mh_parser/vol_split/19 - Psalms/Chapter 51.xml

<div2 id="Ps.lii" n="lii" next="Ps.liii" prev="Ps.li" progress="39.31%" title="Chapter LI">
<h2 id="Ps.lii-p0.1">P S A L M S</h2>
<h3 id="Ps.lii-p0.2">PSALM LI.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ps.lii-p1">Though David penned this psalm upon a very
particular occasion, yet, it is of as general use as any of David's
psalms; it is the most eminent of the penitential psalms, and most
expressive of the cares and desires of a repenting sinner. It is a
pity indeed that in our devout addresses to God we should have any
thing else to do than to praise God, for that is the work of
heaven; but we make other work for ourselves by our own sins and
follies: we must come to the throne of grace in the posture of
penitents, to confess our sins and sue for the grace of God; and,
if therein we would take with us words, we can nowhere find any
more apposite than in this psalm, which is the record of David's
repentance for his sin in the matter of Uriah, which was the
greatest blemish upon his character: all the rest of his faults
were nothing to this; it is said of him (<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.15.5" parsed="|1Kgs|15|5|0|0" passage="1Ki 15:5">1 Kings xv. 5</scripRef>), That "he turned not aside
from the commandment of the Lord all the days of his life, save
only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite." In this psalm, I. He
confesses his sin, <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.3-Ps.51.6" parsed="|Ps|51|3|51|6" passage="Ps 51:3-6">ver.
3-6</scripRef>. II. He prays earnestly for the pardon of his sin,
<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.1-Ps.51.2 Bible:Ps.51.7 Bible:Ps.51.9" parsed="|Ps|51|1|51|2;|Ps|51|7|0|0;|Ps|51|9|0|0" passage="Ps 51:1,2,7,9">ver. 1, 2, 7, 9</scripRef>. III.
For peace of conscience, <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.8 Bible:Ps.51.12" parsed="|Ps|51|8|0|0;|Ps|51|12|0|0" passage="Ps 51:8,12">ver. 8,
12</scripRef>. IV. For grace to go and sin no more, <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.10-Ps.51.11 Bible:Ps.51.14" parsed="|Ps|51|10|51|11;|Ps|51|14|0|0" passage="Ps 51:10,11,14">ver. 10, 11, 14</scripRef>. V. For liberty
of access to God, <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.15" parsed="|Ps|51|15|0|0" passage="Ps 51:15">ver. 15</scripRef>.
IV. He promises to do what he could for the good of the souls of
others ( <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.13" parsed="|Ps|51|13|0|0" passage="Ps 51:13">ver. 13</scripRef>) and for
the glory of God, <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.16-Ps.51.17 Bible:Ps.51.19" parsed="|Ps|51|16|51|17;|Ps|51|19|0|0" passage="Ps 51:16,17,19">ver. 16, 17,
19</scripRef>. And, lastly, concludes with a prayer for Zion and
Jerusalem, <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.18" parsed="|Ps|51|18|0|0" passage="Ps 51:18">ver. 18</scripRef>. Those
whose consciences charge them with any gross sin should, with a
believing regard to Jesus Christ, the Mediator, again and again
pray over this psalm; nay, though we have not been guilty of
adultery and murder, or any the like enormous crime, yet in singing
it, and praying over it, we may very sensibly apply it all to
ourselves, which if we do with suitable affections we shall,
through Christ, find mercy to pardon and grace for seasonable
help.</p>
<scripCom id="Ps.lii-p1.10" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51" parsed="|Ps|51|0|0|0" passage="Ps 51" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ps.lii-p1.11" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.1-Ps.51.6" parsed="|Ps|51|1|51|6" passage="Ps 51:1-6" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.51.1-Ps.51.6">
<h4 id="Ps.lii-p1.12">Penitential Petitions.</h4>
<div class="Center" id="Ps.lii-p1.13">
<p id="Ps.lii-p2">To the chief musician. A psalm of David, when Nathan the
prophet<br/>
came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.</p>
</div>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.lii-p3">1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy
lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies
blot out my transgressions.   2 Wash me throughly from mine
iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.   3 For I acknowledge my
transgressions: and my sin <i>is</i> ever before me.   4
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done <i>this</i> evil
in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest,
<i>and</i> be clear when thou judgest.   5 Behold, I was
shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.   6
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden
<i>part</i> thou shalt make me to know wisdom.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p4">The title has reference to a very sad
story, that of David's fall. But, though he fell, he was not
utterly cast down, for God graciously upheld him and raised him up.
