Bible Commentaries

Though David penned this psalm upon a very particular occasion, yet, it is of as general use as any of David's psalms; it is the most eminent of the penitential psalms, and most expressive of the cares and desires of a repenting sinner. It is a pity indeed that in our devout addresses to God we should have any thing else to do than to praise God, for that is the work of heaven; but we make other work for ourselves by our own sins and follies: we must come to the throne of grace in the posture of penitents, to confess our sins and sue for the grace of God; and, if therein we would take with us words, we can nowhere find any more apposite than in this psalm, which is the record of David's repentance for his sin in the matter of Uriah, which was the greatest blemish upon his character: all the rest of his faults were nothing to this; it is said of him (1Ki 15:5), That "he turned not aside from the commandment of the Lord all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite." In this psalm, I. He confesses his sin, Ps 51:3-6. II. He prays earnestly for the pardon of his sin, Ps 51:1,2,7,9. III. For peace of conscience, Ps 51:8,12. IV. For grace to go and sin no more, Ps 51:10,11,14. V. For liberty of access to God, Ps 51:15. IV. He promises to do what he could for the good of the souls of others (Ps 51:13) and for the glory of God, Ps 51:16,17,19. And, lastly, concludes with a prayer for Zion and Jerusalem, Ps 51:18. Those whose consciences charge them with any gross sin should, with a believing regard to Jesus Christ, the Mediator, again and again pray over this psalm; nay, though we have not been guilty of adultery and murder, or any the like enormous crime, yet in singing it, and praying over it, we may very sensibly apply it all to ourselves, which if we do with suitable affections we shall, through Christ, find mercy to pardon and grace for seasonable help.

This psalm purports to be a psalm of David, and the contents of it accord with this supposition, and with the statement in the title in regard to the occasion on which it was composed. There would be no difficulty on the subject, and no ground for hesitation, in regard to the author and the occasion on which it was composed, if it were not for the prayer in Psalm 51:18, "Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion; build thou the walls of Jerusalem," which, it has been maintained by DeWette, Rosenmuller, Venema, and others, must have been written in the time of the Babylonian cxile. Except this, it is admitted on all hands that the psalm in its composition accords entirely with the statement in the title, that it was composed by David. It has, in fact, been generally admitted that the psalm "was" composed by David, though it is the opinion of Rosenmuller, Venema, and Doederlein, that the last two verses were added by a later hand.

According to the title, the psalm was composed on occasion of the great fault and crime in the life of David, and as an expression of his penitence in view of his sin. On the phrase "To the chief Musician," see the notes at the title to Psalm 4:1-8. We are not to suppose that this title was prefixed to the psalm by David himself, but the use to be made of it by committing it to the "chief Musician," or to the overseer of the music in the public worship of God shows that the psalm was considered as designed to be used in public, and was not a mere expression of the private feelings of the author. It was, doubtless, commonly understood (and was probably so intended by David himself) that it was to be used as a "public" expression of his penitence in view of his crane; and both the fact of its composition, and the manner in which it was to be used, were to be interpreted as indicating his willingness that the widest publicity should be given to his confession, and that the memory of the crime and of his penitence should be perpetuated in all ages of the world. The phrase in the title, "A "Psalm" of David," denotes that it was to be used for public worship, or as connected with praise. It was designed not merely to express his private feelings, but was intended to be employed in the solemn services of public devotion. See introduction to Psalm 3:1-8.

The phrase "when Nathan the prophet came unto him," refers to the fact recorded in 2 Samuel 12:1-13. It means that the psalm was the "result" of the visit of Nathan to him; or that it records the feelings of the author, when the sense of his sin had been brought to his mind by the faithful message of the prophet. We may suppose that the record of his feelings was made without delay, for the psalm bears all the marks of having been composed under the deepest feeling, and not of being the result of calm reflection. On the phrase "after he had gone in to Bath-sheba," see the sad record in 2 Samuel 11:1-5.

