Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does Psalms Chapter 51 mean?

Psalm 51 is a renowned expression of repentance. David, the greatest of Israel’s kings, fell into serious sin and recognized his need to plead with God for forgiveness. This confession was inspired by David’s sins of adultery, deception, and even murder in his relationship with Bathsheba.

David’s reasons for repentance are explained in 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12. From his roof, he noticed Bathsheba while she was bathing. David called her into the palace, and she became pregnant by him. At first, David brought her soldier husband, Uriah, back from war, hoping he would sleep with Bathsheba and cover up the illegitimate pregnancy. But Uriah was loyal to his fellow soldiers. He refused to take special privileges while his friends were at war. David even tried getting Uriah drunk, but that failed as well. Finally, David arranged for Uriah to be caught in the midst of a battle maneuver and killed. David then brought Bathsheba into the palace as a wife.

In response, God sent the prophet Nathan to challenge David. Nathan told a story about a rich man stealing a poor man’s one and only lamb. Outraged, David said the rich man deserved to die. Nathan simply replied, “You are the man!” He then explained that as a result of this sin, David’s family would forever be embroiled in war, conflict, scandal, and violence. The child conceived with Bathsheba would not survive. And David would be humiliated in the presence of the people. These predictions came true: the rest of David’s life was spent in turbulence and family controversies. That even included a full-fledged rebellion led by his own son, Absalom.

In this Psalm, David confesses his sins to God, holding back nothing. David does not blame anyone for his errors and makes no attempt to excuse his actions. These words display absolute humility and anguish over sin. David appeals to God’s mercy and love, knowing that he can be forgiven. At the same time, David makes no attempt to ask God to spare him from the earthly consequences of his sins. That judgment had already been given and was not going to be rescinded.

Among the Psalms, Psalm 51 is the best-known and most-cited expression of confession. This gives us a model for how to approach God when we’ve been convicted of sin. The right spirit is one of humility and repentance, without making excuses or blaming others. Even so, we can be confident that God will forgive those who sincerely seek that mercy (Hebrews 4:15–16).

Chapter Context
Second Samuel 11—12 provides the sad background for Psalm 51. Instead of being out on the battlefield and leading his troops, David was walking on the roof of his palace. A woman named Bathsheba was taking a bath on a neighboring roof. David lusted for her and had her brought to the palace, where he committed adultery with her. Learning later that she was pregnant, David summoned Uriah, her soldier-husband and one of David’s mighty men, to come home from the battlefield. He expected Uriah to have relations with Bathsheba so it would appear that Uriah was the baby’s father. But Uriah did not touch Bathsheba, so David launched an alternate plan. He arranged for Uriah to be put on the frontline of battle and be killed. The plan worked, but the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to confront David with his sin. Overcome with guilt, David poured out his heart to the Lord in confession. Psalm 51 records his confession, and Psalm 32 reports the forgiveness he received from the Lord. Even though he was forgiven, David’s sins still carried life-ruining consequences.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. Have mercy on me, O God,according to your steadfast love;according to your abundant mercyblot out my transgressions.

In many of David’s psalms he addresses God as “my God,” but his sin had removed him from close fellowship with God, so in this verse he prays, “O God.” David knew God well enough to know Him as gracious, loving, and merciful. And so, he cries out to God to show unfailing love and abundant mercy by blotting out his transgressions. Transgressions indicate a revolt against God. By violating God’s commandments against adultery and murder, David had rebelled against God, and he knew only God’s grace, love, and abundant mercy could erase his sin.

In Old Testament times, when crimes and debts were forgiven or paid, they were blotted out—erased—from the book in which they were written. When God forgives sin, He similarly blots it out. The apostle Peter urged a crowd that had gathered in Solomon’s Portico to repent “that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). Micah 7:19 assures us that our pardoning God casts all our sins into the depths of the sea.