1. The sin which, in this psalm, he laments, was the folly and
wickedness he committed with his neighbour's wife, a sin not to be
spoken of, nor thought of, without detestation. His debauching of
Bathsheba was the inlet to all the other sins that followed; it was
as the letting forth of water. This sin of David's is recorded for
warning to all, that he who thinks he stands may take heed lest he
fall. 2. The repentance which, in this psalm, he expresses, he was
brought to by the ministry of Nathan, who was sent of God to
convince him of his sin, after he had continued above nine months
(for aught that appears) without any particular expressions of
remorse and sorrow for it. But though God may suffer his people to
fall into sin, and to lie a great while in it, yet he will, by some
means or other, recover them to repentance, bring them to himself
and to their right mind again. Herein, generally, he uses the
ministry of the word, which yet he is not tied to. But those that
have been overtaken in any fault ought to reckon a faithful reproof
the greatest kindness that can be done them and a wise reprover
their best friend. <i>Let the righteous smite me, and it shall be
excellent oil.</i> 3. David, being convinced of his sin, poured out
his soul to God in prayer for mercy and grace. Whither should
backsliding children return, but to the Lord their God, from whom
they have backslidden, and who alone can heal their backslidings?
4. He drew up, by divine inspiration, the workings of his heart
towards God, upon this occasion, into a psalm, that it might be
often repeated, and long after reviewed; and this he committed to
the chief musician, to be sung in the public service of the church.
(1.) As a profession of his own repentance, which he would have to
be generally taken notice of, his sin having been notorious, that
the plaster might be as wide as the wound. Those that truly repent
of their sins will not be ashamed to own their repentance; but,
having lost the honour of innocents, they will rather covet the
honour of penitents. (2.) As a pattern to others, both to bring
them to repentance by his example and to instruct them in their
repentance what to do and what to say. Being converted himself, he
thus <i>strengthens his brethren</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.22.32" parsed="|Luke|22|32|0|0" passage="Lu 22:32">Luke xxii. 32</scripRef>), and <i>for this cause he
obtained mercy,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:1Tim.1.16" parsed="|1Tim|1|16|0|0" passage="1Ti 1:16">1 Tim. i.
16</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p5">In these words we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p6">I. David's humble petition, <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.1-Ps.51.2" parsed="|Ps|51|1|51|2" passage="Ps 51:1,2"><i>v.</i> 1, 2</scripRef>. His prayer is much
the same with that which our Saviour puts into the mouth of his
penitent publican in the parable: <i>God be merciful to me a
sinner!</i> <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.18.13" parsed="|Luke|18|13|0|0" passage="Lu 18:13">Luke xviii. 13</scripRef>.
David was, upon many accounts, a man of great merit; he had not
only done much, but suffered much, in the cause of God; and yet,
when he is convinced of sin, he does not offer to balance his evil
deeds with his good deeds, nor can he think that his services will
atone for his offences; but he flies to God's infinite mercy, and
depends upon that only for pardon and peace: <i>Have mercy upon me,
O God!</i> He owns himself obnoxious to God's justice, and
therefore casts himself upon his mercy; and it is certain that the
best man in the world will be undone if God be not merciful to him.
Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p7">1. What his plea is for this mercy:
"<i>have mercy upon me, O God!</i> not according to the dignity of
my birth, as descended from the prince of the tribe of Judah, not
according to my public services as Israel's champion, or my public
honours as Israel's king;" his plea is not, <i>Lord, remember David
and all his afflictions, how he vowed to build a place for the
ark</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.132.1-Ps.132.2" parsed="|Ps|132|1|132|2" passage="Ps 132:1,2">Ps. cxxxii. 1,
2</scripRef>); a true penitent will make no mention of any such
thing; but "Have mercy upon me for mercy's sake. I have nothing to
plead with thee but," (1.) "The freeness of thy mercy, according to
thy lovingkindness, thy clemency, the goodness of thy nature, which
inclines thee to pity the miserable." (2.) "The fulness of thy
mercy. There are in thee not only lovingkindness and tender
mercies, but abundance of them, a multitude of tender mercies for
the forgiveness of many sinners, of many sins, to multiply pardons
as we multiply transgressions."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p8">2. What is the particular mercy that he
begs—the pardon of sin. <i>Blot out my transgressions,</i> as a
debt is blotted or crossed out of the book, when either the debtor
has paid it or the creditor has remitted it. "Wipe out my
transgressions, that they may not appear to demand judgment against
me, nor stare me in the face to my confusion and terror." The blood
of Christ, sprinkled upon the conscience, to purify and pacify
that, blots out the transgression, and, having reconciled us to
God, reconciles up to ourselves, <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.2" parsed="|Ps|51|2|0|0" passage="Ps 51:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. "<i>Wash me thoroughly from my
iniquity;</i> wash my soul from the guilt and stain of my sin by
thy mercy and grace, for it is only from a ceremonial pollution
that the water of separation will avail to cleanse me. Multiple to
wash me; the stain is deep, for I have lain long soaking in the
guilt, so that it will not easily be got out. O wash me much, wash
me thoroughly. <i>Cleanse me from my sin.</i>" Sin defiles us,
renders us odious in the sight of the holy God, and uneasy to
ourselves; it unfits us for communion with God in grace or glory.