DeWette, however, maintains that psalm could not have been composed David, but that it must have been in the time of the Babylonian exile. The only argument which he adduces in favor of this opinion is the prayer in Psalm 51:18, "Build thou the walls of Jerusalem," which, he says, could not have been a prayer offered by David, as there was in his time nothing which would make this prayer proper. Jerusalem was not then in ruins. It had been strongly fortified by David himself, and required no particular interposition of God as if to "restore" walls that had been thrown down; whereas, in the time of the exile, such a prayer would have been eminently proper, and would be a natural petition for one who loved his country, and who, as an expression of his own penitence, was desirous of doing all he could for the cause of religion. The difficulty will be more appropriately met in the notes at those verses.

It may be observed here, however, that possibly the expression "Build thou the walls of Jerusalem," "may" be used in a figurative or spiritual sense, expressive of a desire that God would bless his people; that he would interpose in their behalf; that he would be their protector and friend; that he would do for them what would be well expressed by building strong and secure wails around a city. But it may be asked, also, Is it absolutely certain that when the psalm was composed the work of enclosing the city of Jerusalem with walls had been completed? May it not have been, in fact, that at that very time David was engaged in "carrying out" his design of rendering the city impregnable by walls and towers, and that in the midst of his intense sorrow for his own sin, though so heinous and aggravated, his heart may have trurned to that which was so dear to him as an object to be accomplished, and that even then, in connection with his bitter repentance for his sin, he may have prayed that God would favor that great design?

It is no evidence that our sorrow for sin is not deep and genuine, that, even in our expressions of penitence, our heart turns to Zion - to the Church - to the great work which the Church is accomplishing - and that, though our prayers "began" with a reference to our own sin, they should "close" with a petition that God would bless his people, and fulfill the great purposes so near to the heart of piety in reference to the progress of true religion in the world. Indeed, from the very narrative in 2 Samuel 6-12. it would seem probable that the work of fortifying the city of Jerusalem, contemplated by David, was not yet completed, when he committed the crime for which this psalm is the expression of penitence. It was a work of years to do this: and it is not improbable that the guilty transaction to which this psalm refers occurred in the very midst of his design for the defense and protection of the capital of his kingdom.

The psalm consists of two parts:

I. In the first Psalm 51:1-12, the psalmist confesses his guilt, and prays for pardon. He begins with an earnest plea for mercy Psalm 51:1-2; he humbly acknowledges his offence, without any attempt to vindicate himself, or to apologise for it Psalm 51:3-6; he pleads with God to cleanse him, to pardon him, to create in him a new heart, and not to cast him off or to take his Holy Spirit from him Psalm 51:7-12.

II. In the second part Psalm 51:13-19 he shows how he would manifest his sense of the divine mercy if he was forgiven: expressing the purpose to lead a new life; to devote himself to the duties of religion; to do all in his power to repair the evils of his conduct, and especially to induce others to avoid the way of sin, warning them by his example. He says that he would teach transgressors the true ways of God, and that sinners would be converted to Him, Psalm 51:13; that he would sing aloud the praise of God, Psalm 51:14-15; that he would offer to God the sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit, Psalm 51:16-17; and he then pleads Psalm 51:18-19, that God would interpose and bless Zion, that the great work might be completed in which he had been engaged in defending the city, and in preparing a place which would be secure, where God might be worshipped, and where sacrifices and offerings might perpetually ascend on his altar.

The psalmist, with a deeply penitent heart, prays for remission of sins, Psalm 51:1-4; which he confesses, and deeply deplores, Psalm 51:5-14; states his willingness to offer sacrifice, but is convinced that God prefers a broken heart to all kinds of oblations, Psalm 51:15-17; prays for the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem, and promises that then the Lord's sacrifice shall be properly performed, Psalm 51:18, Psalm 51:19.

