Introduction

We all have faced times when we were overcome with guilt and longed for God’s forgiveness. David wrote this psalm during one of the worst times of his life. He recorded this beautiful prayer so that we would understand how to receive God’s forgiveness, even when we know we are unworthy of God’s mercy as David was.

Title For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

Title -- Read 2 Samuel 12:1-13. How do you think Nathan felt? How do you think David felt? Name a time when you tried to cover up a wrongdoing.

The event referred to in the title is recorded in 2 Samuel 12:1-13. The prophet Nathan comes to David with a story of a rich man who took a poor man’s only lamb for his own. The king’s reaction is recorded in verse 5, “David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die’!”

After David pronounced this sentence, Nathan, in one of the most courageous acts recorded in scripture, tells David (verse 7), “You are the man.”

Instead of being angry with Nathan, David realizes that the charge is true, as Nathan related to him in verse 9, “Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes?” David is filled with remorse and flooded with guilt. In verse 13 he tells Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord,” which are almost the identical words he writes in Psalm 51:4, “Against you, you only, have I sinned.”

McGee points out, “All the great men of God have confessed their sin before God. Augustine wrote his confessions. But Psalm 51 is one of the greatest confessionals that has ever been written.”

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

vs 1 -- What did David pray for in this verse? David requested mercy based according to what two things? Do you feel deserving of God’s mercy?

This psalm starts off with David’s admission of his need for God’s mercy. We are all like David. We need God’s forgiveness in our lives. David realized he could not ask for forgiveness based on his own actions. His sins were reprehensible and he was no doubt overwhelmed with contrition. So he asked for God’s mercy based, not on his own goodness, but on God’s unfailing love and great compassion. Do you realize that God has unfailing love and great compassion toward you? He does, and he will forgive you as he did David. Not too many people have committed sins as bad as David’s. He murdered Uriah, committed adultery with Bathsheba, and tried to hide his sins behind a mask of deceit. In spite of David’s great sinfulness, God was compassionate toward him. God will be just as compassionate toward you.

2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

vs 2 -- What two things does David ask God to do for him in this verse? Why do we feel so dirty when we have sinned?

When confronted with his sin, David cries out in verse 2 for God to wash him and cleanse him. He sees the wickedness of sin in his heart and he desires it to be removed. Only God can remove sin from our lives. Try as we might to rationalize our guilt away, it will continue to gnaw away at our soul and eat at our spirit until we allow God to wash us and cleanse us.

What sin have you been carrying with you all these years? What guilt consumes your thoughts from time to time? Go to God and allow him to wash you clean with his tender mercy and his compassionate love.

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

vs 3 -- What do you think David meant by “my sin is always before me”? Describe how sin has tormented you.

When we have sinned, we suffer under the burden of our transgressions, as David writes in verse 3, “my sin is always before me.” Sin will eat at our conscience and destroy our happiness. Our life will be twisted and tormented as long as we carry that sin with us. That is why we are in such need of God’s mercy and forgiveness.

McGee writes, “Sin is always complicated. It never is simple. ... The experience of David is that he has come under deep conviction of sin. You and I cannot enter into the horror of the guilt of David. To him his sin was repugnant. He hated it, and he hated himself because he did it. He felt dirty all over.”

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.

vs 4 -- Who did David say he sinned against in this verse? Who had he actually sinned against? Why do you think he feels this way?

We think of sin as wrong actions or bad thoughts. We think of it as harming others or being immoral. But the correct view of sin is rebellion against God and his commandments. David acknowledges this when he confesses in verse 4, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” Of course David had sinned against Uriah and Bathsheba, against his family, and as we will see in verses 18-19 even against his nation. But the greatest sin he committed was disobeying God. Whenever we break one of God’s commandments and harm someone else, we are sinning against God. If we would think of that a little bit more, maybe the pleasure of sin would not seem so pleasant to us.

Poteat remarks, “It was a marked advance in moral thought that represented man’s sin against his fellow as a sin against God. For this important idea we are indebted to the deep insight of some of Israel’s thinkers. The sinner shared it in this anguished moment....”

5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

vs 5 -- What does David mean by this verse? Was his mother an evil person? In what areas of your life do you have to battle sinful thoughts?

David acknowledges that he was born in sin. He is not saying his mother was an immoral woman. In fact she was a virtuous woman, but as Matthew Henry tells us, “...for though she was, by grace, a child of God, she was, by nature, a daughter of Eve....” Although we think of children as born innocent, it does not take long for them to display their natural traits of selfishness, stubbornness, and getting into trouble.

David is admitting his natural bent to sin. As Job 5:7 says, “Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.” We must realize we are hopelessly wicked in ourselves. It is only with the Lord’s help that we can overcome.

vs 6-9 List all the things David prays for in these verses. What do you think he means by “inner parts” and “inmost place” in verse 6?

In verses 6-9 David is crying out for inward cleansing. Notice in verse 6 he says, “you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.” David recognizes what sin has done to his spirit and wants to be cleaned on the inside. Perhaps he has already thought he was clean outwardly. Maybe he had made some sacrifice or done some good things for Bathsheba and Uriah’s family to make it up to them. He had performed outward motions of freeing himself of this sin, but the transgression was still haunting him in his heart. So he cries out for inward cleansing.

vs 10 -- Why does David pray for a pure heart? What do you think he means by a steadfast spirit? List 5 impurities in your heart that you would like to see God remove.

