Old Testament Commentary - Psalms 51

by Don R. Hender

From the Jewish perspective, King David was a great and righteous King. Even his gross transgressions are not deemed to be as grevious or extensive as we have come to understand them to be. David still actively sought God before those of his Kingdom, but when one views David's lifestyle and his level of understanding and concern, it seems clear that David was still a self centered King and not meek before the Lord nor willing to truly forsake his sins. Bathsheba became and remained his wife, and the mother of Solomon, whom David made King against the voice of the people.
Since Nathan had come to David and revealed David's sin, David did take some action to obtain forgiveness, but like most, David did not appreciate the greatness of his own sins. David was the bearer of the covenant of the Firstborn, that the Son of God was to born as a descendant of his 'Royal' linage. But David marred the line of descendancy. Because of his intent to name Bathsheba's child the heir, which would cause men to blaspheme the name of God, that first child, the child which would legally have been Uriah's would also be required to die.
David's words plead for forgiveness and mercy. David's actions would but continue to travel the path that David sought and not that which God would have led him in. David lacked that which many of us do not understand what it is. It is meekness, the willingness to submit to the will, mind and way of the Lord over than of our own. Like us, David was more concerned with David, than with any other, even the Lord.

Scriptural Text [& Editorial] Commentary & Explanation Footnotes ~ References ~ JST

CHAPTER 51
David pleads for forgiveness after he went in to Bath-sheba—He pleads: Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me.

To the chief Musician, A psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him [2 Samuel 12], after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.

1 Have ^amercy upon me, O God, according to thy ^blovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies ^cblot out my ^dtransgressions.
2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and ^acleanse me from my sin.
3 For I ^aacknowledge my transgressions: and my ^bsin is ever before me.

4 Against thee, thee only, have I ^asinned^a, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be ^bjustified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother ^aconceive me.
6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Conceived In Sin? A false escape which has been proliferated throughout the ages is often used, that we have been conceived in sin, it that 'sinful act' of the birthing process of a man and a woman. David here references his own conception involving his mother in his sin. What a subject for Frued! Only in our own choice to be born into this temporal natural estate in order to be tested are we become subject to the natural man and the corruption of this earth. The linking of being born into this natural mortal realm with some fact of blame of sin upon one's parent's acts of conception is a false 'wives' tale' espoused of the Devil. There is a distinction to be made between being born into this Second Estate of mortality and the actual birthing process which affords it to be so. The birthing process is neither evil or of sin except as made so by the ignorance and/or misuse of man. The entering into this 'fallen estate' at birth, when we have taken upon ourselves this mortal body of flesh and blood which is subject unto corruption, is the point at which we have entered this world of good and evil and as we learn the difference, we of our own choice will choose either the one or the other. David made that choice himself, not David's mother at the child's conception. It is a misunderstanding of the plan of salvation. Adam and Eve upon their fall from the garden became as much subject to the corruption and sins of this world and it had nothing to do with their 'conception or birth'. Yet we continue to blame the acts of the parents for the sins of the children even to the extent of falsely including the act of conception and birthing as a part of 'original sin'. David became subject to the influences of sin and the natural man when he entered into this mortality. But that does not justify the giving in to evil nor does it justify committing sin or being able to place blame for that sin upon the birthing process of one's parents. Man is responsible for and will be punished for their own sins as they so yield themselves knowingly unto that sin. David was well versed in the ways of the Lord. He was an adult and knew well right from wrong. He was NOT 'shapened' in iniguity because of his birthing or parentage. As a youth David's level of righteousness made him a 'man after the Lord's own heart'. In adulthood, David's own yielding unto the temptations of sins caused David to err, and only David is responsible for those sins. The Lord's atonement has provided man a way to have their sins remitted subject to degree of sin coupled with reward effected by the grossness and greviousness of the sins committed. David's sins will be remitted and forgiven but not to the extent of exaltation in the presence of the God the Father. He has lost that greatest reward as noted that his 'wives' will be given to another, meaning he will not inherit the celestial kingdom and become a God with such wives in the life to come. 4^a Against thee, thee only, have I sinned As sinners, we most often do not understand the depth and broadness of the sin. Nathan has come unto David (2 Samuel 12) and proclaimed David's sins against him, which David presumed lay hiden from general knowledge. The blood of Uriah and the sexual sin with Bathsheba was but the tip of the iceburg so to speak. True, David had sinned against God, and that was perhaps his greatest sin in fouling the entrusted Covenant of the Firstborn of God. David was to be the ancestor of the Messiah as heir to the covenant through Elimelech, Mahlon, Obed and Jesse, the linage of that Ephrathite or Ephraimite line of the Covenant of God. David was in the process, which he never repented of, of having his chosen wife of the covenant descendancy to be Bathsheba, another man's wife. David would have made her first born son, the Son of the Firstborn, which legally according to the Law of God (Deuteronomy 25:5-10) could have been claimed to be the son of Uriah and not of the covenant line, thus that first son would have to die. And though David 'fained' repentance, his final acts of this life was to have Solomon, another son of Bathsheba, to be anointed King after him in the line of the Royal Linage. Whether David understood of not, his total lack of care and self indulgent attitude was turned in towards David and not outward towards the Lord and what the Lord would have him do to provide well and properly for the linage of the Covenant of the Firstborn Seed of the Messiah.
And certainly David's sin was not only against God, but it tended to be against all humanity. Sin is rarely if every strictly of a personal and private matter. Sin does always seem to envolve many as its victims and its effect is spread far and wide as the ripples of a stone thrown into a still surfaced pond, the effects of a single sin can ripple throughout the entire surface of the body of water it is commited in. David was in err to presume his sin to be only against God. Did he consider because only Nathan had confronted him with it, that it would lay hidden and of no effect but to be between him and God only?

