* The image titled, "David Confesses" is in a book by Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Julius (1794-1872) which is titled "Die Bibel in Bildern / von Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld"
Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld's (1794-1872) depiction of David as the Psalmist kneeling in mourning and confession for his sins; in the background Bathsheba weeps as Uriah the Hittite delivers his own death notice and is murdered.
Psalm 451 and 2 Samuel 11 is cited.
Courtesy of the Digital Image Archive, Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology, Emory University: http://www.pitts.emory.edu. It is now in public domain.
>1.
* Psalm 51:1-2 "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin."
* The name of the psalm is, "For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba." (NEB, World English Bible)
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* The quality of life and the quantity of living is at risk. A negotiation has commenced. Some envision this as a court of law where two adversaries stand before a judge. The prosecutor presented his case and the judge determined the accused guilty beyond any reason of doubt for the accused admitted their guilt. The law is clear. Now the court listens to a plea before sentencing. However, I am regarding this psalm as two lovers sitting next to each other discussing the one's violation of their marriage covenant.
King David committed adultery and arranged the death of the adulteress' husband to hide his sin from his family, peers, and the nation. (2 Samuel 11:1-12:25) David violated the covenant with the Lord God who had called him to be king of Israel while he was a boy serving as the family shepherd. David violated five of the covenant's ten commandments the Lord had with Israel. (Exodus 20:1-20; Deuteronomy 5) Moses warned, "Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess." (Deuteronomy 5:33) David did not walk in the ways of the Lord his God. The quality of his life and the quantity of living is at risk. Their covenant agreement is clear.
God's love is the one binding thread David is holding on to save him. David is asking for a complete and absolute pardon. "Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin." (2) How will the lover that he violated with five sins of their covenant respond? David's quality of life and quantity of living is in the power of the Lord God.
Listen to the above comments on Psalm 51:1-2.
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* Psalm 51:3-4 "For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge."
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* David had been seeking the heart of God for many years. The relationship he had with the Lord God was significant to him. He had practically expressed his faith in God many times in his life. Then he broke the covenant with God in several ways. He tried to cover up his sins. But the Lord God sent the prophet Nathan to expose David's sins publicly. Night and day David thought about his sin. Guilt burned his conscience showing true the statement, "God is true and every human a liar." (Romans 3:4)
Conscience is a reality that cannot be accounted for in science without God. Conscience is the awareness of a moral and ethical aspect of my conduct. I take my action and compare it to a standard known in my heart. All souls created bear the elements of right and wrong, truth and lie, righteousness and sin. David's conscience witnessed to him, even before Nathan publically exposed that David had sinned against God.
Apostle John wrote, "This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything." (1 John 3:19-20) When sensitive and active in judging past acts, the conscience is said to be "good". The author of Hebrews asks for believers to pray for him so that he may keep a "clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way." (Hebrew 13:18) For by continuing in rebellion to God through sin we can burn the consciousness till nothing is left but ashes. The Lord God through prayer, meditation, forgiveness, and living in fear of God through practical application of the word restores life to a dead conscience that I may life righteously.
Listen to the above comments on Psalm 51:3-4.
>2.
* Psalm 51:5-6 "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place."
* "Surely" -Repeated twice in the NIV, ASV, and NEB. The KJV and ASV have "behold" in both places. Other English translations have the words "indeed", "yet", and "lo". The original Hebrew does have a word here. The translators added the word.
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* There is a nature within that possesses, controls, and destroys the self. All have it and all deal with it differently. First this way; then that. We stare at it, then we look away. We laugh with it, then we cry with it. We always are repulsed by it and so we hate it. We do not understand it and seldom own it as our own, the wicked companion I own from when I came forth from my mother's womb.
When we realize its ever existence in the hidden places of the soul, we react differently to it. Sometimes denying its existence. Other times ignoring it. Sometimes trying to subdue and control it. Other times embracing it to sink ever deeper into despair and ruin. Is this not what happened to David starting from when he decided to stay home from war and saw the naked beauty bathing on the roof?
Listen to the above comments on Psalm 51:5-6.
* The image titled, "The Little Child Being Washed" is in a book by Luiken, Jan (1649-1712) which is titled "Des menschen begin, midden en einde : vertoonende het kinderlyk bedryf en aanwasch in eenenvyftig konstige figuuren, met goddelyke spreuken en stichtelyke verzen / door Joannes Luiken ; met het leven van den autheur"
The mother sits on the stoop and washes her protesting infant, as an older child holds the washbasin and the dog barks at the scene. The Dutch artist and poet Jan Luiken (1649-1712) was responsible for drawing and etching this emblem and for the brief poem that accompanies it (below).
