Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119:105)
Psalm 51 (NIV 1984)
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 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.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall 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.
10 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.
13 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.
16 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.
18 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.
Notes
In these Psalm Insights studies I tend to avoid Psalms I know well and appreciate, as I do not want to be distracted by my preformed ideas. Psalm 51 is one such Psalm but I have had to study it sooner than expected as it is related to Psalm 3 that I published in November 2024.
However, there is still some background research to do before I can publish a proper analysis so this article is a preliminary and incomplete collection of study notes.
The psalm seems to divide into six strophes as in the following table, based on the idea that is expressed. Invariably, in the Psalms I have studied so far, each strophe is linked to a neighbouring strophe that presents the same idea or a variation of it and each strophe contributes to the theme of the psalm.
However, I can detect no parallels between strophes. Each seems to have an independent idea. This gives a sense of rawness, even of being unfinished and may suggest it expresses what David was feeling at the time without it being filtered by later reflection or poetic refinements. I think this is one reason why it is so impactful and continues to speak powerfully into our lives even if we know little or nothing about the background.
| Psalm 51 | The following version is based on NIV 1984 but has been adapted to show the Hebrew poetic structure. |
| For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. | The heading is a very ancient Hebrew addition and is included as verse 1 in Jewish versions but such headings are not counted as part of inspired Scripture by Christian translators. Some modern versions omit or use an alternative. The incident referred to (2 Samuel 11:2-5) is not mentioned overtly in the Psalm but the Psalm certainly fits with it. However, the title only refers to one aspect of David’s calamitous behaviour and makes assumptions. Was it adultery or rape? And what about the associated sins of arranging for Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, to be killed and the collateral deaths that were also likely to have occurred? Why is only this one sin mentioned? And David inveigled his army officers, Uriah’s companions, and Joab the overall commander, in Uriah’s death (2 Samuel 11:14-17). David’s household were involved in arranging the affair. It may well have been a clandestine meeting but the incident and its repercussions could not have been kept secret for long. All sins have ramifications, adultery especially, but David’s status as both King and spiritual leader meant his sinful behaviour led others to sin and caused widespread harm. This is explored in Psalm 3. |
| Strophe 1 Request | Request for mercy on the basis of God’s character and nature. |
| 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. | Cf other Psalms, such as Psalm 5 where David claims his own righteousness as ground for Yahweh to do what he requests. David’s only expressed claim for mercy is based on God’s ‘unfailing love’ (hesed) blot out = cover over (also v9) wash away = clean, refresh cleanse = deep clean that leaves no stain. Nowhere does David ask for forgiveness. Is that significant? Is asking for mercy the OT version of NT’s seeking forgiveness? |
| Strophe 2 Confession | Confession is the unqualified acknowledgment of sin. |
| 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 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. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. | David used ‘transgression,’ meaning breaking a law or code, to describe his ‘sin’ (wrongdoing) so that immediately emphases his sin is against Yahweh, his God and Lord. But David also sinned against his wives and family, the soldiers who put his plan into action, the army, the whole nation so why ‘against you, you only, have I sinned’? ‘Given much – much required’ (Luke 12:48) At its heart sin is letting Yahweh down – behaving as if he is of no account – so comparatively speaking it is primarily by far that it is ‘only’ against Yahweh he has sinned. “you are proved right’/’justified,’ acknowledges that David accepts he is guilty. No excuses or explanations are offered. ‘Conceived’ carries the sense that David is in essence sinful, so it is more than that he commits sin. ‘In the inner parts’/’in the inmost place’ = ‘the heart is deceitful above all things’ (Jeremiah 17:9). This strophe suggests that David’s repentance/remorse was genuine. Only God has the answer – so David’s request fits in with biblical teaching. |
| Strophe 3 Purification | Recognises the depth and thoroughness of the purification that is needed that is dependent on Yahweh. |