When God pardons sin he cleanses us from it, so that we become
acceptable to him, easy to ourselves, and have liberty of access to
him. Nathan had assured David, upon his first profession of
repentance, that his sin was pardoned. <i>The Lord has taken away
thy sin; thou shalt not die,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.13" parsed="|2Sam|12|13|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:13">2
Sam. xii. 13</scripRef>. Yet he prays, <i>Wash me, cleanse, blot
out my transgressions;</i> for God will be sought unto even for
that which he has promised; and those whose sins are pardoned must
pray that the pardon may be more and more cleared up to them. God
had forgiven him, but he could not forgive himself; and therefore
he is thus importunate for pardon, as one that thought himself
unworthy of it and knew how to value it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p9">II. David's penitential confessions,
<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.3-Ps.51.5" parsed="|Ps|51|3|51|5" passage="Ps 51:3-5"><i>v.</i> 3-5</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p10">1. He was very free to own his guilt before
God: <i>I acknowledge my transgressions;</i> this he had formerly
found the only way of easing his conscience, <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.32.4-Ps.32.5" parsed="|Ps|32|4|32|5" passage="Ps 32:4,5">Ps. xxxii. 4, 5</scripRef>. Nathan said, <i>Thou art
the man. I am,</i> says David; <i>I have sinned.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p11">2. He had such a deep sense of it that the
was continually thinking of it with sorrow and shame. His
contrition for his sin was not a slight sudden passion, but an
abiding grief: "<i>My sin is ever before me,</i> to humble me and
mortify me, and make me continually blush and tremble. It is
<i>ever against me</i>" (so some); "I see it before me as an enemy,
accusing and threatening me." David was, upon all occasions, put in
mind of his sin, and was willing to be so, for his further
abasement. He never walked on the roof of his house without a
penitent reflection on his unhappy walk there when thence he saw
Bathsheba; he never lay down to sleep without a sorrowful thought
of the bed of his uncleanness, never sat down to meat, never sent
his servant on an errand, or took his pen in hand, but it put him
in mind of his making Uriah drunk, the treacherous message he sent
by him, and the fatal warrant he wrote and signed for his
execution. Note, The acts of repentance, even for the same sin,
must be often repeated. It will be of good use for us to have our
sins ever before us, that by the remembrance of our past sins we
may be kept humble, may be armed against temptation, quickened to
duty, and made patient under the cross.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p12">(1.) He confesses his actual transgressions
(<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.4" parsed="|Ps|51|4|0|0" passage="Ps 51:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): <i>Against
thee, thee only, have I sinned.</i> David was a very great man, and
yet, having done amiss, submits to the discipline of a penitent,
and thinks not his royal dignity will excuse him from it. Rich and
poor must here meet together; there is one law of repentance for
both; the greatest must be judged shortly, and therefore must judge
themselves now. David was a very good man, and yet, having sinned,
he willingly accommodates himself to the place and posture of a
penitent. The best men, if they sin, should give the best example
of repentance. [1.] His confession is particular; "<i>I have done
this evil,</i> this that I am now reproved for, this that my own
conscience now upbraids me with." Note, It is good to be particular
in the confession of sin, that we may be the more express in
praying for pardon, and so may have the more comfort in it. We
ought to reflect upon the particular heads of our sins of infirmity
and the particular circumstances of our gross sins. [2.] He
aggravates the sin which he confesses and lays a load upon himself
for it: <i>Against thee, and in thy sight.</i> Hence our Saviour
seems to borrow the confession which he puts into the mouth of the
returning prodigal: <i>I have sinned against heaven, and before
thee,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.15.18" parsed="|Luke|15|18|0|0" passage="Lu 15:18">Luke xv. 18</scripRef>. Two
things David laments in his sin:—<i>First,</i> That it was
committed against God. To him the affront is given, and he is the
party wronged. It is his truth that by wilful sin we deny, his
conduct that we despise, his command that we disobey, his promise
that we distrust, his name that we dishonour, and it is with him
that we deal deceitfully and disingenuously. From this topic Joseph
fetched the great argument against sin (<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Gen.39.9" parsed="|Gen|39|9|0|0" passage="Ge 39:9">Gen. xxxix. 9</scripRef>), and David here the great
aggravation of it: <i>Against thee only.</i> Some make this to
intimate the prerogative of his crown, that, as a king, he was not
accountable to any but God; but it is more agreeable to his present
temper to suppose that it expresses the deep contrition of his soul
for his sin, and that it was upon right grounds. He here sinned
against Bathsheba and Uriah, against his own soul, and body, and
family, against his kingdom, and against the church of God, and all
this helped to humble him; but none of these were sinned against so
as God was, and therefore this he lays the most sorrowful accent
upon: <i>Against thee only have I sinned. Secondly,</i> That it was
committed in God's sight. "This not only proves it upon me, but
renders it exceedingly sinful." This should greatly humble us for
all our sins, that they have been committed under the eye of God,
which argues either a disbelief of his omniscience or a contempt of
his justice. [3.] He justifies God in the sentence passed upon