The title is long: "To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba." The propriety of this title has been greatly suspected, says Bishop Horsley: "That this Psalm was not written on the occasion to which the title refers, is evident from the Psalm 51:4 and Psalm 51:18. The Psalm 51:4 ill suits the case of David, who laid a successful plot against Uriah's life, after he had defiled his bed: and the Psalm 51:18 refers the Psalm to the time of the captivity, when Jerusalem lay in ruins." Dr. Kennicott is of the same mind. He says: "The title is misplaced; that it was written during the captivity, and the cessation of the temple worship; the author under great depression of mind, arising from the guilt of some crime, probably some compliance with heathen idolatry, not murder nor adultery; is plain from the Psalm 51:4, "Against Thee Only have Isinned."

The crime mentioned in the title was not only against God, but against the whole order of civil society; against the life of the noble and valiant captain whose wife Bath-sheba was, and against every thing sacred in friendship and hospitality. It was a congeries of sins against God and society. Were it not for the Psalm 51:4, Psalm 51:18, and Psalm 51:19, the rest of the Psalm would accord well enough with the title, and the deep penitence it expresses would be suitable enough to David's state. But see on Psalm 51:4 (note), Psalm 51:18-19 (note).

INTRODUCTION TO Psalm 51

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. The occasion of this psalm was the sin of David with Bathsheba, signified by "going in to her"; an euphemism for "lying with her"; which sin was a very aggravated one, she being another man's wife, and the wife of a servant and soldier of his, who was at the same time exposing his life for his king and country's good; and David besides had many wives, and was also king of Israel, and should have set a better example to his subjects; and it was followed with other sins, as the murder of Uriah, and the death of several others; with scandal to religion, and with security and impenitence in him for a long time, until Nathan the prophet was sent to him of God, to awaken him to a sense of his sin; which he immediately acknowledged, and showed true repentance for it: upon which, either while Nathan was present, or after he was gone, he penned this psalm; that it might remain on record, as a testification of his repentance, and for the instruction of such as should fall into sin, how to behave, where to apply, and for their comfort. The history of all this may be seen in the eleventh and twelfth chapters of the second book of Samuel.

LI.

This psalm has been so identified with David, that to surrender the tradition which ascribes it to him seems a literary crime. Indeed, the character of the man has been react so constantly through the medium of Psalms 32, 51, that we must admit that a personality, dear to all the religious world, recedes and becomes less distinct before the criticism which questions the genuineness of the Davidic authorship of either of them. Yet in the case before us we must either break this long cherished association, or admit the last two verses of the psalm to be a later addition for liturgical use.

But the question of authorship does not affect the estimation in which this psalm has always been held, and always will be held, in the Church, as the noblest expression of penitence. Even if it was not originally, directly, and exclusively the expression of an individual’s repentance, but rather the voice of the people of Israel deploring, during the exile, its ancient errors and sins (the only conclusion which completely explains Psalm 51:4, see Note), and praying for a new lease of covenant-favour, yet the associations of the psalm with individual experience of sin and repentance from it are now far too close to be broken, and it must ever remain in the truest sense one of the penitential psalms, suited for private use as well as for that of the Church. It presents as has been rightly said, the Hebrew and Christian idea of repentance; not remorse, not mere general confession of human depravity, not minute confessions of minute sins dragged to light by a too impulsive casuistry, but change of life and mind; and, in the words of Carlyle, “all earnest souls will ever discern in it the faithful struggle of an earnest human soul towards what is good and best.” The parallelism is distinct and well sustained.

Title.—See title Psalms 4.

This Psalm is the first of eighteen Psalms bearing the name of David, which appear to have been taken from some earlier collection by the compiler of the Elohistic Psalter. Eight of them have titles connecting them with historical incidents in the life of David. Most recent commentators find the contents of these Psalms unsuitable to the occasions indicated, and regard the titles as arbitrarily prefixed by the compiler. In some instances this appears to be the case; but it may be doubted whether we are always capable of judging what might or might not have been considered appropriate to a particular occasion. Some of these Psalms may be original Davidic Psalms, altered perhaps in the process of transmission, or adapted for liturgical use by modifications and additions. Others may have been selected as bearing, more or less, upon the events with which they are connected. Others again may have been composed with the intention of illustrating episodes in the life of David. The latter view is sometimes objected to as implying a fraud which is incompatible with inspiration. But the objection rests upon a narrow view of inspiration. Why may not God have used and directed the faculty of poetic imagination, in order to enable us better to understand some particular incident, and more fully to realise the lessons contained in it?

