Unless otherwise stated, all citations are taken from the New International Version (NIV).
The superscription tells us the setting for David writing this psalm: “When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.” These events occurred in 2 Samuel 11-12.
When Nathan confronted David, he simply said, “I have sinned against the LORD” (2 Sam. 12:13). This psalm tells us more of what went through during this time in order to find repentance.
It’s quite astounding that David wrote this song for “the director of music.” Instead of trying a coverup job like before (2 Sam. 11-12), David wanted people to publicly know about this event, and learn from it. In this passage, David writes, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you” (Ps. 51:12-13).
(51:1) Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
David doesn’t plead for God’s mercy based on what he deserves, but based on God’s “love” and “compassion.”
“Blot out my transgressions.” This is the same term used for erasing something from a book (Ex. 32:32; Num. 5:23). David wants the record of his wrongs to be totally and completely expunged.
(51:2) Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
“Wash away all my iniquity.” The term for “washed” is “normally connected with the laundering of clothes, as if David is comparing himself to a foul garment needing to be washed and washed.”[1]
“All.” David wants all of his sin to be taken away. He uses three different terms to describe his moral failings: “transgressions” (pešaʿ), “iniquity” (ʿawon), and “sin” (ḥaṭṭaʾt). We could define each word. However, this would be to miss the point. David uses three words for sin in order to describe the totality of sin.[2]
Problem #1: Moral Guilt (vv.3-4)
(51:3) For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
David didn’t justify his sins. We might imagine him saying, “It was Uriah’s fault… War is dangerous… Why would an attractive married woman bathe naked on the roof…? What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t control my libido. I really didn’t like Nathan’s tone when he rebuked me!” Instead of offering excuses, caveats, or justifications, David openly admits that he was responsible. This is the beginning of repentance.
(51:4) Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
“Against you, you only.” How could David write this when he also sinned against Uriah and Bathsheba? (cf. 2 Sam. 12:13) For one, when we sin against people, we sin against God first and foremost. All people are made in the image of God, and God invests infinite love into each and every person. Therefore, when we sin against people, we sin against God to an infinitely greater degree. To illustrate, what would make you angrier? If someone slapped you across the face or slapped your 8-year-old child? The answer to this question is obvious. Similarly, David realized that he had sinned directly against God with his actions. We usually think of sin as sociological—not theological. Since God created the standard, we ultimately sin against him.
Second, when we sin against other people, these are fellow sinners. However, when we sin against God, we are morally violating one who has never sinned. This is the far greater crime.
Third, this heartfelt statement from David stands in stark contrast to the narrative of 2 Samuel 11-12. Kidner comments, “Notice the immense contrast here to the self-absorbed outlook of 2 Samuel, where David’s only question was, in effect, ‘How do I cover my tracks?’ Now it is, ‘How could I treat God so?’”[3]
Fourth, David is using hyperbole when he writes this. The Bible clearly teaches that we sin against others—not God alone. However, he uses hyperbole to get our attention and realign our focus. This is the great key to repentance: Get the focus on God—not people. When we have a moral fall, we often concentrate our thoughts on our public image or on fixing how we hurt others. However, even non-believers want to fix the painful consequences of their moral failings. David challenges this instinct to focus on people, and he models how to get our focus on God where it belongs.
“You are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.” Paul cites this passage in Romans 3:4 to demonstrate that God is just in judging all human beings.
Problem #2: Congenital Sin (vv.5-6)
(51:5) Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
David isn’t excusing himself (like Freud would). He’s asking God to fix his inherent problem. The reason he sins is because he is a sinner by nature.
Some interpreters claim that this refers to David’s mother being in sexual sin (“in sin my mother conceived me”). Therefore, this doesn’t refer to David’s original sin, but to his mother’s previous sin. However, this doesn’t do justice to the text.
First, nothing in Scripture mentions David’s mother being sexually immoral when she became pregnant.
Second, nothing in Scripture says that giving birth is immoral.
Third, the context refers to David’s sin—not his mother.[4] Repeatedly, David writes about “my transgressions” (v.1), “my iniquity” (v.2), “my sin” (v.2), “my transgression” (v.3), “my sin” (v.3), and “I have sinned” (v.4). As David reflects on his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah, he realizes that this originated from his very birth. Kidner writes, “This crime, David now sees, was no freak event: it was in character; an extreme expression of the warped creature he had always been, and of the faulty stock he sprang from.”[5]
Fourth, Hebrew parallelism shows that “birth” and “conceived” are synonymous. He was sinful from conception to birth. That is, he had a sin nature in the womb.
Fifth, elsewhere, David speaks of original sin in his other writing. Elsewhere, he writes, “The wicked are estranged from the womb; these who speak lies go astray from birth” (Ps. 58:3).
(51:6) Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
Up until this point, David had been conspiring to create a cover-up. Now he wants God to come into his heart and teach him truth and honesty. The best place to seek refuge during a time like this is in the word of God.
