together, with + tribo = break > crush completely), And saves those who are crushed (dakka' = same Hebrew word translated "contrite" in following verse) in spirit. (Ps 34:18) Comment: Crushed (dakka') Pertains to being humble and unpretentious, as a figurative extension of an object in a low position due to pressure placed on it. For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, "I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite (dakka' = bruised, broken in pieces, smitten) and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite. (Isa 57:15) He heals the brokenhearted (Lxx = Suntribo from sun = together, with + tribo = break > crush completely), And binds up their wounds. (Ps 147:3)
Salmos 51
Wiersbe - David in his sin had been tearing down, not building up. He had given opportunity to the enemies of Israel to blaspheme God. The word got out. Soon everyone knew what David had done. So he says, "O God, when I was sinning, I was tearing down. I was not pleasing You. Now I want to please You. And because I'm pleasing You, I will be building up. And the walls of Jerusalem, walls of protection, will be strong." Are you tearing down or building up?
Salmos 51:1-9
Wiersbe says David prays three things in Psalm 51: “Forgive me.” "Cleanse me.” "Use me.” THE BASIS FOR DAVID'S PLEA FOR FORGIVENESS: THE CHARACTER OF GOD! Be gracious - David's first plea should ever be our first plea when we have sinned against God for this is forever the only grounds we have on which to plead for forgiveness and cleansing. This is the plea of one who has no claim on the favor he seeks from God! Indeed, this is a picture of all of us! David further amplifies the basis of his confess is God's lovingkindness and His great compassion. J R Miller… Notice David's thoughts of God, as we find them in his confession. He saw Him as a God of unfailing love. In all the poignant sense of guilt that pressed upon his soul, there was not a shadow of despair. The moment he saw his sin—there poured upon him also a glorious disclosure of God's love. He confessed, "I have sinned," and at once Nathan said, "The Lord also has put away your sin." (2Sa 12:13) From this revealing of the divine mercy—hope came at once. Had David not seen God in this light when the sense of his sin overwhelmed him, utter, hopeless darkness would have come upon him, and he would have been lost in the gloom. Thus it was with Judas, after he had betrayed his Lord, when the terrible tide of conviction swept over his soul. He saw no ray of hope, and in his dark despair—he went out and hanged himself. On the other hand, when Peter had denied his Master, and when, beneath the grieved look of that holy Eye (Lk 22:61), a sense of sin overwhelmed him—he went out and wept bitterly (Lk 22:62). But through his tears—he saw God as a God of mercy and love, and instead of despair—hope sprang up in his soul, and he was restored, living to be a glorious apostle (Ed: Remember beloved, as with Peter, Jesus is praying for you in your hour of failure - Lk 22:32, Heb 7:25-note, Ro 8:34-note). It is most important that the convicted sinner shall see God—as a God of mercy and love—as David saw Him, as Peter saw Him. (Devotional Hours with the Bible) Spurgeon… He appeals at once to the mercy of God, even before he mentions his sin. The sight of mercy is good for eyes that are sore with penitential weeping. Pardon of sin must ever be an act of pure mercy, and therefore to that attribute the awakened sinner flies. (Psalm 51:1 - Treasury of David) William Plumer said that… Anything is good for us if it makes us loathe ourselves and penitently sue for mercy. Be gracious (02603) (chanan/hanan) describes a heartfelt response by someone who has something to give to one who has a need. It generally implies extending "favor" neither expected nor deserved. Thus free bestowal of favor from God to undeserving men. In modern Hebrew hanan seems to stress stronger meaning of "to pardon or to show mercy." Mercy denotes God’s loving assistance to the pitiful. Chanan denotes the affection expressed by moaning over an object we love, the natural affection and tenderness which beasts of the animal kingdom show to their young by the several noises they make over them. The Septuagint (Lxx) translates be gracious with the verb eleeo (word study) which is in the aorist imperative and thus is a strong, bold plea for God to show great concern for David, for he is in great need (as are all sinners harboring/covering unconfessed sins)! After David's confrontation by Nathan, he had made an appeal to God's grace… And he said, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who knows, the