Context Summary
Psalm 51:1–7 is David’s plea for mercy and cleansing. He admits he has sinned against God. His approach to confession is to take God’s attitude toward sin. He sees his sins as transgressions, iniquity, evil, and the result of his lifelong offensive nature. First John 1:9–10 corresponds to this passage by teaching believers to confess their sins—to agree with God’s stance about those sins—with the promise of God’s forgiveness and cleansing.

Verse 2. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,and cleanse me from my sin!

In this verse David continues asking God to forgive his sin. He pleads with God to wash him completely from his iniquity and to cleanse him from his sin. His sin had made him feel as defiled as someone who had touched something unclean, or as helpless as someone touched by a disease (Leviticus 11:32; 13:1–3). He longed to have a new start in life, like a person who washed and put on new, clean clothes (Genesis 45:21–22; Exodus 19:10, 14).

In his letter to the Ephesians the apostle Paul referred to the believer’s former life of sin as “the old self” and the redeemed life as “the new self.” Like changing their clothes, the Ephesian Christians were exhorted to “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires…and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22, 24).

Verse 3. For I know my transgressions,and my sin is ever before me.

David made no excuses for his sins. He did not perceive of sin as merely a mistake. He writes here that he is fully aware of what he has done. He viewed his sins as offenses against God. Furthermore, he could not rid his mind of the sins he had committed. David writes, “and my sin is ever before me.” This part of David’s confession shows that his heart was still inclined toward God. He felt strongly convicted about his wrongdoing, and the conviction tore at him night and day.

It is never right to blame others for the offenses we commit against God. Nor is it appropriate to deny what we have done. A person with a seared conscience cannot obtain forgiveness, but whoever acknowledges his sin, as David did, finds that God accepts confession that rises from a broken heart. When the prodigal son returned home he made no excuses for his waywardness. He confessed that he had sinned against heaven and before his father and was no longer worthy to be called his father’s son (Luke 15:21). The father lovingly responded by receiving his son and celebrating his return. David would find a similar response to his confession.

Verse 4. Against you, you only, have I sinnedand done what is evil in your sight,so that you may be justified in your wordsand blameless in your judgment.

Although David had sinned against Bathsheba and Uriah, he saw his sin as primarily against God. He refers to his sin as evil in God’s sight. Sin is never unseen by the eyes of a holy God. As Hebrews 4:13 points out, everything is “exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” God had clearly commanded Israel: “You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:13–14). David had disobeyed God by violating both commandments.

David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and had arranged for Uriah to be killed on the battlefield. Therefore, he had sinned primarily against God. Genesis 9:6 says, “whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” Murder, then, violates God’s image. David acknowledged that God is just and always renders a correct verdict in matters involving evil (Psalm 51:4). He recognized that his fate rested in God’s hands, and God would do the right thing.

Verse 5. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,and in sin did my mother conceive me.

David acknowledges that he is not only a sinner by practice but also by nature. Like all human beings, David was born with a sinful nature. Paul told the church at Rome: “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). David was not suggesting that sexual intimacy in marriage is wrong, he was simply stating that his human nature was corrupt.

Just as an apple tree bears apples because by nature it is an apple tree, even so all human beings commit sins because they are sinners by nature. Romans 3:23 pronounces “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Because all human beings are sinful by nature, choice, and practice, they cannot enter God’s kingdom without receiving a new nature. Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). The apostle Peter referred to the new birth as our becoming “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

Verse 6. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

David acknowledges in this verse that God takes pleasure in truth in a person’s heart and soul, but David’s heart and soul were defiled by sin. He had deceived himself by thinking he could get away with his sins. He covered them up, but God exposed them, and now David longed for truth and wisdom.

The Bible warns, “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). Achan lived during Israel’s conquest of Canaan, but like David, he sinned against God and then tried to cover it up. God had commanded His people to keep themselves from everything in Jericho that was devoted to destruction and to commit all the silver and gold, and every bronze and iron vessel, to the Lord’s treasury (Joshua 6:17–19). However, Achan sinned by taking a beautiful cloak, 200 shekels of silver, a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels and burying them in his tent (Joshua 7:20–21). His coverup did not succeed. When his sin was exposed, he was stoned to death (Joshua 7:25). The Lord values truth but abhors deceit (Proverbs 6:16–19).

