A Pardon From the Governor Psalm 51

For the leader. A psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came into him after he had gone into Bathsheba.
The background of this psalm, although seemingly clear in the introduction, is actually muddled. The text of the psalm, especially the closing verses, seem to indicate an author during the exile of Judah, because he is hoping for the rebuilding of Jerusalem. It does have the feel of a Davidic psalm, having many of the themes of other Davidic psalms, but it seems written much later. But the introduction points the context to be when David was publicly caught in his act of adultery and murder by the prophet Nathan. In all probability, the psalm was written during the period of exile, possibly to represent all of Israel (like the penitent prayer of Daniel 9). Later, someone applied the Davidic narrative to explain it being a “Davidic” psalm.

Grant me grace, God, as befits Your kindness
With Your great mercy wipe away my crimes.
Thoroughly wash my transgressions away
And cleanse me from my offense.
For my crimes I know
And my offense is before me always.
You alone have I offended
And what is evil in Your eyes I have done.
So you are just when you sentence
You are right when you judge.
Look, in transgression was I conceived
And in offense my mother spawned me.
In these first verses, the psalmist is mixing three themes: 1. First of all, he admits his crime. He knows just how sinful he is, that his sin is built into him. It is as if he is recognizing his own genetic makeup and that he has a tendency to sin, even though this is not what he wants to do. Yet at the same time, he cannot deny his own culpability. He is responsible for his own sin before God, and he deserves whatever God gives him. 2. The offense is against God. The psalmist is not denying that he has responsibility for other people in his sin, but since God is his judge, God is the one to whom he must answer. It is his separation from God is that is most offensive in his sin, and it is God to whom he must plead. 3. He is asking for mercy. God could sentence him, punish him to death. The psalmist knows he deserves it. But He is asking for God to make the offense disappear, to erase it from the record books. This doesn’t mean that he doesn’t recognize his weakness to avoid it, but it does mean that God wouldn’t punish him.

Look, you desired truth in what is hidden;
In what is concealed make wisdom known to me.
The psalmist here recognizes that sin lies deep within him and that the sin lies to him. He often believes what is not true so that he could continue in his sin. But he knows that God isn’t interested in our excuses. He wants truth in us, so we don’t lie to Him and don’t lie to ourselves. So the psalmist begs the Lord to make wisdom and truth appear within him, so he wouldn’t be deceived by his own sin anymore.

Purify me with a hyssop, that I may be clean
Wash me, that I be whiter than snow.
Let me hear gladness and joy,
Let the bones that You crushed exult.
Avert your face from my offenses,
And all my misdeeds wipe away.
A pure heart create for me, God,
And a firm spirit renew within me.
Do not fling me from Your presence,
And Your holy spirit take not from me.
Give me back the gladness of Your rescue
And with a noble spirit sustain me.
Here the psalmist very specifically describes what he expects if God is going to grant him forgiveness. If his sin is truly wiped away, these are the results that he expects: a. His guilt would be cleansed away, as one would wipe away dirt; b. He would experience the joy of being forgiven; c. That his resolve to think and act for God would be renewed; d. That he would recognize God’s presence in his life and e. That he would experience God’s deliverance again from those who want to harm him.
A couple points of explanation: Hyssop is a plant that was used in purification ceremonies to take away the guilt of a sinner. The “holy spirit” is not the third person of the trinity in Christian theology, but God’s presence as a whole. He is called the Holy Spirit because, as opposed to the psalmist, God is holy, and holiness cannot abide with sin. The psalmist is recognizing this, and so asking to be made so pure that God might abide with him.

Let me teach transgressors Your ways,
And offenders will come back to You.
Save me from bloodshed, O God,
God of my rescue.
Let my tongue sing out You bounty.
O Master, open my lips
That my tongue may tell Your praise.
The psalmist is not just insisting on receiving, however. He wants to give back. For his purity, he will do two things—First, he will tell others of what he learned about himself and about God. He will tell them of the way back to God, and that God will receive them and forgive them. Secondly, he will proclaim God’s mercy and provision. God will be glorified for His mercy on the psalmist.

For You desire not that I should give sacrifice,
Burnt offering You greet not with pleasure.
God’s sacrifices—a broken spirit.
A broken, crushed heart God spurns not.
Show goodness in Your pleasure to Zion,
Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Then shall You desire just sacrifices,
Burnt-offering and whole offering
Then bulls will be offered up on Your altar.
Finally, the psalmist has a discussion of worship—specifically sacrifices. Sacrifices in the ancient world was a gift to be offered to God, sometimes so that God would ignore sin, and sometimes just to curry favor with the Lord of the Universe. These sacrifices aren’t that much different than going to church or putting money in an offering basket. But the psalmist clearly recognizes that these kinds of worship aren’t the way to cover up one’s sin. A sin doesn’t get covered by one’s own act. Rather, sin is written off simply by an act of mercy by the Judge. So how does one curry favor with a Judge who knows all your sin? Simply this—by recognizing and openly regretting one’s sin. If the Judge sees how regretful one is, then He will forgive. He doesn’t want a bribe or a deal. He just wants sorrow and humility. After this, yes, offerings can be made as a part of one’s regular devotion. But we can’t use the semblance of devotion or praise as a way to cover up evil done. That is for after our recognition of sin.

(This translation of Psalm 51 was done by Robert Alter, who, in my opinion, is probably the finest modern translator of the Hebrew Bible.)