7 Purge me with ^ahyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

10 Create in me a ^aclean heart, O God; and ^brenew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy ^apresence; and take not thy ^bholy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be ^aconverted unto thee.
14 ^aDeliver me from bloodguiltiness^a, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

Salvation and Exaltation All men, even the most vile of sinners will be resurrected into immortality. This in itself is a stated of defined 'salvation' being saved from the dead and lifted up from the grave. But such is the nature of Salvation, for Salvation does have its degrees. All will be raised and raised unto a state of incorruption with the exception of the Sons of Perdition who utterly deny the Holy Ghost and Christ and turn completely there from. But all who accept Christ will be saved unto the resurrection unto incorruption and will live in a state of righteousness no longer being subjects of sin. But there there are various degress of glory in that salvation afforded to man dependant upon the good works of man, his desires of his heart and his abilities to perform according to the mind and will of God rather than to follow after Satan here below. Those degrees of glory wear the names of Telestial, Terrestrial and Celestial with Exaltation being the highest in level of oneness with and of the fullness of God in the highest level of the Celestial glory. Thus man may become even as God is, but not all men will achieve that high position but those who have met the rquirements placed upon that position by God. 14^a Deliver me from bloodguiltiness Murder, premeditated against the inocent' is the most grevious sins short of sinning against the Holy Ghost and becoming a son of perdition. To murder to get gain which Cain and even David did is most evil, the greatest of sins which does have an allowance for limited forgiveness. Cain because he continued to rebell against God openly and did turn completely there from became a Son of Perdition and will dwell in the kingdom of the Devil as a resurrected being. But David did continue to turn unto the Lord even in his sins and though he has lost his celestial glory, he will be forgiven and receive a degree of glory in the telestial world, not in the presence of God. And there he will live in a state of relatie righteousness and not be subject unto wickedness, but he will not receive the fulness of the glory of God.

16 For thou desirest not ^asacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
17 The ^asacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a ^bcontrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