LORD may be gracious to me, that the child may live. (2Sa 12:22) In the Psalms David repeatedly appeals to God's graciousness… Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! Thou hast relieved me in my distress; Be gracious to me and hear my prayer. (Ps 4:1-note) Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am pining away; Heal me, O LORD, for my bones are dismayed. (Ps 6:2-note) Be gracious to me, O LORD; Behold my affliction from those who hate me, Thou who dost lift me up from the gates of death (Ps 9:13-note) Turn to me and be gracious to me, For I am lonely and afflicted. (Ps 25:16-note) But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity; Redeem me, and be gracious to me. (Ps 26:11-note) Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice, And be gracious to me and answer me. (Ps 27:7-note) Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me; O LORD, be Thou my helper." (Ps 30:10-note) Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body also. (Ps 31:9-note) As for me, I said, "O LORD, be gracious to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee. (Ps 41:4-note) But Thou, O LORD, be gracious to me, and raise me up, That I may repay them. (Ps 41:10-note) Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me; Fighting all day long he oppresses me. (Ps 56:1-note) A Mikhtam of David, when he fled) (from Saul, in the cave.) Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, For my soul takes refuge in Thee; And in the shadow of Thy wings I will take refuge, Until destruction passes by. (Ps 57:1-note) And Thou, O LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, Awake to punish all the nations; Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah. (Ps 59:5-note) Be gracious to me, O Lord, For to Thee I cry all day long. (Ps 86:3-note) Turn to me, and be gracious to me; Oh grant Thy strength to Thy servant, And save the son of Thy handmaid. (Ps 86:16-note) Let there be none to extend lovingkindness to him, Nor any to be gracious to his fatherless children. (Ps 109:12-note) Chanan - 72x in OT - Ge 33:5, 11; 42:21; 43:29; Ex 33:19; Nu 6:25; Dt 3:23; 7:2; 28:50; Jdg 21:22; 2Sa 12:22; 1Kgs 8:33, 47, 59; 9:3; 2Kgs 1:13; 13:23; 2Chr 6:24, 37; Esther 4:8; 8:3; Job 8:5; 9:15; 19:16, 21; 33:24; Ps 4:1; 6:2; 9:13; 25:16; 26:11; 27:7; 30:8, 10; 31:9; 37:21, 26; 41:4, 10; 51:1; 56:1; 57:1; 59:5; 67:1; 86:3, 16; 102:13 14; 109:12; 112:5; 119:29, 58, 132; 123:2f; 142:1; Pr 14:21, 31; 19:17; 21:10; 26:25; 28:8; Isa 26:10; 27:11; 30:18 19; 33:2; Jer 22:23; Lam 4:16; Hos 12:4; Amos 5:15; Mal 1:9 In answer to Moses' request to God to show him His glory God said… "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion (racham - same word used here by David) on whom I will show compassion (racham)." In the famous blessing by Aaron we read… The LORD bless you, and keep you. The LORD make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you. The LORD lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.' (Nu 6:24, 25, 26) J J Perowne comments on according to Your lovingkindness… In all godly sorrow (2Cor 7:9, 10) there is hope. Sorrow without hope may be remorse or despair, but it is not repentance. Hence the true penitent always looks to the lovingkindness of God, even at the very time when he feels most deeply how he has sinned against it. The cry on his lips is "My Father," even when he confesses, "I am no more worthy to be called Thy son." (Lk 15:18, 19) (The Book of Psalms) J N Darby writes… God had announced judgment. Here mercy is looked for by the divinely-moved soul, that He who alone can do it should make us clean, as is suited to Himself; for the soul thus taught feels it has to do with God, and looks for cleansing suited for that. (Practical Reflections on the Psalms - Book 2) According to - Twice we see this important phrase. Notice first what it does not say -- not "out of" but "according to". So what is the difference? The former phrase refers to a "portion" (Webster = "an often limited part set off or abstracted from a whole") of while the latter phrase refers to a "proportion" of God's lovingkindness and compassion, both of which are infinite. It's analogous to a very rich man who is approached by a poor person in need and he gives him a ten dollar bill (a portion of his great wealth) versus another rich man who gives him millions of dollars (a proportion of his wealth). This analogy breaks down with God, because His riches are beyond our imagination and even beyond what words can describe, but you get some sense of the what David is requesting by using the phrase "according to" rather than "out of". Martin Luther comments that… These are all words of a true repentance which magnifies and multiplies the grace of God by magnifying and multiplying sin. The apostle says (Ro 5:20-note): “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Therefore the proud have no taste for grace, because their sins do not yet taste bitter to them. (Luther's works, vol. 14 : Selected Psalms III) Stedman… God is not a penny pincher; He does not dole out bits of mercy, drop by drop. No, He pours it out. His are abundant mercies. When God forgives, He forgives beyond our utmost imaginings. Two figures of speech that are used in the Old Testament depict the forgiveness of God. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12-note). How far is that? Well, how far do you have to go east before you start going west? You never come to west. Then God says He will “hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19). Someone has added that he puts up a sign that reads “NO FISHING.” Do not go down there and try to fish old sins out once God has dealt with them. What relief comes when we begin to understand this fullness of God's forgiveness. (A Cry For Mercy) According to Your compassion… and Your lovingkindness - David makes no pretense of possessing personal merit but totally leans on the attributes of God to plead for forgiveness, specially on the covenant love ("lovingkindness" is a covenant word) of God. David knew he was unworthy of this love but he also understood covenant which assured him that he still belongs to God (in spite of his sin). David was like the prodigal who twice says to his father "I am no longer worthy to be called your son." (Lk 15:19, 21) to which his father responded because of the unbreakable bond of love he had for his son… But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.' And they began to be merry. (Lk 15:22, 23, 24)
Salmos 51:1-9
Wiersbe - All of us struggle with sin. Human nature pulls us down as gravity does, yet God has made us and saved us to lift us up (1Jn 1:5-2:6). There are three ways we may deal with our sins. Cover them. We cover our sins with our words. This is lying-- deceiving others and ourselves and lying to God. Lies are darkness, whereas God's truth is light. When we lie, our character erodes (Pr. 28:13). When we cover sin, we lose God's light, fellowship and character. Confess them. Admit and judge them--agree with God about your sin. This involves the heart and the will. Some people have died because they repeatedly, willfully, proudly and arrogantly defied the will of God. Admit you are a sinner, say what is wrong and then come to Him and name it. Confess your sin only in the circle of those influenced by it--individuals or family. (Don't become an exhibitionist with the public.) Confession brings release, freedom, forgiveness and a new beginning. Conquer them. Jesus is in heaven today as our Advocate--as a Lawyer before the Father. Abide in Him, love Him, walk with Him in the light of His Word. Keep His commandments. Fellowship is a by-product of our walk with God. To love Him is to serve Him and obey His commandments. Are you covering sin or conquering sin in your life? Confess any known sin and ask God to clean your heart. He wants to forgive you so He can restore fellowship with you (Psalm 51:1-2 The High Cost of Committing Sin). ><>><>><> Old Year's Resolution - What we propose to do in the new year is not as important as what we actually do with the old year. That’s why I suggest that instead of thinking about new year’s resolutions, we should think about the resolution of the old year. Sound confusing? Here’s what I mean. Before we make plans for our lives in the new year and in our service for God, we need to take care of any problems we still have with the old year. We should deal with unconfessed sin before we begin making new plans. So as the old year winds down, try getting away from everyone else for a little while and have a meeting with God. Take along a Bible, a pen, and a blank sheet of paper. First, spend some time reading and meditating on Psalm 51, David’s prayer of repentance. Then write down all of the junk from this past year that you can think of that you still need to confess to God. Next, following David’s example, ask God’s forgiveness. Then, just to remind yourself that He will blot out your transgressions (Ps 51:1), take that piece of paper, tear it into bits, and throw it away. We're thankful, Lord, that when we fall We can begin anew If humbly we confess our sin, Then turn and follow You. —Sper We have to face our sins before we can put them behind us. ><>><>><> William G Heslop… This is the hymn of the broken heart. David had willfully sinned