| 7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall 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. 10 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. | ‘hyssop’ = ?marjoram, a herb – opinions vary. Used to sprinkle blood in symbolic cleansing rituals (Leviticus 14:4-6, 49-52). Undertaking these rituals did not earn forgiveness, salvation or Yahweh’s favour but instead demonstrated faith and trust (Hebrews 11:6) as the worshipper obeyed Yahweh’s requirements. By referring to such a ritual David was using it as a metaphor for the cleansing he requested so was acknowledging his only hope was to approach Yahweh in a way he had designated. ‘bones crushed’ – physical injury. ‘crushed’ is more than broken. It implies irreparably damaged. This is FoS, metonymy – a part is used to refer to the whole. ‘pure heart’ – from the inside out, motivation ‘steadfast spirit’/’willing spirit’ – determination to not fail again ‘your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me’ – David was aware of the importance of having a personal relationship with Yahweh. ‘joy of salvation’ A rich truth here. Yes salvation brings joy, peace, comfort etc – but we so easily only appreciate how rich this is when we have lost it. It is so easy to take Yahweh and his gifts for granted. ‘sustain’ – perseverance |
| Strophe 4 Promised response | David’s ideas about how he should respond – promises to show appreciation. |
| 13 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 [adonay], open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. | Was David seeking to negotiate with God by offering to teach others the lessons he had learned? Cf Psalm 58, note 36. He seemed confident he would have success so was he trusting his own abilities rather than God’s? Did he not realise how badly he had hurt the whole nation by his behaviour? How could they be expected to trust him? Strophe 4 presents a human, self-centred approach to God. Is David too quick to get back to ‘normal’ and is he expecting to live as if nothing had happened? |
| Strophe 5 Responsive Worship | Recognises must approach God in God’s way – an inner personal response comes first and is then expressed in making sacrifices. (1 Samuel 15:22) |
| 16 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. | In contrast to strophe 4, strophe 5 has a more godly and humble approach. He approaches God on God’s terms and not on his own. In God’s service inner motivation is more significant than outward behaviour. This conjunction of strophes 4 and 5 of such contrasting attitudes is true to life for we are all a mixture of the old and new nature, the human and godly, the Adamic and Christlike. Which one will dominate? Only time will tell. Psalm 51 is set in one particular stage in David’s spiritual journey. Some glimpses into how David progressed is revealed in Psalm 3 but not here. |
| Strophe 6 Responsive service | Recognises that his personal sin has implications for the whole nation. |
| 18 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. | This final strophe initially appears to be out of place so some commentators suggest it has been tacked on by a later editor. However, it can be taken to mean that David did understand something of the depth and spread of the damage throughout the nation as a result of his sin. If any tacking on was done I suspect this was by David himself and from what we know about the Journey of Grief it is very likely this would be a later development (see Psalm 3, note 60 onwards) long after Nathan’s intervention. Benefitting Zion and Jerusalem follows on from strophe 5 – get the relationship with Yahweh right and other blessings follow. Wow! We can give Yahweh ‘pleasure ‘ and ‘delight’ (cf strophe 5) with sacrifices when motivation is right. This is where obedience and not necessarily understanding and approval come in. Taking time out from Christian ministry and busyness to devote time and attention to Yahwehs’ presence in worship and reflection is not an optional extra. It needs to be incorporated into every believer’s life routine. |
Curiously, David does not use Yahweh, God’s name, at all in Psalm 5. He uses ‘Lord’ [adonay], meaning Master, once, but otherwise addresses God as the generic el (5 times). Perhaps he was too embarrassed or ashamed to use Yahweh, God’s personal and, in the circumstances, very significant name that means something like ‘Always I Am.’ Explore.
How does Psalm 51 help understanding of David being a ‘man after God’s own heart’ (cf Psalm 3 note 78)?
Bathsheba, as well as David, seems to have had an honoured status in later life (1 Kings 1:11-14) and in subsequent history (1 Kings 2:13-19) and she even became a progenitor of Jesus (Matthew 1:6). Did Yahweh treat them as ‘special cases’? This is explored in Psalm 3 from note 50.
The psalm ends abruptly. David recognises his sin and his innate sinfulness so appeals to Yahweh’s mercy, knowing that that is his only hope. He has no grounds for any sense that he might deserve Yahweh’s favour.
As happens not uncommonly in the psalms, Psalm 51 is only a ‘snapshot’ of a specific phase in the psalmist’s life journey. How Yahweh responded and how David journeyed further in his spiritual journey is not revealed here. However, Psalm 3 provides further insights into later stages in David’s journey, revealing more of the forgiveness and restoration he experienced personally.
It took many years but David was used by Yahweh, as he requested, to aid the whole nation’s recovery from the damaging effects of his sin. See 1 Chronicles 28-29 and Psalm 3 notes 83-95.
Written: 21 September 2021
Published: 3 September 2025