The attendant Scripture texts are Psalm 60:1-4; Isaiah 1:16-18; Matthew 5:8; 2 Corinthians 7:1 and 2 Timothy 2:21. Psalm 51:7 is also fitting.
The motto is, "Endure the distress, For cleanliness."
Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker.
The accompanying poem is:
To the Mother it rarely happens,
That the child lets himself be washed,
But impatience is labor's reward:
Many Old ones would rather have dirtiness,
With wantonness and weeping,
Than before God's Eye, a clean Heart
Courtesy of the Digital Image Archive, Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology, Emory University: http://www.pitts.emory.edu. It is now in public domain.
>3.
* Psalm 51:7-9 "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity."
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* Asking for forgiveness can be hard because admitting I need forgiveness is not. Needing forgiveness from another is hard because it means I have to accept and confess that I committed wrong towards the casualty. Saying, "I am sorry. Please forgive me," can be the hardest five words because of pride. Dependence on God's grace is as worldwide as pride and guilt.
David, a man who had been called "A man after God's heart" is asking for God's pardon. He wants absolution for a series of covenant violations. He wants to be restored to how it was before.
The forgiveness of sin in the Bible is the removal of guilt and the result of covenant violations against God. Forgiveness of sin is only possible because of the grace and mercy of God. The Most High God sent his one and only son to pay everyone else's penalty for their sin. As Apostle Peter said at Pentecost, "Jesus Christ of Nazareth... Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
Listen to the above comments on Psalm 51:7-9.
II. Restore Me the Joy of Your Salvation (51:10-19)
>4.
* Psalm 51:10-12 "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."
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* David sinned. David experienced the weight of guilt. David's sin was exposed. David lost a steadfast spirit. David lost joy and a willing spirit. Sin devastates a believer in Jesus. The consequences of sin should not be ignored.
David asked God to create a pure heart in him. "Create" is "bara" in the original Hebrew. David wants God to make something new that cannot emerge from what now is and which only God can fashion. He sees the flaw of the current heart, which is prone to sin. A heart that is now unclean. David is asking for a pure heart. A pure heart that experienced the delights of the Holy Spirit.
David personally knows what happened to Saul when the Holy Spirit left him because of sin. He saw the degradation and decadence that turned evil towards everyone he loved and loved him. He saw an evil spirit replace the Holy Spirit in Saul's soul. (1 Samuel 16:1, 12; 2 Samuel 7:15) The essence of the Holy Spirit is everything to Jesus people. As Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:10-11)
Listen to the above comments on Psalm 51:10-12.
>5.
* Psalm 51:13-15 "Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise."
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* David, the author is asking for not only forgiveness but restoration. He is asking for his will to do what is right made better than before. He does not want to repeat this error. He promises that once the Lord does this he will teach other transgressors of the covenant the Lord God's ways. He will be a mentor to the young fool. He will help sinners turn back to God.
Apostle Paul wrote the congregation in Colossae, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:15-17)
Listen to the above comments on Psalm 51:13-15.
>6.
* Psalm 51:16-17 "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."
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* Broken heart I have,
pieces of despondency.
Contrite heart I am,
tears of sincerity.
What loathsome acts I committed,
all the result of complacency.
Dig deeper,
build higher,
to hide with shadows of dishonesty.
Sacrifice not I,
God does not desire them.
No burnt offering,
these no pleasure God finds.
Broken heart I have,
pieces of despondency.
Contrite heart I am,
tears of sincerity.
These my God look to pleasingly,
guilt before his Excellency.
Forgive me,
pardon please,
in the grave bury all iniquity.
Sacrifice for me,
God did place on the tree.
No more love has he,
then to sacrifice himself for me.
Listen to the above comments on Psalm 51:16-17.The recording starts in silence, in the middle is a silent period, and it is repeated.
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* Psalm 51:18-19 "In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar."
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* The psalm concludes with a request to God to build up Zion and make it prosper for his good pleasure. Then because of the great mercy of God pleasing sacrifices will be made. David started the psalm confessing his sin and asking for mercy. He concludes by saying that the whole city will present praise sacrifices once restored.
The author of the letter to the congregation in Rome wrote, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:1-2)
Because of God's mercy through Jesus, I can praise God by living holy and pleasing to God.
Listen to the above comments on Psalm 51:18-19.
III. The Righteous Will See and Fear (52:1-9)
>7.