In studying these Psalms it must be remembered that they have a history. The possibility that they no longer lie before us in their original form must be taken into account. Other changes beside the substitution of Elohim for Jehovah may have been made by the editor, or may have crept in by accident in the process of transmission. This is not mere theory. We see what has actually happened in the case of Psalms 53.

Psalms 51 is assigned by its title to that crisis in David’s life when Nathan awoke his slumbering conscience to recognise his guilt in the matter of Bath-sheba (2 Samuel 12). It is then a commentary upon David’s confession, “I have sinned against Jehovah,” and Nathan’s assurance, “Jehovah also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.” It has generally been thought to contain David’s first heart-felt prayer for pardon, while Psalms 32, written after some interval, when he had had time to ponder upon the past, records his experience for the warning and instruction of others, in accordance with the resolution of Psalm 51:13.

Its general appropriateness cannot be denied. Where, save in a character like that of David, uniting the strongest contrasts, capable of the highest virtue and the lowest fall, could we find such a combination of the deepest guilt with the most profound penitence? David had been endowed with the spirit of Jehovah (1 Samuel 16:13; 2 Samuel 23:2); he had received the promise that his house should be established for ever before Jehovah (2 Samuel 7:15-16). Might he not well fear lest the fate of Saul should be his fate; lest, like Saul, he should be deprived of the spirit of God and deposed from his high position of privilege? But it was just this capacity for repentance and trust in the abundance of God’s mercy which distinguished him from Saul, and made it possible for him with all his faults to be called “the man after God’s own heart.” Comp. the well-known passage in Carlyle’s Heroes, p. 43.

The Davidic authorship of the Psalm has however been denied by many critics, chiefly upon the following grounds.

(1) The last two verses imply that Jerusalem was in ruins and that sacrificial worship was suspended. If these verses were part of the original Psalm, they would certainly point to a date in the Exile or in some period of distress such as that which preceded the mission of Nehemiah. It has indeed been maintained that they can be understood as a prayer of David that the still unfinished fortifications of Jerusalem (cp. 1 Kings 3:1) may be carried to a successful completion; or, in figurative language, that his kingdom may not suffer for his sin. But the explanation is unsatisfactory. A comparison of similar expressions in Psalm 69:35; Psalm 102:16; Psalm 147:2, makes it almost certain that the words are a prayer for the restoration of Jerusalem and the reestablishment of sacrificial worship there. These verses however do not appear to be an original part of the Psalm. It is indeed argued that “the omission of these verses makes the Psalm end abruptly”: but the abruptness, if it exists, is far less startling than the termination of a Psalm of such surpassing spirituality with the hope of the restoration of material sacrifices. Psalm 51:17 forms a conclusion which, if abrupt, is in harmony with the spirit of the Psalm: Psalm 51:19 does not. In fact the contrast, if not actual contradiction, between Psalm 51:19 and Psalm 51:16-17 makes it difficult to suppose that they can have been written by the same poet at the same time. Moreover while Psalm 51:1-17 are, at least in expression, strictly individual, Psalm 51:19 introduces the people generally (“they shall offer”). These verses then must be excluded in the consideration of the date of the Psalm, as in all probability a later addition.

(2) But further it is urged that the words of Psalm 51:4, “against thee, thee only, have I sinned,” are inapplicable to David’s situation, for “however great David’s sin against God, he had done Uriah the most burning wrong that could be imagined; and an injury to a neighbour is in the O.T. a ‘sin’ against him, Genesis 20:9; Jdg 11:27; Jeremiah 37:18” (Driver, Introd. to Lit. of O.T. p. 367). But surely it is a mistake to demand logical accuracy in words of intense emotion. What is meant is that “the other aspects of his deed—its heinous criminality as a wrong done to a fellow-man—disappeared for the time, while he contemplated it as a sin against his infinitely gracious Benefactor.” (Kay.) Moreover if the words are inapplicable to David, to whom can they apply? The Psalmist confesses himself blood-guilty (Psalm 51:14), and whether the expression refers to actual murder or only to ‘mortal sins,’ it must refer in the main to offences against man not God. See Ezekiel 18:10-13.