him—that <i>the sword should never depart from his house,</i>
<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.12.10" parsed="|2Sam|12|10|0|0" passage="2Sa 12:10">2 Sam. xii. 10, 11</scripRef>. He is
very forward to own his sin, and aggravate it, not only that he
might obtain the pardon of it himself, but that by his confession
he might give honour to God. <i>First,</i> That God might be
justified in the threatenings he had spoken by Nathan. "Lord, I
have nothing to say against the justice of them; I deserve what is
threatened, and a thousand times worse." Thus Eli acquiesced in the
like threatenings (<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.3.18" parsed="|1Sam|3|18|0|0" passage="1Sa 3:18">1 Sam. iii.
18</scripRef>), <i>It is the Lord.</i> And Hezekiah (<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p12.6" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.20.19" parsed="|2Kgs|20|19|0|0" passage="2Ki 20:19">2 Kings xx. 19</scripRef>), <i>Good is the word
of the Lord, which thou hast spoken. Secondly,</i> That God might
be clear when he judged, that is, when he executed those
threatenings. David published his confession of sin that when
hereafter he should come into trouble none might say God had done
him any wrong; for he owns the Lord is righteous: thus will all
true penitents justify God by condemning themselves. <i>Thou art
just in all that is brought upon us.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p13">(2.) He confesses his original corruption
(<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.5" parsed="|Ps|51|5|0|0" passage="Ps 51:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>): <i>Behold, I
was shapen in iniquity.</i> He does not call upon God to behold it,
but upon himself. "Come, my soul, look unto the rock out of which I
was hewn, and thou wilt find I was shapen in iniquity. Had I duly
considered this before, I find I should not have made so bold with
the temptation, nor have ventured among the sparks with such tinder
in my heart; and so the sin might have been prevented. Let me
consider it now, not to excuse or extenuate the sin—<i>Lord, I did
so; but indeed I could not help it, my inclination led me to
it</i>" (for as that plea is false, with due care and watchfulness,
and improvement of the grace of God, he might have helped it, so it
is what a true penitent never offers to put in), "but let me
consider it rather as an aggravation of the sin: Lord, I have not
only been guilty of adultery and murder, but I have an adulterous
murderous nature; therefore I abhor myself." David elsewhere speaks
of the admirable structure of his body (<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.14-Ps.139.15" parsed="|Ps|139|14|139|15" passage="Ps 139:14,15">Ps. cxxxix. 14, 15</scripRef>); it was <i>curiously
wrought;</i> and yet here he says it was shapen in iniquity, sin
was twisted in with it; not as it came out of God's hands, but as
it comes through our parents' loins. He elsewhere speaks of the
piety of his mother, that she was God's handmaid, and he pleads his
relation to her (<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.116.16 Bible:Ps.86.16" parsed="|Ps|116|16|0|0;|Ps|86|16|0|0" passage="Ps 116:16,86:16">Ps. cxvi. 16,
lxxxvi. 16</scripRef>), and yet here he says <i>she conceived him
in sin;</i> for though she was, by grace, a child of God, she was,
by nature, a daughter of Eve, and not excepted from the common
character. Note, It is to be sadly lamented by every one of us that
we brought into the world with us a corrupt nature, wretchedly
degenerated from its primitive purity and rectitude; we have from
our birth the snares of sin in our bodies, the seeds of sin in our
souls, and a stain of sin upon both. This is what we call
<i>original sin,</i> because it is as ancient as our original, and
because it is the original of all our actual transgressions. This
is that foolishness which is bound in the heart of a child, that
proneness of evil and backwardness to good which is the burden of
the regenerate and the ruin of the unregenerate; it is a bent to
backslide from God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p14">III. David's acknowledgment of the grace of
God (<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.6" parsed="|Ps|51|6|0|0" passage="Ps 51:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>), both his
good-will towards us ("<i>thou desirest truth in the inward
parts,</i> thou wouldst have us all honest and sincere, and true to
our profession") and his good work in us—"<i>In the hidden part
thou hast made,</i>" or shalt make, "<i>me to know wisdom.</i>"
Note, 1. Truth and wisdom will go very far towards making a man a
good man. A clear head and a sound heart (prudence and sincerity)
bespeak the man of God perfect. 2. What God requires of us he
himself works in us, and he works it in the regular way,
enlightening the mind, and so gaining the will. But how does this
come in here? (1.) God is hereby justified and cleared: "Lord, thou
was not the author of my sin; there is no blame to be laid upon
thee; but I alone must bear it; for thou has many a time admonished
me to be sincere, and hast made me to know that which, if I had
duly considered it, would have prevented my falling into this sin;
had I improved the grace thou hast given me, I should have kept my
integrity." (2.) The sin is hereby aggravated: "Lord, thou desirest
truth; but where was it when I dissembled with Uriah? <i>Thou hast
made me to know wisdom;</i> but I have not lived up to what I have
known." (3.) He is hereby encouraged, in his repentance, to hope
that God would graciously accept him; for, [1.] God had made him
sincere in his resolutions never to return to folly again: <i>Thou
desirest truth in the inward part;</i> this is that which God has
an eye to in a returning sinner, that <i>in his spirit there be no
guile,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.32.2" parsed="|Ps|32|2|0|0" passage="Ps 32:2">Ps. xxxii. 2</scripRef>.
