Psalm 51:10-19

David’s Penitential Prayer

NEW OBEDIENCE AS A FRUIT OF FAITH. — V. 10. Create in me a clean heart, O God, the believer’s heart having been created anew in conversion, and renew a right spirit within me, establishing his heart and soul so that he was sure of his salvation, and that his mind would be centered upon God’s Word, upon the performance of His will.

V. 11. Cast me not away from Thy presence, for he had once felt the excruciating agony of being excluded from the mercy of God and feared a repetition of the experience, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me, so that he would slip back into the impenitent condition of that one terrible year, persist in his opposition to God’s gracious influence, and thus be lost. Every believer prays to the Lord to be preserved against the hardening of his heart which leads to rejection of the Gospel-message and to final destruction.

V. 12. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation,for that is the height of the believer’s happiness, if the Lord turns to him in grace, and uphold me with Thy free spirit, rather, the spirit of willingness will uphold me, namely, in the renewal of his whole life, in working true sanctification in him.

V. 13. Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways, making known to them what God had done for him in delivering him from the misery of his sinful condition; and sinners shall be converted unto Thee, by reason of this open confession and instruction by the mouth of David, to which his gratitude for the mercy experienced would prompt him.

V. 14. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, not only that which was resting upon him on account of his murder of Uriah, but that of all severe transgressions, which are like enemies that try to oppress and enslave, O God, Thou God of my salvation, the mighty Lord of heaven being the only one who could help and deliver in such straits; and my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness, namely, that imputed to him by the grace of God in the Redeemer.

V. 15. O Lord, open Thou my lips, God Himself giving him the necessary skill and ability to express his thanks in the proper manner, and my mouth shall show forth Thy praise, in an open and joyful song of praise for the grace vouchsafed him.

V. 16. For Thou desirest not sacrifice, namely, as a mere external, mechanical act of worship, else would I give it; Thou delightest not in burnt offering, such as is brought in a mere outward compliance with the letter of the Law, much as God is otherwise pleased to have the true faith of the heart shown in outward acts of worship.

V. 17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, one that is crushed by the consciousness of one’s sinfulness; a broken and a contrite heart, one from which all self-righteousness has been removed by the realization of guilt, as shown in the demands of the Law, O God, Thou wilt not despise, in such a one, rather, He takes pleasure, with that He is delighted. Such sacrifices of the heart are then revealed in the corresponding sacrifices of the lips, in praises to God for the wonderful mercy vouchsafed in the forgiveness of sins. In conclusion, David includes himself with the entire congregation of believers.

V. 18. Do good in Thy good pleasure unto Zion, showing His favor to the congregation of believers named after the Temple-mount; build Thou the walls of Jerusalem, namely, the spiritual walls of His Church, of the true people of God, the underlying thought being that the Lord would not permit the offense of David’s transgression to take faith from the heart of any weak believer.

V. 19. Then shalt Thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering, David being ready, in the consciousness of the righteousness imputed to him and in the eagerness to make known his change of heart, to bring sacrifices of every kind to expiate for his sins; then shall they offer bullocks upon Thine altar, as an act of thanksgiving for the mercy which he had received.

A truly penitent person will offer to the Lord the sacrifices of his heart, of his lips, and of his hands, and the Lord will take pleasure in such offerings, if only the offense of heinous transgressions has first been removed.