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!
  
 For I know my transgressions,
     and my sin is ever before me.
 Against you, you only, have I sinned
     and done what is evil in your sight,
 so that you may be justified in your words
     and blameless in your judgment.
 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
     and in sin did my mother conceive me.
 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
     and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
  
 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
     wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
 Let me hear joy and gladness;
     let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
 Hide your face from my sins,
     and blot out all my iniquities.
 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
     and renew a right spirit within me.
 Cast me not away from your presence,
     and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
     and uphold me with a willing spirit.
  
 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
     and sinners will return to you.
 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
     O God of my salvation,
     and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
 O Lord, open my lips,
     and my mouth will declare your praise.
 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
     you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
     a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 
                                                                       -- Psalm 51:1-17

For this week’s #WordforWednesday post, we’re going to look at a Psalm that is very familiar to most who have read the Bible for any length of time. Along with many other Psalms, David is the author of Psalm 51. If you read this Psalm in your Bible, you will probably see a heading that gives the context: “To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.” The events referred to here can be found in 2 Samuel 11:1-12:15. This Psalm, then, represents David’s confession and repentance. Not only do we get a look into the heart of the King, but we learn a lot about the true nature of sin, repentance, and forgiveness.

Introduction: A Plea for Mercy (vv. 1-2)

David begins this Psalm in a rather direct and straightforward manner: “Have mercy on me, O God. . . . Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!” You can almost see David falling on his face before the Lord and crying out. His cry in these two verses serves as an introduction to the entire Psalm. Notice the reason given for why the Lord should hear David’s cry: “. . . according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy.” David is saying, “Not on my account Lord, but because of who You are. You are merciful and gracious, full of steadfast love.” If you turn to Exodus 34:6-8, you’ll see this is precisely how the Lord describes Himself.

The Confession of Sin (vv. 3-6)

Having made his cry, David now confesses his sin before the Lord. Notice that he does not name the particular sins. He does not say, “I committed adultery; I committed murder.” The reasons for this are twofold. First, both David and the Lord knew of what he was repenting. Second, as we’ll see, the sin of which David is guilty goes farther than just the outward manifestations. Let’s take a closer look at what we learn from his words:

• All sin is ultimately against God (v. 4). While sin can be against a person (in terms of actions or words), all sin is fundamentally an affront to God, a statement of, “I’m going to live life my own way.” One implication of this is that all sin is relational in nature. Sin damages relationships–with others and God.
• Sin is a product not only of choice but of nature (v. 5). Here, David admits that he was born into sin. Every person born, except for Adam, Eve, and Jesus, was born with a sinful heart that delights in living life independently of God. A child does not have to be taught, “No!” or “I’ll do it myself.” Both are instinctive.
• Sin extends to the very center of our being (v. 6). Notice that the Lord delights “in truth in the inward being.” It’s not enough to avoid outwardly sinful behaviors, yet be filled with sinful attitudes in the heart. It’s in those hidden or secret places that the Lord longs to teach us wisdom, and that wisdom will be shown in our actions.

The Plea for Cleansing and Forgiveness (vv. 7-12)

After his confession, David now turns to his plea. He pleads with the Lord to “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (v. 7). To put this in context, many of the cleansing rituals of the Old Testament called for the priest to dip a hyssop branch in the blood of a sacrificed animal and sprinkle or smear it on the item to be cleansed. As Hebrews reminds us, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Heb. 9:22). Likewise, we are told that the blood of Christ cleanses us from sin today (1 John 1:7).

In verse 8, then, David implies that, because of his sin, he is in a state of depression and brokenness. His cry can be read as, “After You have cleansed and forgiven me, I’ll again be able to know Your joy and gladness.” He acknowledges that God chastens His children for their sin (“the bones that You have broken”), and calls on the Lord to allow those broken bones to rejoice because of Gods faithfulness and mercy. Notice that David asks for complete forgiveness; he throws himself literally on the mercy of God. He pleads for God to do away with his sin (v. 9). We know that, because of Christ’s death, the Lord is able to do just that.

After praying for cleansing, David prays that God would restore him. Restore what? He asks for a “clean heart” and a “right spirit” (v. 10). He is asking for the ability to obey God. He wants a heart and spirit inclined to God’s ways. God did judge David as “a man after my own heart who will do all my will” (Acts 13:22). We can say, then, that the Lord was with David.

David seems to agree with that in verse 11, when he acknowledges that the Holy Spirit is with him and helps him. This verse may cause confusion for those of us today if we are not careful. We must remember that, under the Old Covenant, the Spirit was said to be “upon” people, but not in them. We, however, have the Spirit of God indwelling us. The two types of relationships can’t be compared. David’s call for God to “restore to me the joy of Your salvation” (v. 12) reminds us that salvation is God’s. He is the Author and Perfecter of salvation.

The Sacrifices of Praise (vv. 13-17)

Because of God’s love and mercy, David commits to ” teach transgressors your ways,” so that “sinners will return to you” (v. 13). David is saying that he will remind people of God’s mercy and grace, which he has experienced. We can only make God known to the extent that we have experienced Him in a personal way. We can only know His grace when we see how much we need it. We can only know His comfort when we truly need it.

In praying that the Lord would open his lips (v. 14), David reminds us that even our very praise comes from the Lord. He has made us to worship Him. It really is all about Him, not us. The sacrifices that please God, David says, are grateful praise and “a broken and contrite heart” (v. 17). Brokenness before God should be the norm for one who walks with God. We find God most clearly in the brokenness of life. When we do though, we will know how to sing these lines and truly mean it:

Bind up these broken bones
Mercy bend and breathe me back to life
But not before You show me how to die
                                                           -- "Show Me," Audrey Assad

Takeaways From This Psalm

• True confession of and repentance from sin must start with the heart. It’s not enough just to say, “Oh, I lied.” The lie grew from an attitude in my heart.
• All sin is firstly against a holy and just God, who desires that we be in fellowship with Him.
• All sin is relational in nature. In order to understand that, sin must no longer be defined as the superficial acts and thoughts that are easy to see.
• When we encounter God in brokenness over our sin, we can be sure He is faithful to forgive, cleanse and restore us. There is no sin that puts us too far from His reach. There is no sin that He will not forgive if we turn to Him in dependence and trust.