David was conscious to himself of the uprightness of his heart
towards God in his repentance, and therefore doubted not but God
would accept him. [2.] He hoped that God would enable him to make
good his resolutions, that in the hidden part, in the new man,
which is called the <i>hidden man of the heart</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.3.4" parsed="|1Pet|3|4|0|0" passage="1Pe 3:4">1 Pet. iii. 4</scripRef>), he would make him to
know wisdom, so as to discern and avoid the designs of the tempter
another time. Some read it as a prayer: "Lord, in this instance, I
have done foolishly; for the future make me to know wisdom." Where
there is truth God will give wisdom; those that sincerely endeavour
to do their duty shall be taught their duty.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ps.lii-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.7-Ps.51.13" parsed="|Ps|51|7|51|13" passage="Ps 51:7-13" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.51.7-Ps.51.13">
<h4 id="Ps.lii-p14.5">Penitential Petitions.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.lii-p15">7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.   8 Make me to hear
joy and gladness; <i>that</i> the bones <i>which</i> thou hast
broken may rejoice.   9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot
out all mine iniquities.   10 Create in me a clean heart, O
God; and renew a right spirit within me.   11 Cast me not away
from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.   12
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me <i>with
thy</i> free spirit.   13 <i>Then</i> will I teach
transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto
thee.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p16">I. See here what David prays for. Many
excellent petitions he here puts up, to which if we do but add,
"for Christ's sake," they are as evangelical as any other.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p17">1. He prays that God would cleanse him from
his sins and the defilement he had contracted by them (<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.7" parsed="|Ps|51|7|0|0" passage="Ps 51:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>): "<i>Purge me with
hyssop;</i> that is, pardon my sins, and let me know that they are
pardoned, that I may be restored to those privileges which by sin I
have forfeited and lost." The expression here alludes to a
ceremonial distinction, that of cleansing the leper, or those that
were unclean by the touch of a body by sprinkling water, or blood,
or both upon them with a bunch of hyssop, by which they were, at
length, discharged from the restraints they were laid under by
their pollution. "Lord, let me be as well assured of my restoration
to thy favour, and to the privilege of communion with thee, as they
were thereby assured of their re-admission to their former
privileges." But it is founded upon gospel-grace: <i>Purge me with
hyssop,</i> that is, with the blood of Christ applied to my soul by
a lively faith, as water of purification was sprinkled with a bunch
of hyssop. It is the blood of Christ (which is therefore called
<i>the blood of sprinkling,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Heb.12.24" parsed="|Heb|12|24|0|0" passage="Heb 12:24">Heb.
xii. 24</scripRef>), that purges the conscience from dead works,
from that guilt of sin and dread of God which shut us out of
communion with him, as the touch of a dead body, under the law,
shut a man out from the courts of God's house. If this blood of
Christ, which cleanses from all sin, cleanse us from our sin, then
we shall be clean indeed, <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Heb.10.2" parsed="|Heb|10|2|0|0" passage="Heb 10:2">Heb. x.
2</scripRef>. If we be washed in this fountain opened, we shall be
whiter than snow, not only acquitted but accepted; so those are
that are justified. <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.1.18" parsed="|Isa|1|18|0|0" passage="Isa 1:18">Isa. i.