and grievously disobeyed. Convicted at last and fully repentant, he poured his heart out to GOD. This well known and never to be forgotten song was forged upon the anvil of intense suffering and sorrow consequent to personal sin. "Be sure your sin will find you out." From the contrite spirit and broken heart of the sweet singer there arose a ten-fold cry: (1) "Have mercy upon me." (2) "Blot out my transgressions." (3) "Wash me thoroughly." (4) "Cleanse me." (5) "Purge me." (6) "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." (7) "Create in me a clean heart." (8) "Renew a right spirit within me." (9) "Restore unto me the joy … " (10) "Uphold me… Then will I teach … " This versatile, sagacious, and incomparable hymn (Psalm 51)` has been repeated and rehearsed ten thousand times in the lives and testimonies of the people of GOD in all ages. It will be sung by the remnant of Israel when their King takes the throne. This prayer will be prayed, heard, and answered fully just before the millennial kingdom begins. (Psalms 50-59) God, Be Merciful to Me by Richard Redhead, The Psalter, 1912 God, be merciful to me; on thy grace I rest my plea; Plenteous in compassion thou, blot out my transgressions now; Wash me, make me pure within, cleanse, O cleanse me from my sin. My transgressions I confess, grief and guilt my soul oppress; I have sinned against thy grace and provoked thee to thy face; I confess thy judgment just, speechless, I thy mercy trust. I am evil, born in sin; thou desirest truth within. Thou alone my Savior art, teach thy wisdom to my heart; Make me pure, thy grace bestow, wash me whiter than the snow. Broken, humbled to the dust by thy wrath and judgment just, Let my contrite heart rejoice and in gladness hear thy voice; From my sins O hide thy face, blot them out in boundless grace. Gracious God, my heart renew, make my spirit right and true; Cast me not away from thee, let thy Spirit dwell in me; Thy salvation’s joy impart, steadfast make my willing heart. Sinners then shall learn from me and return, O God, to thee; Savior, all my guilt remove, and my tongue shall sing thy love; Touch my silent lips, O Lord, and my mouth shall praise accord. Psalm 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin : Wash: Ps 51:7 Eze 36:25 Zec 13:1 1Co 6:11 Heb 9:13,14 10:21,22 1Jn 1:7 8 9 Rev 1:5 7:14 Wash: Ps 51:7 19:12) THE DIRTINESS OF SIN! Sin defiles our entire person, making us "dirty" from the inside out! If we really understood sin the way God sees sin and understood the defiling character of sin, we would hopefully be less likely to deliberately sin against God. Man's problem, my problem, is that we don't see sin the way God sees sin. Lord open the eyes of our heart to see sin and the effects of sin the way you see it. Amen. Note the symmetrical presentation of David's requests… Blot out (Ps 51:1) Wash (Ps 51:2) Cleanse (Ps 51:2) Purify (Ps 51:7) Wash (Ps 51:7) Blot out (Ps 51:9) Wash me thoroughly - Note that wash and thoroughly are both verbs and both are imperatives in the Hebrew. The literal is awkward to render into English, the word thoroughly being first in the original Hebrew. It could be rendered something like "multiply to wash me" (Barnes OT Commentary and C H Spurgeon). David pleads for and pictures divine forgiveness using three verbs (actually 4 if one counts "thoroughly") - blot out, wash and cleanse. The metaphor of washing is that of the ancient mode of laundering clothes which would be soaked, soaped, beat, wrung out, and rinsed. David pictures himself as dirty, polluted clothing in need of a deep, cleansing washing. Thoroughly in English means fully, completely, carried through to completion, taking care about detail, being complete in all respects, all of these ideas serving to help us understand the degree of washing David is asking of God. Wiersbe… In the Jewish society of that day, to wash and change clothes marked a new beginning in life (Gen. 35:2; 41:14; 45:22; Ex. 19:10, 14), and David made such a new start (2Sa 12:20). Wash (same verb Ps 51:7) (03526) (kabac/kabas) means to make clean and soft by treading, kneading and beating clothes in cold water. Kabac was always used of clothing, "to launder" and never of "washing" the body. Most uses of kabac have to do with washing of clothes which have become contaminated in one way or another (28x). Particularly important contaminants would be leprosy. Derek Kidner notes that the verb kabac/kabas is… normally connected with the laundering of clothes, as if David is comparing himself to a foul garment needing to be washed and washed. The thought is still primarily of the guilt that makes him unfit for