Verse 7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Again, David pleads for cleansing. He asks the Lord to purge him with hyssop to make him clean and to wash him to make him whiter than snow. To purge meant to purify by removing a stain. Hyssop was a plant that the priests used in ceremonial cleansings. They dipped a bunch of hyssop in the blood of a sacrificial animal and then sprinkled the blood on the person who required cleansing. Leviticus 14:4–7 refers to the use of blood-dipped hyssop in sprinkling seven times the person who is to be cleansed of leprosy.

David recognized that he would be whiter than snow if the Lord washed away his sin. In Isaiah 1:18 the Lord invited the sinful people of Judah to come to Him and reason with Him, promising, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” When Jesus washed His disciples’ feet in the upper room, He told unwilling Peter he would have no share with Him unless He washed them (John 13:8).

Verse 8. Let me hear joy and gladness;let the bones that you have broken rejoice.

David’s sins had robbed him of joy and gladness. The phrase “joy and gladness” implies a deep joy. Pardon restores the joy that sin steals. David’s sin had affected him emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and even physically. He felt that the conviction God had brought upon him had a bone-crushing effect. He longed for relief from his pain. His contrite confession would bring him relief and deep joy.

The return of the prodigal son to the father illustrates what happens when a prodigal believer returns to his heavenly Father and confesses his waywardness. The father in the Luke 15 story welcomed his penitent son with open arms, outfitted him with a new robe, put a ring on his finger, and gave him new shoes. But he did even more. He hosted a glad celebration for his son. The celebration was so lively, that the prodigal’s older brother who was out in the field heard the music and dancing. Likely, when David confessed his sin, God restored David’s joy and even heaven celebrated the occasion.

Context Summary
Psalm 51:8–15 express David’s prayer for renewed joy, a clean heart, and a renewed spirit. This comes after confessing his sins in the prior passage. David also asks the Lord to restore his testimony so that he might teach transgressors the ways of God and lead sinners back to Him. David wants to praise the Lord joyfully.

Verse 9. Hide your face from my sins,and blot out all my iniquities.

In this verse David asks the Lord to do two things. First, he asks God to hide His face from David’s sins, and second to blot out David’s transgressions. David implores the Lord to turn away from David’s sins and no longer look at them.

On the cross Jesus bore our sins in His body (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus also sensed that the Father turned away from Him. Quoting from another psalm of David’s, Psalm 22, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Of course, the answer to Jesus’ question is this: God is “of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong” (Habakkuk 1:13). He turned away His eyesight from Jesus, our sin-bearer, so He would not have to turn away from us in eternity. David longed for the Lord to turn away from his sins so he would be acceptable in His sight. He also wanted the Lord to erase his iniquities from the record, just as a judge might erase a criminal’s crimes from the record books.

Verse 10. Create in me a clean heart, O God,and renew a right spirit within me.

David’s heart had been full of lust for Bathsheba, murderous plans for Uriah, and rebellion against God. He desired a new heart, one that was full of love for God and abhorrence of evil. Sin in his heart had brought him nothing but guilt, grief, and remorse. He wanted spiritual heart surgery that only God could perform.

Jesus cited the heart as the source of either good or evil. He explained: “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). Jesus also said that “everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). David, therefore, had committed adultery with Bathsheba in his heart before the physical act of adultery took place. He needed a new heart. But he also asked the Lord to renew a right spirit within him (Psalm 51:10). He wanted the kind of spirit that would obey the Lord at all times.

Verse 11. Cast me not away from your presence,and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

Undoubtedly David recalled that the Lord had removed His Spirit from King Saul, David’s predecessor (1 Samuel 16:14). He did not want the same thing to happen to him, so he prayed: “Cast me not away from your presence.” As the writer of Psalm 23, the Shepherd Psalm, David had been keenly aware of the Lord’s constant presence. He wrote that he would fear no evil even in the valley of the shadow of death because the Lord was with him. However, sin had destroyed David’s steadfast assurance of the Lord’s presence, so he asked the Lord not to cast him away from His presence.