(3) Of more weight against the Davidic authorship is the consideration that the closest parallels of thought and language are to be found in the later chapters of Isaiah, in particular in the national confession of guilt in Isaiah 63:7-19, and that the language appears to belong to a later and more developed stage of the religious consciousness. Cp. Psalm 51:1 with Isaiah 63:7; Psalm 51:3 with Isaiah 59:12; Psalm 51:9 with Isaiah 43:25; Isaiah 44:22; Psalm 51:11 b with Isaiah 63:10-11; Psalm 51:17 with Isaiah 57:15; Isaiah 61:1; Isaiah 66:2. The precariousness of this argument is obvious, and the weight attached to it will depend largely upon the view taken of the whole course of the growth of religious ideas in Israel, but it cannot be disregarded.

It must then be taken into account as at least a possibility that the Psalm was written by some deeply devout prophet of the Exile, perhaps even the author of the later chapters of Isaiah, and placed in the mouth of David, to illustrate an episode in his life which presented the most signal instance in history of the fall, repentance, and pardon, of a good and great man: written by inspiration of God to supply to all ages the most profound type of confession, and the most comforting assurance, based upon the experience of David, that God’s mercy to the penitent knows no limit.

By many critics the Psalm is regarded as the utterance not of an individual but of the nation. This view is as old as Theodore of Mopsuestia (a.d. 428) who refers it to Israel in Babylon, confessing its sins and praying for forgiveness and restoration from exile, and it has recently been maintained by Robertson Smith (O.T. in Jewish Church, 2nd ed., p. 440) and Driver (Introd. p. 367), who place it in the Exile, and by Cheyne (Origin of the Psalter, p. 162; Aids to the Devout Study of Criticism, pp. 164 ff.), who places it later, between the Restoration and Nehemiah. “The situation of the Psalm,” writes Robertson Smith, “does not necessarily presuppose such a case as David’s. It is equally applicable to the prophet, labouring under a deep sense that he has discharged his calling inadequately and may have the guilt of lost lives upon his head (Ezekiel 33), or to collective Israel in the Captivity, when, according to the prophets, it was the guilt of blood equally with the guilt of idolatry that removed God’s favour from His land (Jeremiah 7:6; Hosea 4:2; Hosea 6:8; Isaiah 4:4). Nay, from the Old Testament point of view, in which the experience of wrath and forgiveness stands generally in such immediate relation to Jehovah’s actual dealing with the nation, the whole thought of the psalm is most simply understood as a prayer for the restoration and sanctification of Isreal in the mouth of a prophet of the Exile … perhaps of the very prophet who wrote the last chapters of the Book of Isaiah.”

Such a view will not appear impossible to anyone who compares the personification of Israel as the Servant of Jehovah in Isaiah 40 ff; and the addition of Psalm 51:18-19 points to the use of the Psalm by Israel in exile as the fitting expression of its feelings. But it is difficult to resist the impression that the Psalm is personal rather than national in its original and primary intention.

Its authorship and date and original intention are however questions of minor importance, compared with its profound appropriateness as the voice of the penitent soul in all ages. One generation after another has found by experience that its words “fit into every fold of the human heart,” and supply them with language which the revelation of the Gospel has not superseded, but only deepened in meaning. If any proof of its inspiration is needed, it is to be found here (Romans 8:26). In true repentance, says Luther, a knowledge of sin and a knowledge of grace must combine: it is this double knowledge which inspires this Psalm, and is revealed in a clearer light in Jesus Christ.

A strange testimony to its power is given in the story that Voltaire began to parody it, but when he reached Psalm 51:10 was so overcome with alarm that he desisted from his profane attempt.