God’s presence or God’s people (cf. the potent object-lessons in Lev. 15). He will dwell on the more inward aspect of cleansing in Ps 51:6-12. (Psalms 1-72 Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries or Logos) Barnes has this note on the meaning of "wash" (albeit not the same verb kabac but rahas which was also used in sense of "ethical" or "moral" washing in Isa 1:16-note) This (washing) is, of course, to be understood in a moral sense; meaning that they should put away their sins. Sin is represented in the Scriptures as defiling or polluting the soul (Ezek. 20:31; 23:30; Hos. 5:8; 9:4); and the removal of it is represented by the act of washing; Ps. 51:2: Jer. 4:14: Job 9:30; 1Co 6:11; Heb 10:22; 2Pe 2:22; Rev 1:5; 7:14. (Psalm 51 Commentary) Kabac/kabas - 48x in OT - Ge 49:11; Ex 19:10, 14; Lev 6:27; 11:25, 28, 40; 13:6, 34, 54, 55, 56, 58; 14:8, 9, 47; 15:5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 17, 21, 22, 27; 16:26, 28; 17:15, 16; Nu 8:7, 21; 19:7 8, 10, 19, 21; 31:24; 2Sa 19:24; 2Ki 18:17; Ps 51:2, 7; Isa 7:3; 36:2; Jer 2:22; 4:14; Mal 3:2 The Septuagint (Lxx) translates kabac/kabas with the verb pluno which means to wash something other than a body part, such as washing of clothes. Pluno for example describes the saints in heaven as those who "have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev 7:14) clearly speaking of spiritual cleansing which is David's desire also. J R Miller… "Wash away all my iniquity." Sin is represented as leaving a stain, and the prayer is that it may be washed off. That is, sin not only writes its record against us on God's book—but it also defiles and pollutes our lives. We need not only to have the guilt removed—to be justified; but we need also to have our lives cleansed—to be sanctified. We need a cleansing which reaches the very center of the being. The stains are deep, and the purifying process must go on until they are all removed. The ancient method of washing clothes was by beating or treading, and David asks God even to tread him down if necessary to remove the foul spots. We should pray God to wash us until every stain is taken away, however painful the process must be (cp Ps 119:67, Ps 119:71). (Devotional Hours with the Bible) John Donne spoke of spiritual cleansing… Sleep with clean hands, either kept clean all day by integrity or washed clean at night by repentance. Roy Hession noted that one of the dominant themes of the great awakening in East Africa was a constant cleansing from sin which prompted him to write We do not lose peace with God over another person's sin, but only over our own. Only when we are willing to be cleansed, will we have His peace. (I recommend reading his book The Calvary Road now available free online) Norman Grubb had these thoughts about the revival in East Africa (in his preface to the Calvary Road)… I am sure from my own experience, as well as from what we have seen in the ranks of our Mission these last three years, that what the authors tell us about in these pages is one of God's vital words to His worldwide church today. For long I had regarded revival only from the angle of some longed for, but very rare, sudden outpouring of the Spirit on a company of people. I felt that there was a missing link somewhere. Knowing of the continuing revival on a certain mission field and because it was continuing and not merely sudden and passing, I long felt that they had a further secret we needed to learn. Then chance came for heart to heart fellowship with them, first through one of our own missionary leaders whose life and ministry had been transformed by a visit to that field, and then through conferences with some of their missionaries on furlough and finally through the privilege of having two of the native brethren living for six months at our headquarters. From them I learned and saw that revival is first personal and immediate. It is the constant experience of the simplest Christian who "walks in the light," but I saw that walking in the light means an altogether new sensitiveness to sin, a calling things by their proper name of sin, such as pride, hardness, doubt, fear, self-pity, which are often passed over as merely human reaction. It means a readiness to "break" and confess at the feet of Him who was broken for us, for the Blood does not cleanse excuses, but always cleanses sin, confessed as sin: then revival is just the daily experience of a soul full of Jesus and running over. (The Calvary Road) Thoroughly (rabah) means to multiply, to become numerous, to become (or make) great or large (enlarge, increase). The idea David is conveying to wash me over and over and over.
