Psalm 51 is a penitential psalm. It is proceeding from or expressing penitence or contrition of heart. David the writer of this psalm reveals the background to the writing of this psalm - "When Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba". This account of Nathan confronting David of his sins was recorded in 2 Samuel 12 . The happenings that resulted in this confrontation was recorded in 2 Samuel 11 .
The Westminster Confession of Faith question 11, section 5 provides a good summary for this psalm "God doth continue to forgive the sins of those that are justified; and, although they can never fall from the state of justification, yet they may, by their sins, fall under God's fatherly displeasure, and not have the light of his countenance restored unto them, until they humble themselves, confess their sins, beg pardon, and renew their faith and repentance.", where Psalm 51 is quoted in full as a proof text. This is my summary "we learn that our sins being forever forgiven is not a license for us to sin. But when we do fall into sin, we do not lose our salvation but is under the chastitive will of God. To be restored to the joy of salvation, we need to humble ourselves, come back to God by acknowledging our sins in contrition of heart, asking for God's forgiveness and to be restored into sweet fellowship again." (Summary Statement)
"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin."
David began the psalm pleading with God to show favour and be gracious to him (verse 1 ), appealing to His "h'esed" - lovingkindness, mercy, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, love, acts of kindness of God. The lovingkindness of God denotes the ready inclination of God to relieve the misery of His fallen creatures (Pink). This special character of God is exhibited not for fallen angels but only for His own children. Mercy is never exercised to fallen angels.
David also appealed to the tender mercies of God "raham". This word can mean "womb, compassion, mercy, affection, maiden". Here the usage is mercy or compassion. The verb is "love" or "have compassion", the outworking of love. I believe this word brings covenant connotations alluding to the unborn child in the womb of the mother, helpless and fully dependent on the mercy of mother. The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology describes God very insightfully when it says, "metaphysically God is Self-Existent, Eternal and Unchanging. Intellectually, God is Omniscient (He has all knowledge), Faithful and Wise. Ethically God is Holy, Righteous and Loving. Emotionally, God Detests Evil, Is Long Suffering and Compassionate. Relationally, God is Transcendent in Being, impersonal yet sovereign over the unbelieving world, but Father in heaven in the lives of His people who repent of their sin and live in faith to accomplish the goals of His redemptive grace." The covenantal relationship between God and His children is a sovereign choice of God according to His good pleasure. His children do not have to work for it but receives freely from God. God speaks of His love for His people at the on set of Scriptures, he says to Israel in Deuteronomy 7:6-8 "For thou art an holy (separated) people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people. But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt." Israel is special to God. God loves and cares for Israel is precious to God, the apple of His eye. Israel is called the church in the wilderness in Acts 7:38 . God's love extends from the Jews to the Gentiles, we the Gentiles, like the Gentile Christians to receive the same love that God gave to Israel. It comes with it also a responsibility to bear a good testimony of all the good that we have received from God. But David has not appropriate this privilege that God has for him. He fell into sin.
Here in verse 1 , he asked God to blot his transgressions. He acknowledged that his sin was against God only! He acknowledged the evil that he had done in God's sight. God knows and God sees our every action even the very intent and motives of our heart which may be hidden from man. He found himself wanting, listing down his rebellion against God. What was David's sin? 2 Samuel 11 tells us that he had transgressed the seventh commandment committing adultery with Bathsheba and the sixth commandment killing Uriah, Bathsheba's husband by sending him to the hottest battle front to be killed. He asked God to blot out (wipe out) his transgressions. Who can forgive sins but God!
We observe three words of entreaty that David used in the imperative in verse 1-2 , to be rid of his guilt ridden conscience - (1) "Blot out" (2) Wash (3) Cleanse. Who can cleanse a man of his/her sins but God!
"For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest."
To be cleansed of our sins, we first have to be honest before God and man to admit our sin. A Christian writer said, "An honest man's the noblest of God's work" holds true for David. He was honest before God. When he is confronted of his sins of adultery and murder, he immediately repented, 2 Samuel 12:13 "And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die." Another Christian writer said this, "Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure there is one less rascal in the world. In verse 4 , David acknowledged the evil that he had done in God's sight. God is justified to condemn him. He did not try to sweep his sins under the carpet and hide them. He hide not his sins but truthfully confesses them before God.
Was David forthright in his confession? He needed God to help him. To acknowledge is to own up, to be honest and admit before God where we have fallen short of God's law. The psalmist described that his crooked and perverse ways were not hid from God (Psalm 32:5 ). David found it very difficult to admit that he had done wrong. God didn't want David to go on feeling miserable, so He faithfully used Nathan to make David be honest about his sin. Once David was willing to face what he had done, he was able to confess it to God. God helps us to see where we have sinned, by giving us our conscience, His Word, and people like Nathan to point out our wrong to us.
The episode how he had no peace in his heart before his confession is given in Psalms 32:3-4 "When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah."
Watch how God sent Nathan to confronted David of his sins. It is a lesson for us that we cannot hide from God, there will be a time of reckoning. Watch how Nathan made David judged himself by his story in 2 Samuel 12:1-9 "And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon."