18</scripRef>, <i>Though your sins have been as scarlet, they shall
be white as snow.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p18">2. He prays that, his sins being pardoned,
he might have the comfort of that pardon. He asks not to be
comforted till first he is cleansed; but if sin, the bitter root of
sorrow, be taken away, he can pray in faith, "<i>Make me to hear
joy and gladness</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.8" parsed="|Ps|51|8|0|0" passage="Ps 51:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>), that is, let me have a well-grounded peace, of thy
creating, thy speaking, so that the bones which thou hast broken by
convictions and threatenings may rejoice, may not only be set
again, and eased from the pain, but may be sensibly comforted, and,
as the prophet speaks, may flourish as a herb." Note, (1.) The pain
of a heart truly broken for sin may well be compared to that of a
broken bone; and it is the same Spirit who as a Spirit of bondage
smites and wounds and as a Spirit of adoption heals and binds up.
(2.) The comfort and joy that arise from a sealed pardon to a
penitent sinner are as refreshing as perfect ease from the most
exquisite pain. (3.) It is God's work, not only to speak this joy
and gladness, but to make us hear it and take the comfort of it. He
earnestly desires that God would lift up the light of his
countenance upon him, and so put gladness into his heart, that he
would not only be reconciled to him, but, which is a further act of
grace, let him know that he was so.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p19">3. He prays for a complete and effectual
pardon. This is that which he is most earnest for as the foundation
of his comfort (<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.9" parsed="|Ps|51|9|0|0" passage="Ps 51:9"><i>v.</i>
9</scripRef>): "<i>Hide thy face from my sins,</i> that is, be not
provoked by them to deal with me as I deserve; they are ever before
me, let them be cast behind thy back. <i>Blot out all my
iniquities</i> out of the book of thy account; blot them out, as a
cloud is blotted out and dispelled by the beams of the sun,"
<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.44.22" parsed="|Isa|44|22|0|0" passage="Isa 44:22">Isa. xliv. 22</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p20">4. He prays for sanctifying grace; and this
every true penitent is as earnest for as for pardon and peace,
<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.10" parsed="|Ps|51|10|0|0" passage="Ps 51:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. He does not
pray, "Lord, preserve me my reputation," as Saul, <i>I have sinned,
yet honour me before this people.</i> No; his great concern is to
get his corrupt nature changed: the sin he had been guilty of was,
(1.) An evidence of its impurity, and therefore he prays, <i>Create
in me a clean heart, O God!</i> He now saw, more than ever, what an
unclean heart he had, and sadly laments it, but sees it is not in
his own power to amend it, and therefore begs of God (whose
prerogative it is to create) that he would create in him a clean
heart. He only that made the heart can new-make it; and to his
power nothing is impossible. He created the world by the word of
his power as the God of nature, and it is by the word of his power
as the God of grace that <i>we are clean</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:John.15.3" parsed="|John|15|3|0|0" passage="Joh 15:3">John xv. 3</scripRef>), that we <i>are sanctified,</i>
<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:John.17.17" parsed="|John|17|17|0|0" passage="Joh 17:17">John xvii. 17</scripRef>. (2.) It was
the cause of its disorder, and undid much of the good work that had
been wrought in him; and therefore he prays, "<i>Lord, renew a
right spirit within me;</i> repair the decays of spiritual strength
which this sin has been the cause of, and set me to rights again."
Renew a <i>constant</i> spirit within me, so some. He had, in this
matter, discovered much inconstancy and inconsistency with himself,
and therefore he prays, "Lord, fix me for the time to come, that I
may never in like manner depart from thee."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p21">5. He prays for the continuance of God's
good-will towards him and the progress of his good work in him,
<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.11" parsed="|Ps|51|11|0|0" passage="Ps 51:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>. (1.) That he
might never be shut out from God's favour: "<i>Cast me not away
from thy presence,</i> as one whom thou abhorrest and canst not
endure to look upon." He prays that he might not be thrown out of
God's protection, but that wherever he went, he might have the
divine presence with him, might be under the guidance of his wisdom
and in the custody of his power, and that he might not be forbidden
communion with God: "Let me not be banished thy courts, but always
have liberty of access to thee by prayer." He does not deprecate
the temporal judgments which God by Nathan had threatened to bring
upon him. "God's will be done; but, Lord, rebuke me not in thy
wrath. If the sword come into my house never to depart from it, yet
let me have a God to go to in my distresses, and all shall be
well." (2.) That he might never be deprived of God's grace: <i>Take
not thy Holy Spirit from me.</i> He knew he had by his sin grieved
the Spirit and provoked him to withdraw, and that because he also
was flesh God might justly have said that his Spirit should no more
strive with him nor work upon him, <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p21.2" osisRef="Bible:Gen.6.3" parsed="|Gen|6|3|0|0" passage="Ge 6:3">Gen.
vi. 3</scripRef>. This he dreads more than any thing. We are undone
if God take his Holy Spirit from us. Saul was a sad instance of
this. How exceedingly sinful, how exceedingly miserable, was he,
when the Spirit of the Lord had departed from him! David knew it,
and therefore begs thus earnestly: "Lord, whatever thou take from
me, my children, my crown, my life, yet <i>take not thy Holy Spirit
from me</i>" (see <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p21.3" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.7.15" parsed="|2Sam|7|15|0|0" passage="2Sa 7:15">2 Sam. vii.