It is the fourth of the seven Psalms known from ancient times in the Christian Church as the ‘Penitential Psalms’ (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143). According to some Jewish rituals it is recited on the Day of Atonement; and it is appointed for use in the Commination Service on Ash Wednesday.

There is no clearly marked strophical arrangement in the Psalm, but (Psalm 51:18-19 being regarded as an addition outside the scheme of the Ps.) it falls into four stanzas, each, with the exception of the fourth, consisting of two pairs of verses.

i. The Psalmist prays for pardon and cleansing, confessing the greatness of his sins (Psalm 51:1-4).

ii. In utter self-abasement he contrasts the corruption of his nature with the sincerity which God desires, and expresses his confident assurance that God can and will cleanse and gladden him (Psalm 51:5-8).

iii. Repeating his petition for pardon, he supplicates for inward renewal and for the continuance of God’s favour and support (Psalm 51:9-12).

iv. He resolves to employ his regained freedom in grateful service, and to express his thanksgiving by that sacrifice of the heart which God most desires (Psalm 51:13-17).

v. A prayer of the congregation in exile that Jerusalem may be rebuilt and the sacrificial worship reestablished, as a visible proof of the restoration of God’s favour (Psalm 51:18-19).

Ps 51:1-19.

On the occasion, compare

2Sa 11:12.

The Psalm illustrates true repentance, in which are comprised conviction, confession, sorrow, prayer for mercy, and purposes of amendment, and it is accompanied by a lively faith.

1-4. A plea for mercy is a confession of guilt.

blot out--as from a register.

transgressions--literally, "rebellions"

(Ps 19:13; 32:1).

Have mercy opon me, O God - This is the utterance of a full heart; a heart crushed and broken by the consciousness of sin. The psalmist had been made to see his great guilt; and his first act is to cry out for mercy. There is no attempt to excuse his sin, or to apologise for it; there is no effort to vindicate his conduct; there is no complaint of the righteousness of that holy law which condemned him. It was "guilt" that was before his mind; guilt only; deep and dreadful guilt. The appeal properly expresses the state of a mind that is overwhelmed at the remembrance of crime, and that comes with earnestness to God to plead for pardon. The only hope of a sinner when crushed with the consciousness of sin is the mercy of God; and the plea for that mercy will be urged in the most earnest and impassioned language that the mind can employ. "Accordingly to thy Iovingkindness." On the meaning of the word used here, see the notes at Psalm 36:7.

(a) The "ground" of his hope was the compassion of God:

(b) the "measure" of that hope was His boundless beneficence; or, in other words, he felt that there was need of "all" the compassion of a God.

His sin was so great, his offence was so aggravated, that he could have no hope but in a Being of infinite compassion, and he felt that the need of mercy in his case could be measured and covered "only" by that infinite compassion.

According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies - The same idea occurs here also. The psalmist fixed his eye on the "vastness" of the divine mercy; on the numberless "acts" of that mercy toward the guilty; here he found his hope, and here alone. Every instance of extraordinary mercy which had occurred in the world furnished him now with an argument in his appeal to God; was an encouragement to him "in" that appeal; was a ground of hope that his appeal would not be rejected. So to us: every instance in which a great sinner has been forgiven is evidence that we may be forgiven also, and is an encouragement to us to come to God for pardon. See the notes at 1 Timothy 1:16.

Blot out my transgressions - In allusion to an account that is kept, or a charge made, when such an account is wiped away, erased, or blotted out. Compare Exodus 32:32-33; see the notes at Isaiah 43:25; notes at Isaiah 44:22; notes at Colossians 2:14. Never was a more earnest appeal made by a sinner than that which is made in this verse; never was there a more sincere cry for mercy. It shows us where we should "begin" in our prayers when we are pressed down with the consciousness of sin - with a cry for "mercy," and not an appeal to "justice;" it shows us what is to be the "ground" and the "measure" of our hope - the mere compassion of an infinitely benevolent God; it shows us the place which we must take, and the argument on which we must rely - a place among sinners, and an argument that God has been merciful to great sinners, and that therefore he may be merciful to us.