"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom."
Man is born the seed of a woman, the seed that is stain with a sin nature that will remain with man on this side of earth. At the time of conception, sin already abides in the heart of man. We cannot fathom the depth of our depravity until we read of this account and discover how vulnerable we are to sin. David was a man after God's own heart, a godly man, yet he fell. What about us? Will we be spared? May the Lord help us!
Remember after the fall, Genesis 3:7 "And the eyes of both Adam and Eve were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." The leaves they made for themselves could not cover the guilt of their sins.
The solution to Adam and Eves' sins were given by God in Genesis 3:15 "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." The seed of a woman is the key. We know the seed of a man but the seed of a woman that results in conception is extraordinary, totally miraculous. This happened only once in the history of mankind. Matthew 1:20-23 "But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Jesus Christ is at Saviour that can take away our sins.
God was gracious to save Adam and Eve by the coats of skin, a pre-figure of Christ - sinless the lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world for in Genesis 3:21 "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them." And after which Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden.
We may have received the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts and are justified in the sight of God. However, when we are not hiding God's word in our hearts and let it rule and direct our steps, we can still fall. Here is the description of David's fall into sin. Although they were cleansed by blood of Christ, man is positionally righteous before God, but the sin nature continue to reside in this earthly man "~d"a'".
"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit."
God is ethically Holy, Righteous and Loving. Emotionally, God Detests Evil, Is Long Suffering and Compassionate. God is holy and He detests evil. David's act of adultery and murder was most heinous in the sight of God. God chastise His wayward children. There is a consequence to sin.
Nathan pronounced God's judgment upon David - the consequences of his sins would mean a troubled family life for him, 2 Samuel 12:9-12 "Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun."
Four of David's son will die as a result - the baby born out of adultery, Ammon, Adonijah, Absalom.
The key to understanding imagery of forgiveness is that it views sins as something that needs to be eradicated and removed. Our understanding of forgiveness is heightened when we read that forgiveness is analogous on a spiritual level to a good physical washing. Notice the urgency of David requesting God for cleansing, to remove the guilt of sin that plagued his conscience. The hyssop is a plant or genus of plants, where the leaves have an aromatic smell, and a warm pungent taste. Hyssop was much used by the Jews in purification. The most striking reference is in John 19:29 , when our Lord was given vinegar in a sponge put on hyssop. It is also, however, definitely connected with the blood used in sacrifices, and Paul when speaking of Moses in Hebrews 9:19 , 20 says: "He took the blood of calves...and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book and all the people, saying 'This is the blood of the covenant...'." Directions are given by Moses to take a bunch of hyssop and dip it into the blood of the lamb that was in the basin, in order to be able to apply it to the lintel and the two sideposts of the front door of the house (Exodus 12:22 ). This was the beginning of the Passover. The reference in Psalm 51:7 , "purge me with hyssop," obviously refers to the application of the blood of the lamb, for it is only, Scripture says, with the shedding of blood that there can be remission of sin. The picture in Numbers 19:6 is that of separation and cleanliness. The hyssop does not have blood upon it, but a piece of scarlet cloth, undoubtedly indicating the blood of remisson.
Gladness and joy comes from God, the source of true joy. Joy can be the voice of recovery from a wayward path of guilt. The transition from mourning to joy is like turning "wailing into dancing" like the changing of sackcloth into garments of joy (Psalm 30:11 ), the transformation is readily apparent to those who watch. Joy is an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction. He labels it joy and says that it must be sharply distinguished both from happiness and from pleasure. Joy is found because he found God as its source. Joy is a by-product of life with God. Joy is not found by seeking it as an end in itself. It must be given by God. Therefore, it is received by faith with the gift of salvation. The energetic welling up of emotion frequently manifests itself in shouting and singing, so that the psalms resound with a chorus of shouts and songs of joy.
"Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar."
God does not want our hypocritical worship. He knows and he can tell if we are not sincere. It is David's desire to teach others true worship. The image of brokenness in verse 17 speaks of anguish and despair and a loss of hope or a sense of well-being. Here it is the result of David's recognition of the devastation of God's judgment on his sins. A broken person is one who responds to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in repentance (verse 15 , 17 ).
A broken-hearted person is the opposite of the self-made, heart-hearted person. The fundamental difference between these two types of individuals is most evident in their reactions to being confronted with their own sins. The key element is that the brokenhearted person repents.
We end with the hymn that we learn from Rev Timothy Tow in FEBC. We sing this during our FEBC retreat as a hymn of repentance and re-consecration to a Korean melody.
Oh come unto the Lord.
Oh, comeback to the Lord;
1. No matter how heavy
And how great your sins may Be;
There are no sins that Christ our Savior
Cannot bear or not accept,
The great depth of the Lord's loving heart,
It is far deeper than the skies.
2. Our Lord is waiting for
Your return both night and day;
He is anxiously waiting for you
With His door kept open wide,
As if He is waiting in the night
For His lost child to come back home.
3. That No matter how hard hit
And how beaten you may be,
The Lord's hands will comfort you greatly
They will touch and will heal you:
Oh Come unto our Lord who loves so
Please come back, please come back home.