Salmos 51:10-19
Wiersbe writes…Nehemiah 8:10 says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. When you enjoy doing something, the enjoyment gives you sufficient strength to do the task. On the other hand, all of us have tasks to perform that we don't enjoy. We do them out of duty and because it's the right thing to do, but they don't provide the strength that comes from joy. We need the joy of the Lord to witness for Him. Joy shows unsaved people that it is worthwhile to know Jesus. He is the Power for our service…Joy and willing obedience go together. When you enjoy doing something or when you enjoy the person for whom you are doing it, you serve willingly. David is saying, "I have been in bondage because I have not confessed my sin. Therefore, I lost my joy and my willing spirit. I lost that real delight that comes from obeying God." How can you restore joy? Confess your sin. Then look to Jesus Christ, not yourself. If you look at yourself, you won't rejoice. But if you look to Him, you will rediscover the joy of His salvation. God intends that you rejoice in your salvation. Have you lost the joy of your salvation? Do you miss the delight that comes from obeying the Lord? Make sure your life is free from sin, and then ask Him to restore your joy. (Lost Joy) Salvation (Lxx = soterios = bringing salvation, delivering, rescuing) (03468) (yesha'/yesa') means deliverance, rescue, liberty, welfare, salvation (cp 2Sa23:5 where we see David in the midst of strife appeal to God's salvation based on his covenant relationship). Yesha'/yesa' is used by Micah who declares… But as for me, I will watch expectantly (Lxx = epiblepo = look intently) for the Lord; I will wait (Lxx = hupomeno) for the God of my salvation (yesha'/yesa'; Lxx = soter = a Savior, One who rescues, delivers, preserves, clearly a reference to the Messiah!). My God will hear me. (Mic 7:7). Boice…As long as David was living in sin he had no joy. His fellowship with God was broken (Ed: The Holy Spirit, the believer's source of joy, was grieved, cp Ep 4:30-note). Now that he has repented of his sin, found (Ed: experienced divine) cleansing, and is seeking a renewed spirit, he wants to have that joy again. How relevant to many people’s thinking today. Many think that the way to joy or a good time is by sinning. They think that godliness is dull. Actually the opposite is the case. Sin brings sorrow. Righteousness brings rejoicing. Allowed to continue, sin will remove every good thing from our lives—joy, health, wealth, and at last even life itself. Only righteousness will restore them. One commentator notes wisely, “The fact that the psalmist prays for so many things [in Ps 51:7-12] indicates how many things he knew he had lost when he plunged into sin.” Henry Drummond - In reality, joy is as much a matter of cause and effect as pain. No one can get joy by merely asking for it. It is one of the ripest fruits of the Christian life, and, like all fruits, must be grown. (Ed: Grown in a convicted, confessed, repented, clean heart.) John Newton wrote the following poem on joy… Joy is a fruit that will not grow In nature’s barren soil; All we can boast, till Christ we know, Is vanity and toil. But where the Lord hath planted grace, And made His glories known, These fruits of heavenly joy and peace Are found, and there alone. Sustain (05564) (samak) means to uphold as when one places something on a person or an animal and figuratively in this verse it describes God supporting the believer. The Septuagint (Lxx) translates samak with sterizo [word study] which is used in Peter's description of the stabilizing effect of the God of all grace on those who have suffered for a while (1Pe 5:10-note). David's prayer in this section reminds me of Paul's warning in First Corinthians "let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." (1Co 10:12). The only way a believer can stand in a sin sick world is if God affirmatively answers this prayer for His