David also asked the Lord not to remove His Holy Spirit from him. In Old Testament times the Spirit often came upon believers and left them later on. New Testament believers, in contrast, have the assurance that the Holy Spirit lives in them forever (John 14:15–18; Ephesians 1:13–14). Nevertheless, New Testament believers may grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30–32), lie to him (Acts 5:1–3), and even quench his influence (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

Verse 12. Restore to me the joy of your salvation,and uphold me with a willing spirit.

It has been said that sin “causes the cup of joy to spring a leak.” It certainly drained David’s cup of joy. He urgently asked God to restore the joy of his salvation. Adultery and murder had caused David to lose his joy and become depressed. Only God could restore the lost joy. It is far better to obey than to deliberately disobey, planning to later seek remedial help.

Jesus promised His abiding joy to those who keep His commandments. He said, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:10–11). In addition to David’s request for restored joy, he asked God to uphold him with a willing spirit. Such a spirit would keep David committed to God’s will and prevent him from falling into sin again.

Verse 13. Then I will teach transgressors your ways,and sinners will return to you.

David wanted to be forgiven and restored to a close walk with the Lord, and he believed the Lord’s mercies would reinstate him as God’s faithful servant. Once again, he would be able to teach transgressors God’s ways—how He wants His people to live—and restore sinners to God.

When a believer sins, he damages his testimony, fellowship with the Lord, and effectiveness. He needs to be restored. In Galatians 6:1 the apostle Paul called upon “spiritual” believers to restore a fallen believer “in a spirit of gentleness” and be careful lest they, too, would be tempted. “Restore” means to bring back into alignment. Just as a dislocated limb is ineffective and needs to be put back in place, even so a fallen believer is ineffective and needs to be put back in his proper place in the body of Christ. They don’t need to be re-saved, since true salvation can never be lost.

When Peter denied the Lord, he needed to be restored. Graciously, the Lord restored him and gave him the assignment to feed the Lord’s sheep (John 21:15–19). If we fall to temptation, we do not have to stay down, the Lord can lift us up and get us back on track.

Verse 14. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,O God of my salvation,and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.

David asks the Lord to deliver him from “bloodguiltiness:” a fancy term for murder. David felt he had Uriah’s blood on his hands. Although David had committed adultery and murder, he still belonged to God. He calls Him the God of his salvation. The fact that David felt so guilty about his sin and confessed it shows that he still belonged to God.

Can God forgive even a murderer? The repentant thief on the cross was an insurrectionist who may have committed murder, but when he urged Jesus to remember him in His kingdom, Jesus promised, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:39–43). Also, God saved Saul of Tarsus, who consented to Stephen’s martyrdom,(Acts 7:58; 8:1). In Galatians 1:13, the apostle Paul, formerly that same Saul of Tarsus, admitted he had “persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.” Nevertheless, God saved him (Galatians 1:15–16).

Here in this verse, David promises to celebrate forgiveness by singing aloud about God’s righteousness. We, too, should celebrate the grace that brings forgiveness by singing loudly about God’s righteousness.

Verse 15. O Lord, open my lips,and my mouth will declare your praise.

David’s sins had sealed his lips and kept him from offering genuine praise to God. However, David promised to declare God’s praise if God would lift his guilt and forgive his transgressions. Perhaps he wrote Psalm 51 as a song he intended to sing to transgressors to teach them God’s ways.

We Christians ought to sing praise to God for what He has done for us. He has forgiven our sins, given us a new life, a living hope, and a glorious inheritance (1 Peter 1:3–9). We ought to express the joy of our salvation in heartfelt praise to God. Psalm 40:2–3 can be our testimony: “He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.” Praise should be as important an aspect of our worship as any other.

Verse 16. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

David knew the importance of offering sacrifices according to the prescribed pattern given in Scripture. He realized it is worthless to offer sacrifices while the heart is in rebellion against God. The blood of bulls and goats could never wash away the stain sin had left on David’s heart (Hebrews 10:4).