Petition #1: Forgiveness from Moral Guilt (vv.7-9)
(51:7) Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
When people were ceremonially unclean, they needed the priest to cleanse them in this way (Lev. 14:6ff; Num. 19:16-19). David doesn’t need a priest to wash him. He knows that no one less that God himself needs to cleanse him of his sin. VanGemeren writes, “The priest, being satisfied that the unclean person had met the requirements for purification, would take a bunch of ‘hyssop’ and sprinkle the person with water, symbolic of ritual cleansing. Here the psalmist petitions the Lord to be his priest by taking the hyssop and by declaring him cleansed from all sin.”[6]
(51:8) Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
“Let me hear joy and gladness.” David wants God to bring joy back into his life. Unrepentant sin robs us of our joy.
“Let the bones you have crushed rejoice.” Sin has consequences. Wilson writes, “Crushed bones may ‘rejoice,’ but they may never be whole again.”[7]
(51:9) Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
“Hide your face” is synonymous with “blot out.” Normally, when God “hides his face,” this is a sign of divine judgment, where God is rejecting a person (Ps. 13:1; 27:9; 30:7; 143:7). Here, however, David asks God to “hide your face from my sins.” This is an outrageous and bold request for God to totally reject—not David!—but David’s sins.
Petition #2: Creation of a new self (vv.10-19)
(51:10) Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
David’s problem started with his sin nature (v.5). So, the solution needed to be a new nature (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17). He uses the Hebrew word “create” (bārāʾ), which refers to a sovereign act of God. Kidner comments, “With the word Create he asks for nothing less than a miracle.”[8]
(51:11) Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
In the old covenant, David saw King Saul lose the Holy Spirit (1 Sam. 16:14). He didn’t want this to occur to him as well. Now that we’re in the new covenant, however, we would never pray for something like this. We have been “sealed with the Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1:13-14; 2 Cor. 5:5). Instead, we can thank God that he will never take his Spirit away from us.
(51:12) Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” To repeat, unrepentant sin robs us of our joy. David had lost the joy of the Lord. This is why he asks God to bring it back into his life.
“Grant me a willing spirit.” There must be some willingness on our part to see repentance. Yet David realizes that he wants God to help him with his unwillingness.
(51:13) Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.
David needs God to change his heart before he’s ready to teach others. Otherwise, it would be the blind leading the blind. Furthermore, David needs the grace and joy of God in his heart in order for his life to be contagious on others. Kidner writes, “We may note the close connection between a joyous faith and an infectious one, and between experiencing restoration and leading others to that knowledge.”[9] Wilson writes, “Denying sin or covering it up… prevents any others from drinking at the well of our experience and gaining the life-giving insights we have to offer.”[10]
(51:14) Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
David cries out to God to be rescued from his sin. VanGemeren writes, “Deliverance here is from ‘bloodguilt’ (lit., ‘bloods,’ v. 14). ‘Bloodguilt’ could signify either the judgment resulting from a grave sin requiring the death penalty (cf. Ezek 18:13) or the sin that led to the death of an innocent man (cf. 2 Sam 12:5, 13). The man who has tasted the grace of God in life cannot but praise him for a new lease on life.”[11]
(51:15) Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.
David’s sin had “shamed him into silence.”[12] This is why he asks God to open his lips.
(51:16-17) You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
Is David abrogating the sacrificial system? No. For one, there was no sacrifice given for adultery in the OT law. The Law didn’t call for sacrifice, but for stoning. Therefore, David was completely at the mercy of God’s grace. Second, David is simply claiming that sacrifices are useless without a change of heart (see “Common Jewish Questions about Jesus”). This accords with the Law. For example, in Leviticus 6:2-7, Moses states that a thief needs to return the money with 20% interest before he offers a sacrifice. Third, David isn’t against sacrifices. At the end of the psalm, he writes, “Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar” (Ps. 51:19). The point is that repentance needs to precede sacrifices.
(51:18-19) May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Kidner[13] argues that David wrote this psalm. However, he raises the possibility that these final verses were added later in the captivity. However, deClaissé-Walford and Tanner counter, “Jerusalem, the city of David, the center of YHWH worship in ancient Israel, was a symbol that far surpassed its size or importance in the ancient Near East. It was the cultic center, the only place where proper sacrifice could be offered. If God ‘caused goodness (hêṭîbâ)’ for Jerusalem, then it would be well for David and for the people of Israel. And unless that were the case, could the psalmist ever experience true mercy, compassion and hesed?”[14]
Paraphrase of Psalm 51
“You have committed heinous sins. You know it, and I know it. But I forgive you for all of it. You have sinned directly against Me. In fact, you’ve been sinning against me for your entire life. But I will be your priest to cleanse you from each and every sin. I will recreate you from within. I want you to understand My love for you so that you can experience My joy again. When My joy comes back into your life, it will have a contagious effect on others, leading them to Me. I don’t want your sacrifices; I want your heart!”
[1] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 207.
[2] Nancy deClaissé-Walford and Beth Tanner, “Book Two of the Psalter: Psalms 42–72,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 455.
[3] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 208.
[4] Marvin E. Tate, Psalms 51–100, vol. 20, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 19.
[5] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 208.
[6] Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 381.
[7] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 782.
[8] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 209.
[9] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 210.
[10] Gerald H. Wilson, Psalms, vol. 1, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 783.
[11] Willem A. VanGemeren, “Psalms,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991), 383.
[12] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 211.
[13] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1–72: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 212.
[14] Nancy deClaissé-Walford and Beth Tanner, “Book Two of the Psalter: Psalms 42–72,” in The Book of Psalms, ed. E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr., The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 457.