HEADING. ‘For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.' Following the nine Psalms of the sons of Korah and a Psalm of Asaph we now have a further series of Psalms of David. The headings indicate that a number of these, at least,... [ Continue Reading ]
AN APPEAL FOR FORGIVENESS AND CLEANSING (PSALMS 51:1). The Psalm commences with an appeal to God for forgiveness and cleansing. In these verses David throws himself on the mercy of God, in recognition that only in God's supreme compassion is there any hope for him. He knew that he had committed the... [ Continue Reading ]
DAVID FREELY AND OPENLY ADMITS HIS TOTAL SINFULNESS AND GUILT (PSALMS 51:3). David tells God that he now knows the truth about himself. He no longer dismisses what he has done as unimportant because he is a king and chief judge, and therefore, as the one finally responsible for the law, above the l... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS AND FOR THE REMOVAL OF HIS SINS (PSALMS 51:7). David now turns to the question of how his sins can be removed from him. He recognises that outward ritual would be irrelevant (‘you do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it' - Psalms 51:16). There was no prescription... [ Continue Reading ]
A PRAYER FOR TRANSFORMATION (PSALMS 51:10). Genuine repentance seeks not only forgiveness, but transformation of life. It is no good asking for forgiveness if we intend to do it again. So David wanted not only to be forgiven but also to be restored into the way of obedience in which he had once wal... [ Continue Reading ]
RECOGNISING THAT HIS ONLY HOPE LIES IN TOTAL AND CONTRITE SUBMISSION DAVID MAKES A FINAL PLEA THAT GOD WILL DELIVER HIM FROM BLOOD-GUILTINESS (PSALMS 51:14). Blood-guiltiness is an idea prominent in the Old Testament. When a person slew another person they were seen as blood-guilty and their lives w... [ Continue Reading ]
A PRAYER FOR THE PROSPERITY OF JERUSALEM (PSALMS 51:18). The Psalm as it now stands ends with this prayer. It was possibly not a part of the original Psalm, (which was David's written confession), but added when the Psalm became part of public worship. Although if David specifically wrote the Psalm... [ Continue Reading ]