15</scripRef>), "but continue thy Holy Spirit with me, to perfect
the work of my repentance, to prevent my relapse into sin, and to
enable me to discharge my duty both as a prince and as a
psalmist."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p22">6. He prays for the restoration of divine
comforts and the perpetual communications of divine grace,
<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.12" parsed="|Ps|51|12|0|0" passage="Ps 51:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. David finds
two ill effects of his sin:—(1.) It had made him sad, and
therefore he prays, <i>Restore unto me the joy of thy
salvation.</i> A child of God knows no true nor solid joy but the
joy of God's salvation, joy in God his Saviour and in the hope of
eternal life. By wilful sin we forfeit this joy and deprive
ourselves of it; our evidences cannot but be clouded and our hopes
shaken. When we give ourselves so much cause to doubt of our
interest in the salvation, how can we expect the joy of it? But,
when we truly repent, we may pray and hope that God will restore to
us those joys. Those that sow in penitential tears shall reap in
the joys of God's salvation when the times of refreshing shall
come. (2.) It had made him weak, and therefore he prays, "<i>Uphold
me with the free Spirit:</i> I am ready to fall, either into sin or
into despair; Lord, sustain me; my own spirit" (though the spirit
of a man will go far towards the sustaining of his infirmity) "is
not sufficient; if I be left to myself, I shall certainly sink;
therefore uphold me with thy Spirit, let him counterwork the evil
spirit that would cast me down from my excellency. Thy Spirit is a
free spirit, a free agent himself, working freely" (and that makes
those free whom he works upon, for where the Spirit of the Lord is
there is liberty)—"thy ingenuous princely Spirit." He was
conscious to himself of having acted, in the matter of Uriah, very
disingenuously and unlike a prince; his behaviour was base and
paltry: "Lord," says he, "let thy Spirit inspire my soul with noble
and generous principles, that I may always act as becomes me." A
free spirit will be a firm and fixed spirit, and will uphold us.
The more cheerful we are in our duty the more constant we shall be
to it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p23">II. See what David here promises, <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.13" parsed="|Ps|51|13|0|0" passage="Ps 51:13"><i>v.</i> 13</scripRef>. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p24">1. What good work he promises to do: <i>I
will teach transgressors thy ways.</i> David had been himself a
transgressor, and therefore could speak experimentally to
transgressors, and resolves, having himself found mercy with God in
the way of repentance, to teach others God's ways, that is, (1.)
Our way to God by repentance; he would teach others that had sinned
to take the same course that he had taken, to humble themselves, to
confess their sins, and seek God's face; and, (2.) God's way
towards us in pardoning mercy; how ready he is to receive those
that return to him. He taught the former by his own example, for
the direction of sinners in repenting; he taught the latter by his
own experience, for their encouragement. By this psalm he is, and
will be to the world's end, teaching transgressors, telling them
what God had done for his soul. Note, Penitents should be
preachers. Solomon was so, and blessed Paul.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p25">2. What good effect he promises himself
from his doing this: "<i>Sinners shall be converted unto thee,</i>
and shall neither persist in their wanderings from thee, nor
despair of finding mercy in their returns to thee." The great thing
to be aimed at in teaching transgressors is their conversion to
God; that is a happy point gained, and happy are those that are
instrumental to contribute towards it, <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Jas.5.20" parsed="|Jas|5|20|0|0" passage="Jam 5:20">Jam. v. 20</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ps.lii-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.14-Ps.51.19" parsed="|Ps|51|14|51|19" passage="Ps 51:14-19" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.51.14-Ps.51.19">
<h4 id="Ps.lii-p25.3">Penitential Petitions.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.lii-p26">14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou
God of my salvation: <i>and</i> my tongue shall sing aloud of thy
righteousness.   15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth
shall show forth thy praise.   16 For thou desirest not
sacrifice; else would I give <i>it:</i> thou delightest not in
burnt offering.   17 The sacrifices of God <i>are</i> a broken
spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not
despise.   18 Do good in thy good pleasure 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.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p27">I. David prays against the guilt of sin,
and prays for the grace of God, enforcing both petitions from a
plea taken from the glory of God, which he promises with
thankfulness to show forth. 1. He prays against the guilt of sin,
that he might be delivered from that, and promises that then he
