Ps. 51 To the chief musician; to be sung by him and other sacred musicians publicly in the temple through all ages; that his repentance might be as manifest and public as his crime and scandal was. When Nathan the prophet came unto him: after his conscience was awakened by Nathan’s words, 2 Sam.

Have mercy upon me; pity, and help, and answer me, in the desires I am now spreading before thee. According to thy loving-kindness: I pretend to no merit, but humbly implore thy free grace and mercy. Thy mercies are infinite, and therefore sufficient for my relief, and such indeed do I need.

Wash me throughly, Heb. multiply to wash me; by which phrase he implies the greatness of his guilt, and the insufficiency of all legal washings, and the absolute necessity of some other and better thing to wash him, even of God’s grace, and the blood of Christ; which as Abraham saw by faith, John…

I acknowledge, with grief and shame, and abhorrency of myself and of my sins; which hitherto I have dissembled and covered. And being thus truly penitent, I hope and beg that I may find mercy with thee.

Against thee, thee only; which is not to be understood simply and absolutely, because he had unquestionably sinned against Bathsheba and Uriah and many others, who were either injured by it, or scandalized at it; but comparatively.

This verse is both by Jewish and Christian, by ancient and later, interpreters, generally and most truly understood of original sin; which he here mentions as an aggravation of his crime: and the sense of the place is this, Nor is this the only sin which I have reason to acknowledge and bewail…

Thou desirest; or, delightest in; or, requirest; Heb. willest. Truth either, 1. Sincerity in confessing my sins; which therefore I have now acknowledged, though hitherto I have practised much falsehood and dissimulation in endeavouring to conceal them from men. Or rather, 2.

With hyssop; or, as with hyssop; the note of similitude being frequently understood. As lepers and other unclean persons are by thy appointment purified by the use of hyssop and other things, Lev. 14:6, Num.

Send me glad tidings of thy reconciliation to me, and by thy Spirit seal the pardon of my sins to my conscience, which will fill me with joy, that mine heart, which hath been sorely wounded and terrified by thy dreadful message sent by Nathan, and by the dismal sentence of thy law denounced against…

Do not look upon them with an eye of indignation and revenge, but forget and forgive them. See Ps. 51:1.

Create in me a clean heart; seeing I have not only defiled myself by these actual sins, but also have a most filthy heart, corrupted even from my birth, Ps.

From thy presence, i.e. from thy favour, and care, and gracious communion with thee. Thy Holy Spirit; thy sanctifying Spirit, by which alone I can have acquaintance and fellowship with thee.

The joy of thy salvation; the comfortable sense of thy saving grace and help, promised and vouchsafed to me, both for my present and everlasting salvation. Uphold me; a weak and frail creature, never able to stand against corruption and temptation without thy powerful and gracious succours.

Thy ways; either, 1. Thy will and their duty, and the way to their eternal happiness; or rather, 2. The manner of thy dealing with sinners; whom thou dost so severely chastise for their sins, and yet so graciously receive to mercy upon their repentance; both which I will show them in my own…

From blood-guiltiness, Heb. from bloods, because he had been the cause of the death, not only of Uriah, but of others of the Lord’s people with him, 2 Sam. 11:17. Thy righteousness; either, 1. Thy faithfulness in making good thy promises; or rather, 2.

Open thou my lips; which are shut with shame, and grief, and horror. Restore unto me the opportunity, and ability, and liberty which formerly I had of speaking to thee with freedom, and boldness, and familiarity, as this phrase signifies, Ezek. 3:27, Ezek. 24:27, Eph. 6:19–20.

Thou desirest not sacrifice; which is not to be understood absolutely, and universally, as appears from Ps. 51:19, but comparatively, of which See Poole “Ps.

The sacrifices: this is instead of or of more value than many sacrifices. Of God; which God in such cases as mine requires, and will accept; in which sense we read of the work of God, John 6:28. A broken and a contrite heart, i.e.

In thy good pleasure; or, for or according to (for the Hebrew prefix beth is frequently used both those ways) thy good grace, or favour, or pleasure, i.e. thy free and rich mercy, and thy gracious purpose and promise made to and concerning Zion, of which see Ps.

Then; when thou hast granted my humble requests expressed in the former verses, when thou hast renewed, and pardoned, and comforted me, and restored thy favour unto thy people and this city. The sacrifices; which now for our sins thou mayst justly reject and abhor.