stabilizing, sustaining Spirit energizing our walk! A willing spirit - David desired for God to make him willing to obey. Some such as Spurgeon see this a reference to the Holy Spirit. While I favor the former, I certainly would not discount the latter interpretation because we would not have a willing spirit unless His Spirit willed it in us! (cp Php 2:13-note). A human spirit that says "Not my will, but Thy will" is possible only by His Spirit's enablement. The Hebrew word for willing is translated in the Lxx by the adjective hegemonikos (English - hegemony = preponderant influence or authority over others) which pertains to being in a supervisory capacity, guiding or leading, a translation which does suggest that the spirit David is referring to is primarily the Holy Spirit. Interesting! Thomas Alexander writes that… A loving mother chooses a fitting place, and a fitting time, to let her little child fall; it is learning to walk, it is getting over confident, it may come to a dangerous place, and if possessed of all this confidence, may fall and destroy itself. So she permits it to fall at such a place, and in such a way as that it may be hurt, wholesomely hurt, but not dangerously so. It has now lost its confidence, and clings all the more fondly and trustingly to the strong hand that is able to hold up all its goings. So this David, this little child of the great God, has fallen; it is a sore fall, all his bones are broken, but it has been a precious and a profitable lesson to him; he has no confidence any longer in himself, his trust is not now in an arm of flesh (2Chr 32:8). "Uphold me with thy free spirit." Robert Murray M'Cheyne… I am tempted to think that I am now an established Christian, that I have overcome this or that lust so long that I have got into the habit of the opposite grace, so that there is no fear; I may venture very near the temptation, nearer than other men. This is a lie of Satan. I might as well speak of gunpowder getting by habit a power of resisting fire, so as not to catch the spark. As long as powder is wet it resists the spark, but when it becomes dry it is ready to explode at the first touch. As long as the Spirit dwells in my heart, he deadens me to sin, so that if lawfully called through temptation I may reckon upon God carrying me through. But when the Spirit leaves me, I am like dry gunpowder. Oh, for a sense of this! (Ed: Oh, to continually pray sustain me with a willing spirit!)
Salmos 51:10-19
Wiersbe - Have you ever studied the broken things in the Bible? A woman broke a vessel at the feet of Jesus and anointed Him (Mk 14:3, 4, Mt 26:6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13). Jesus took bread and broke it as a picture of His body given for us (Mt 26:26). God uses broken things, and He starts with broken hearts. This is what repentance is all about. God doesn't listen to the lips. He doesn't measure a material sacrifice. He looks at the heart and says, "If your heart is broken, then I can cleanse it."… Even though no sacrifice was available for his sin at the time, God looked down the corridors of time and saw a cross where Jesus Christ would die for David's sin. God looks at the heart, not the hand. He wants sincerity from the heart, not religious routine. A broken heart is not remorse, nor is it regret. It is repentance, a turning away from sin. It's telling God you hate sin, are judging it and claiming his forgiveness. Bring to Him the sacrifice of a contrite heart. (Psalm 51:16-17 Broken Things)
Salmos 51:10-19
Wiersbe - David in his sin had been tearing down, not building up. He had given opportunity to the enemies of Israel to blaspheme God. The word got out. Soon everyone knew what David had done. So he says, "O God, when I was sinning, I was tearing down. I was not pleasing You. Now I want to please You. And because I'm pleasing You, I will be building up. And the walls of Jerusalem, walls of protection, will be strong." Are you tearing down or building up?