‎Again, as the title implies, we need to read Psalm 51 within the context of the account recorded in 2 Samuel 11-12.  David engages in an adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, who becomes pregnant. He then seeks to cover up his sin by bringing her husband, Uriah, home from battle to lie his wife and take responsibility for the child. When this fails, he has Uriah placed in the battle lines where he will certainly be killed.  He is then free to take the woman as his wife.  Here we see, for the first time, David’s actions described as being “evil” in God’s sight.

‎Upon being confronted by Nathan, the prophet, David faces his sin with the words, “I have sinned against the Lord.”  Nathan then tells him that God has “put away” his sin, and it will not cost him his life. However, it will cost him the life of the baby born out this sinful union.  In addition, David will be living with the consequences of his sin for the remainder of his earthly life.

Psalm 51 expresses poetically the deep, consuming agony contained in the simple sentence, “I have sinned against the Lord.”  In the first two verses of this song, David pleads for God to “blot out” his transgression, “wash” him thoroughly, and “cleanse” him from his sin. It is inadequate to simply say that David seeks forgiveness from his sin.  Clearly, David is drowning in a sea of guilt and shame. To be forgiven means that God is no longer holding our sin against us.  Nathan told David immediately that he was forgiven, but yet David makes these pleas. Clearly, Psalm 51 is about more than just forgiveness.

Verse 3 gives us some insight into what is motivating David’s pleas.  He says, “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.”  Knowing that God had forgiven him did not remove the anguish over what he had done.  The word “ever” is translated elsewhere as continually, perpetually, always, and regularly.  David is expressing that he is unable to rid himself of the nagging, unending pain over what he had done. Perhaps the most telling phrase is verse 8:

He’s not asking that God mend his broken bones. They are a consequence of his sin, and God is justified in breaking them (Psalm 51:4).  He just wants to experience joy again.  He just wants his broken bones to rejoice.

It’s important for me to understand that cleansing and purifying are works that God must do.  I am completely unable to wash myself of my sin.  The only thing I’m able to do, and far too effectively, is hide from my sin.  I can act as though all is good in the world, and I’m good in it, but it’s just an act.  The agony of my sin continues to gnaw at me even though I know that, in Christ, I am forgiven.  I understand that the price of my sin was fully and completely paid on the cross, but the agony of my sin still haunts me.  In order to hear joy and gladness again, I need God to “create in me a clean heart,” (Psalm 51:10).  I need God to “renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

I also need to understand that the memory of my sin serves God’s purpose for me.  It keeps me humble by reminding me of who I am in the flesh, and what I’m capable of.  It teaches me the magnitude of Christ’s sacrifice, and the extent of His love.  It also reminds to look forward, with anticipation, to the day that I will be “free from the body of this death,” (Romans 7:24).  One day soon, the continuous cycle of sin will be no more.  The battle will be forever behind us, and we will fully know the joy of our salvation.

I anticipate that Psalm 51 will be the location of an extended stay for me. There is much for me to learn from this great prayer of contrition. Volumes have been written, by far greater minds than mine, on the deep insights to be gleaned from these verses. As always, I appreciate that you’ve landed on my little blog site, but if you must choose between reading my thoughts and reading the Psalm itself, read the Psalm.  That being said, what follows are simply my initial thoughts and meditations.

Sin. It is the curse of man’s existence from the moment he is conceived to the moment he takes his last mortal breath. It is the cause of grief, pain, sickness, poverty, despair, and war. It is the inescapable cancer that permeates all of humanity and that portion of God’s creation that man occupies. Sin is the cause for our disconnection from our creator; and, sin is the reason Christ had to die.

‎Psalm 51 is the classic example of one man’s grief over his own sinfulness. It is, of course, David’s prayer of contrition over his sins of lust, adultery, deceit, and murder (2 Sam. 11:1-12:15). This Psalm teaches us how to approach the throne of grace in our sinfulness. It teaches us how to regard our sin, and the depth of the damage is brings.  And, it teaches us how to press on in our sin, and continue the battle against our lusts of the flesh.

There are comparatively few Psalms that contain in the title a description of the event that inspired its writing.  Clearly, God wanted us to know the extent of David’s transgressions, and what brought about his repentance. With this in mind, it’s tempting to pacify ourselves in our own sin, telling ourselves that we’re not as bad as David. The problem with this kind of thinking is that it betrays in us a desire to “let ourselves off the hook” regarding our sin.  It shows that we don’t fear God as we should; and, we don’t take our sinfulness as seriously as we should.  We need to remember that God removed Saul’s spiritual anointing for killing a few cows.  Let’s not forget Achan, who for taking a few trinkets brought about the slaughter of his whole family—not to mention the 36 men who perished in the Hebrew’s initial attempt to take the city of Ai. God takes our sin seriously, and so should we.

‎More than anything else, in Psalm 51, David is expressing in words the agony of a heart broken by the ugliness of his own sin.  The final product of the prolific pen of John Bunyan was a little book published after his death called, An Acceptable Sacrifice, The Excellencies of a Broken Heart.  In it, Bunyan expounds on Psalm 51:17, focusing on the high regard God has for the heart broken over sin.  He tells us,

…that a spirit rightly broken, a heart truly contrite, is to God an excellent thing. That is, a thing that goeth beyond all external duties whatever; for that is intended by this saying, The sacrifices, because it answereth to all sacrifices which we can offer to God; yea it serveth in the room of all: all our sacrifices without this are nothing; this alone is all.

‎‎While expressions of brokenness are essential, this is not what we see initially expressed in Psalm 51. David first appeals to God’s love and compassion. He begins with what he knows to be true of God.  Does He need to remind God that He is loving? Of course not—he needs to remind himself. He needs to remember that God loves him with an eternal love that transcends his sin. He knows that God’s love and compassion are divine attributes as manifest in God as are His holiness, eternality, and wrath.  In fact, as Tozer points out in his classic little book, Knowledge of the Holy, because God is eternal, His love is eternal; as God is infinite, His love is infinite; as He is holy, His love is holy.

‎God’s love transcends our sin, our folly, and our weakness. His love is an everlasting love (Psalm 103:17).  75 times in the Psalms alone, God’s love is described as being eternal.  In his letter to the Romans, Paul reminds them that because we have been brought in to a right relationship with God through Christ, we possess a hope that cannot fail, because of the love of God (Romans 5:1-5).  He goes on to remind us that it was His love that sent Christ to the cross, even while we were lost in our sin (Rom. 5:8). Drawing on this truth, John in his first letter, tells us that the love of God should result in expressions of love for each other; and in this, God’s love is perfected in us (1 John 4:10-12).

Thankfully, God’s love is not dependent on our behavior.  The gospel itself is the story of God’s infinite love; and, Psalm 51 is a reflection of the good news that God loves us even in our sin.