* Psalm 52:1-3 "Why do you boast of evil, you mighty man? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?
2 Your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor, you who practice deceit.
3 You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth. Selah"
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* David wrote a psalm about corrupt Doeg the Edomite. Doeg was at the house of Ahimelech the priest who was serving before the Lord at the tent of meeting in Nob. Doeg noticed that David was there and saw an opportunity for advancement and self-gain. He reported fugitive David's location to King Saul and killed all the priests and their families at Nog.
"Then David said to Abiathar the only priest to escape Doeg: 'That day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, I knew he would be sure to tell Saul. I am responsible for the death of your father's whole family. Stay with me; don't be afraid; the man who is seeking your life is seeking mine also. You will be safe with me.'" (1 Samuel 22:22-23)
Doeg probably believed that life was getting better for him. Perhaps he even thought that his god was blessing him. However, what was happening to him was an opportunity for him to do the right thing. He did not. The momentary advancement would lead to his fall.
Doeg was a disgrace in the eyes of God. Though a mighty man, he was evil. He boasts about his good fortunes and cunning wit. Yet, he was a fool who loved evil rather than good.
Good fortune is not a good measure if I am doing the right thing. Just because things seem to be going the way I want them to, I cannot let that be a measure of my soul. The best measure is the word of God, the Holy Spirt, and a good conscience.
Listen to the above comments on Psalm 52:1-4.
>8.
* Psalm 52:4-5 "You love every harmful word, O you deceitful tongue!
5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah"
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* David speaks an implicit prayer; a prophetic prayer concerning the destruction of a deceitful tongue by the mighty hand of judge Jesus. David without doubts or reservations states what he has learned from studying the Bible. Those who love every harmful word they and others speak will go down to everlasting ruin.
Speaking my mind is not always good for the mind harbors intent for both the bad and good. Controlling my tongue is good. Even better is putting on the new self which is being renewed every day in knowledge in the image of my Creator. (Colossians 3:10) Then my new self will guide the tongue to speak good.
If I am commanded to "not conform any longer to the pattern of this word, but be transformed by the renewing of my mind" in Romans 12:2 then surely there is something to do on my part. The first part is to believe followed quickly by opening my soul to Christ Jesus. If I obey, then better for me. But if I do not obey then this implicit prayer will be fulfilled in my destiny. I will be snatched from the land of the living.
Listen to the above comments on Psalm 52:4-5.
>9.
* Psalm 52:6-7 "The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at him, saying,
7 'Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew strong by destroying others!'"
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* Trust and hope are similar. The boastful tongue that waggled harmful deceitful words did not make God his stronghold. A stronghold here is one that a person trusts in. Doeg the Edomite revealed that David had fled to the house of Ahimelech the high priest. This led to the death of Ahimelech, his family, and all the priests serving the Lord God at Nog. Doeg grew strong by betraying the priests of the Lord to jealous King Saul. Misplaced trust can lead to destruction.
Every day I live in trust of many things. I trust that my car will start. Otherwise, I would not put my keys in the ignition or press the ignition button to start it. I trust that crossover traffic will stop at their red light. Otherwise, I would stop at every green light I come to. I trust that the food before me is tasty and will not harm me. Otherwise, I would not eat it. Trust is a part of a healthy active life.
Beyond the average daily trusts, it is important to consider where and who I trust for eternal, spiritual, and mental. Trust in these will affect my being more than the average daily trusts. Trust in the Lord God is one of the most common themes of the Psalter.
"Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD." (Psalm 4:5) "Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you." (Psalm 9:10) "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God." (Psalm 20:7) Jesus said, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me." (John 14:1)
Listen to the above comments on Psalm 52:6-7.
>10.
* Psalm 52:8-9 "But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever.
9 I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints."
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* The straightforward truth is that David confesses that he is like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God while an innocent yet condemned fugitive. When King Saul ordered Doeg to kill all the priests at the Tent of Meeting, Abiathar the high priest's son who was killed for helping David fled to David for help. (1 Samuel 22:20-23)
Abiathar brought with him the priestly ephod. (1 Samuel 23:6) The ephod was part of a priest's garment with a breastplate worn over it. The Lord instructed Moses to have it made of precious stones. The ephod was worn when the Lord's people inquired him. (Exodus 28:6-14; 1 Samuel 23:9-12, 30:7-8) David flourished in hiding because he sought the Lord for guidance. Evil Doeg dwindled as his failing age because he trusted in himself.
The Lord promised, "But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him. For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath." (Deuteronomy 4:29-31)