He also knew the Law made no provision for forgiveness of adultery and murder in the sacrificial system. Both transgressions required the death penalty. The Pharisees and scribes in Jesus’ day adhered to the Law and the tradition of the elders, but their hearts were not right with God. Jesus called them hypocrites and quoted Isaiah 29:13: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me” (Matthew 15:7–9).

Today, some believers try to erase their guilt over sins by increasing their offerings, or helping in the nursery, or cleaning the church, or observing optional traditions such as Lent, or a number of other good works. But these “sacrifices” can never substitute for a heart that loves and obeys the Lord. Nor can those efforts outweigh the offense our sin causes to a perfectly good and holy God.

Context Summary
Psalm 51:16–19 is the final section of Psalm 51. These verses indicate that God doesn’t primarily want sacrifices when someone sins. He accepts and deeply desires a broken spirit and a contrite heart, however. Isaiah 1:18 reinforces David’s observation about what is important to God. Isaiah reported that the Lord was tired of hypocritical sacrifices. He refused to accept them, but summoned the people to have a personal relationship with Him, and He would cleanse their sin. David ends his psalm with a prayer for Jerusalem. He recognizes that when the Lord revives Jerusalem, He will accept the people’s sacrifices.

Verse 17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

David could have offered God a thousand sacrifices, but he knew the sacrifices God looks for are a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart. David offered God a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart when he implored God to forgive his sin. Isaiah 57:15 reinforces David’s words by quoting God as saying, “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

Jesus recounted the story of a tax collector and a Pharisee to illustrate this truth (Luke 18:9–14). The two men entered the temple to pray. The Pharisee’s heart was proud. He filled his prayer with boasting about his religious works (Luke 18:11–12), whereas the tax collector was too humble and contrite even to lift his eyes toward heaven. He simply beat his breast and said, “God be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18:13). Jesus stated that the tax collector went home justified, rather than the haughty Pharisee. He concluded: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14).

Verse 18. Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;build up the walls of Jerusalem;

In this verse David prays for Jerusalem. His disgraceful conduct had serious implications for Israel’s security. Proverbs 14:34 declares, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” When Achan sinned in the days of Israel’s conquest of Canaan, the army of Israel could not conquer the tiny town of Ai until Achan’s sin was judged. One man’s sin had destroyed the nation’s effectiveness (Joshua 7).

David refers to Jerusalem’s walls in this verse. He asks God to build up the city’s walls. Some Bible teachers believe verses 18 and 19 were added to Psalm 51 during the Babylonian exile. There is no compelling reason to think these verses were added later. It seems David was in the process of repairing and building the city’s walls and longed for the successful completion of the project. Perhaps David’s sins had distracted him from the task of rebuilding the walls, which would leave Jerusalem vulnerable to attacks. Before David’s son Solomon built the temple, secure city walls had to be in place. We read in 1 Kings 3:1 that Solomon finished building the wall around Jerusalem.

Verse 19. then will you delight in right sacrifices,in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;then bulls will be offered on your altar.

In this verse David anticipates the Lord’s acceptance of His people’s sacrifices when their hearts are right with Him. He mentions burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings.

Leviticus 1:3 specifies that the worshiper who offers a burnt offering must offer a male without blemish, and “he shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD.” Leviticus 1:4 instructs, “He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.” When a bull was sacrificed as a whole burnt offering, the worshiper was instructed to lay his hand on its head. The blood of the bull was sprinkled by the priest seven times before the Lord in front of the sanctuary’s veil and then poured out at the base of the altar of burnt offering (Leviticus 4:5–7). The bull’s fat covering its entrails, its kidneys with the fat, and its liver were burned on the altar, and then the bull’s skin, flesh, head, legs, entrails, and dung were burned outside the camp.

The worshiper’s identification with the sacrifice by laying his hand on the animal’s head prefigures our identification with Christ as the perfect sacrifice for our sin.

End of Psalm 51

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