The psalmist realizes his shortcomings. He pleads with God to create a pure heart within him. He now sees how his mind is filled with lust and evil and wickedness. He wants a new heart, a pure heart from God. And he realizes that the problem is his own spiritual weakness. So he prays that God will renew his commitment and give him a steadfast spirit able to resist temptations and stand firm in the faith. If we were to honestly examine ourselves, we would also realize the darkness in our own heart and the weakness in our own spirit. Perhaps we have not done such great wickedness as David, but we also need to ask God to create in us a pure heart and renew in us a steadfast spirit.

Taylor comments, “The psalmist is aware that he needs more than forgiveness. ... The clean heart which he wants must be a new creation. The effect of it will be manifest in a steadfast, unvacillating loyalty. ... Such a spiritual condition needs to be sustained by the holy Spirit, which will strengthen the good will of his heart for holy living; and a willing spirit, a spirit of nobility and willingness, and inclination of easy obedience.”

vs 11-13 -- Have you ever felt cast from God’s presence? Why would David pray that the Holy Spirit would not be taken from him? How does God give us a willing spirit to sustain us?

In verse 11 David cries to not be cast from God’s presence. The awfulness of his sin makes him realize how angry God must be with him. He probably also realizes why he has felt so far from God, for he says don’t “take your Holy Spirit from me.” When we are faced with sin in our lives, we realize how much we have offended God and his holiness. But David also understood God’s mercy. That’s why he could say in verse 12, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” He wanted that joy in his spirit that he had experienced before but was now missing. Has sin robbed you of your joy? Cry out to God for forgiveness as David did, and your spirit will be changed into a “willing spirit” as David prayed.

David realized that when he was restored, he would share what he had learned with others to warn them against the dangers of sin. That’s why he proclaims in verse 13, “Then I will teach transgressors your ways.” Have you experienced God’s forgiveness? Then share it with others so they too can experience the joy of deliverance!

vs 14-15 -- How could David speak of declaring God’s praise? Do you need to spend more time praising God for his forgiveness?

David realizes the extent of his sin when he asks for God to save him from his bloodguilt. This Hebrew expression damiym indicates a crime of blood which required the guilty party to die. When David cries out to God, he realizes that there is no payment or sacrifice for his sin short of his own life. So he places himself on the mercy of God. David has seen God’s hand of forgiveness before, and he acknowledges that God’s inward mercy causes outward praise.

That’s why in verses 14-15 David states that “my tongue shall sing of your righteousness,” and “my mouth will declare your praise.” When we understand the depths of God’s mercy, we can do nothing less but sing and declare God’s praise. If God has forgiven you, perhaps you should spend some time singing of God’s righteousness and declaring his praise.

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

vs 16-17 -- What place did sacrifices and burnt offerings have in the life of the Hebrew? What does verse 17 mean to you? In what areas of your life should you be more broken and contrite?

In a very unusual statement for a Hebrew, David declares in verse 16, “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.” We know that it was the sacrifices of animals that Moses commanded the Jews to make for remission of sins. These sacrifices were the ones that pointed to the true sacrifice of the lamb of God Although it seems the Jews could not possibly understand the significance of this sacrifice, here we see David with knowledge of the real purpose of the sacrifice -- God’s forgiveness!

David realizes that outward sacrifice is not as important as inward repentance. A sacrifice we give to God must reflect a “broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart,” as David tells us in verse 17.

18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

vs 18-19 Why would David pray for Zion? Why would David be concerned about the walls of Jerusalem? How have your sins affected your family? your church? your community?

From verse 18, it seems David understood that his sin had affected the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. He asks God to “build up the walls of Jerusalem” indicating that David may have considered the city vulnerable because of his sin. And he prays “make Zion prosper” as if he understood that the nation might be in danger from his sins. The Living Bible renders verses 18-19, “And Lord, don't punish Israel for my sins -- help your people and protect Jerusalem. And when my heart is right, then you will rejoice in the good that I do and in the bullocks I bring to sacrifice upon your altar.”

Our actions affect more than just ourselves. They affect our family, our friends, our church, our community, and even our nation. Whenever you decide to do something immoral, you are affecting how others view morality. Whenever you stop caring, you are affecting the attitudes of others. Whenever you cheat and cut corners, you are influencing others to do the same. Sin is never isolated.

David understood how, as leader of Israel, his sin might affect the entire nation. So he pledges in verse 19 to offer sacrifices to God to obtain God’s mercy. When we come to God for forgiveness, we are changing our society in some small way. Many people making small changes can transform our nation from one of selfishness and violence to one of love and compassion. God, let it be so.

This study on Psalm 51 © 2000 by David Humpal, all rights reserved.
All scriptures unless otherwise noted are from the New International Version © 1971, Zondervan Bible Publishers

Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, vol. 2, pg. 762 © 1982, Thomas Nelson Publishers

Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, vol. 2, pg. 762-763 © 1982, Thomas Nelson Publishers

Poteat: The Interpreter’s Bible, vol. IV, pg. 268 © 1955, Abingdon Press

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Bible, vol. III, pg. 431, MacDonald Publishing Company

Job 5:7 and Isaiah 64:6 from the King James Version

Taylor: The Interpreter’s Bible, vol. IV, pg. 270-271 © 1955, Abingdon Press