18 Do good in thy good ^apleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 51 David pleads for forgiveness after he went in to Bath-sheba—He pleads: Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me.
To the chief Musician, A psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him [2 Samuel 12], after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.
1 Have ^amercy upon me, O God, according to thy ^blovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies ^cblot out my ^dtransgressions. 2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and ^acleanse me from my sin. 3 For I ^aacknowledge my transgressions: and my ^bsin is ever before me.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I ^asinned^a, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be ^bjustified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother ^aconceive me. 6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Conceived In Sin? A false escape which has been proliferated throughout the ages is often used, that we have been conceived in sin, it that 'sinful act' of the birthing process of a man and a woman. David here references his own conception involving his mother in his sin. What a subject for Frued! Only in our own choice to be born into this temporal natural estate in order to be tested are we become subject to the natural man and the corruption of this earth. The linking of being born into this natural mortal realm with some fact of blame of sin upon one's parent's acts of conception is a false 'wives' tale' espoused of the Devil. There is a distinction to be made between being born into this Second Estate of mortality and the actual birthing process which affords it to be so. The birthing process is neither evil or of sin except as made so by the ignorance and/or misuse of man. The entering into this 'fallen estate' at birth, when we have taken upon ourselves this mortal body of flesh and blood which is subject unto corruption, is the point at which we have entered this world of good and evil and as we learn the difference, we of our own choice will choose either the one or the other. David made that choice himself, not David's mother at the child's conception. It is a misunderstanding of the plan of salvation. Adam and Eve upon their fall from the garden became as much subject to the corruption and sins of this world and it had nothing to do with their 'conception or birth'. Yet we continue to blame the acts of the parents for the sins of the children even to the extent of falsely including the act of conception and birthing as a part of 'original sin'. David became subject to the influences of sin and the natural man when he entered into this mortality. But that does not justify the giving in to evil nor does it justify committing sin or being able to place blame for that sin upon the birthing process of one's parents. Man is responsible for and will be punished for their own sins as they so yield themselves knowingly unto that sin. David was well versed in the ways of the Lord. He was an adult and knew well right from wrong. He was NOT 'shapened' in iniguity because of his birthing or parentage. As a youth David's level of righteousness made him a 'man after the Lord's own heart'. In adulthood, David's own yielding unto the temptations of sins caused David to err, and only David is responsible for those sins. The Lord's atonement has provided man a way to have their sins remitted subject to degree of sin coupled with reward effected by the grossness and greviousness of the sins committed. David's sins will be remitted and forgiven but not to the extent of exaltation in the presence of the God the Father. He has lost that greatest reward as noted that his 'wives' will be given to another, meaning he will not inherit the celestial kingdom and become a God with such wives in the life to come.	4^a Against thee, thee only, have I sinned As sinners, we most often do not understand the depth and broadness of the sin. Nathan has come unto David (2 Samuel 12) and proclaimed David's sins against him, which David presumed lay hiden from general knowledge. The blood of Uriah and the sexual sin with Bathsheba was but the tip of the iceburg so to speak. True, David had sinned against God, and that was perhaps his greatest sin in fouling the entrusted Covenant of the Firstborn of God. David was to be the ancestor of the Messiah as heir to the covenant through Elimelech, Mahlon, Obed and Jesse, the linage of that Ephrathite or Ephraimite line of the Covenant of God. David was in the process, which he never repented of, of having his chosen wife of the covenant descendancy to be Bathsheba, another man's wife. David would have made her first born son, the Son of the Firstborn, which legally according to the Law of God (Deuteronomy 25:5-10) could have been claimed to be the son of Uriah and not of the covenant line, thus that first son would have to die. And though David 'fained' repentance, his final acts of this life was to have Solomon, another son of Bathsheba, to be anointed King after him in the line of the Royal Linage. Whether David understood of not, his total lack of care and self indulgent attitude was turned in towards David and not outward towards the Lord and what the Lord would have him do to provide well and properly for the linage of the Covenant of the Firstborn Seed of the Messiah. And certainly David's sin was not only against God, but it tended to be against all humanity. Sin is rarely if every strictly of a personal and private matter. Sin does always seem to envolve many as its victims and its effect is spread far and wide as the ripples of a stone thrown into a still surfaced pond, the effects of a single sin can ripple throughout the entire surface of the body of water it is commited in. David was in err to presume his sin to be only against God. Did he consider because only Nathan had confronted him with it, that it would lay hidden and of no effect but to be between him and God only?
7 Purge me with ^ahyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a ^aclean heart, O God; and ^brenew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy ^apresence; and take not thy ^bholy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be ^aconverted unto thee. 14 ^aDeliver me from bloodguiltiness^a, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. Salvation and Exaltation All men, even the most vile of sinners will be resurrected into immortality. This in itself is a stated of defined 'salvation' being saved from the dead and lifted up from the grave. But such is the nature of Salvation, for Salvation does have its degrees. All will be raised and raised unto a state of incorruption with the exception of the Sons of Perdition who utterly deny the Holy Ghost and Christ and turn completely there from. But all who accept Christ will be saved unto the resurrection unto incorruption and will live in a state of righteousness no longer being subjects of sin. But there there are various degress of glory in that salvation afforded to man dependant upon the good works of man, his desires of his heart and his abilities to perform according to the mind and will of God rather than to follow after Satan here below. Those degrees of glory wear the names of Telestial, Terrestrial and Celestial with Exaltation being the highest in level of oneness with and of the fullness of God in the highest level of the Celestial glory. Thus man may become even as God is, but not all men will achieve that high position but those who have met the rquirements placed upon that position by God.	14^a Deliver me from bloodguiltiness Murder, premeditated against the inocent' is the most grevious sins short of sinning against the Holy Ghost and becoming a son of perdition. To murder to get gain which Cain and even David did is most evil, the greatest of sins which does have an allowance for limited forgiveness. Cain because he continued to rebell against God openly and did turn completely there from became a Son of Perdition and will dwell in the kingdom of the Devil as a resurrected being. But David did continue to turn unto the Lord even in his sins and though he has lost his celestial glory, he will be forgiven and receive a degree of glory in the telestial world, not in the presence of God. And there he will live in a state of relatie righteousness and not be subject unto wickedness, but he will not receive the fulness of the glory of God.
16 For thou desirest not ^asacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17 The ^asacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a ^bcontrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
18 Do good in thy good ^apleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.