would praise God, <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.14" parsed="|Ps|51|14|0|0" passage="Ps 51:14"><i>v.</i>
14</scripRef>. The particular sin he prays against is
blood-guiltiness, the sin he had now been guilty of, having slain
Uriah with the sword of the children of Ammon. Hitherto perhaps he
had stopped the mouth of conscience with that frivolous excuse,
that he did not kill him himself; but now he was convinced that he
was the murderer, and, hearing the blood cry to God for vengeance,
he cries to God for mercy: "<i>Deliver me from
blood-guiltiness;</i> let me not lie under the guilt of this kind
which I have contracted, but let it be pardoned to me, and let me
never be left to myself to contract the like guilt again." Note, It
concerns us all to pray earnestly against the guilt of blood. In
this prayer he eyes God as the God of salvation. Note, Those to
whom God is the God of salvation he will deliver from guilt; for
the salvation he is the God of is salvation from sin. We may
therefore plead this with him, "Lord, thou art the God of my
salvation, therefore deliver me from the dominion of sin." He
promises that, if God would deliver him, <i>his tongue should sing
aloud of his righteousness;</i> God should have the glory both of
pardoning mercy and of preventing grace. God's righteousness is
often put for his grace, especially in the great business of
justification and sanctification. This he would comfort himself in
and therefore sing of; and this he would endeavour both to acquaint
and to affect others with; he would <i>sing aloud</i> of it. This
all those should do that have had the benefit of it, and owe their
all to it. 2. He prays for the grace of God and promises to improve
that grace to his glory (<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p27.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.15" parsed="|Ps|51|15|0|0" passage="Ps 51:15"><i>v.</i>
15</scripRef>): "<i>O Lord! open thou my lips,</i> not only that I
may teach and instruct sinners" (which the best preacher cannot do
to any purpose unless God give him the opening of the mouth, and
the tongue of the learned), "but <i>that my mouth may show forth
thy praise,</i> not only that I may have abundant matter for
praise, but a heart enlarged in praise." Guilt had closed his lips,
had gone near to stop the mouth of prayer; he could not for shame,
he could not for fear, come into the presence of that God whom he
knew he had offended, much less speak to him; his heart condemned
him, and therefore he had little confidence towards God. It cast a
damp particularly upon his praises; when he had lost the joys of
his salvation his harp was hung upon the willow-trees; therefore he
prays, "<i>Lord, open my life,</i> put my heart in tune for praise
again." To those that are tongue-tied by reason of guilt the
assurance of the forgiveness of their sins says effectually,
<i>Ephphatha—Be opened;</i> and, when the lips are opened, what
should they speak but the praises of God, as Zacharias did?
<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p27.3" osisRef="Bible:Luke.1.64" parsed="|Luke|1|64|0|0" passage="Lu 1:64">Luke i. 64</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p28">II. David offers the sacrifice of a
penitent contrite heart, as that which he knew God would be pleased
with. 1. He knew well that the sacrificing of beasts was in itself
of no account with God (<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.16" parsed="|Ps|51|16|0|0" passage="Ps 51:16"><i>v.</i>
16</scripRef>): <i>Thou desirest not sacrifice (else would I give
it</i> with all my heart to obtain pardon and peace); <i>thou
delightest not in burnt-offering.</i> Here see how glad David would
have been to give thousands of rams to make atonement for sin.
Those that are thoroughly convinced of their misery and danger by
reason of sin would spare no cost to obtain the remission of it,
<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p28.2" osisRef="Bible:Mic.6.6-Mic.6.7" parsed="|Mic|6|6|6|7" passage="Mic 6:6,7">Mic. vi. 6, 7</scripRef>. But see how
little God valued this. As trials of obedience, and types of
Christ, he did indeed require sacrifices to be offered; but he had
no delight in them for any intrinsic worth or value they had.
<i>Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not.</i> As they cannot make
satisfaction for sin, so God cannot take any satisfaction in them,
any otherwise than as the offering of them is expressive of love
and duty to him. 2. He knew also how acceptable true repentance is
to God (<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p28.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.17" parsed="|Ps|51|17|0|0" passage="Ps 51:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>):
<i>The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.</i> See here, (1.)
What the good work is that is wrought in every true penitent—a
broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. It is a work wrought
upon the heart; that is it that God looks at, and requires, in all
religious exercises, particularly in the exercises of repentance.
It is a sharp work wrought there, no less than the breaking of the
heart; not in despair (as we say, when a man is undone, His heart
is broken), but in necessary humiliation and sorrow for sin. It is
a heart breaking with itself, and breaking from its sin; it is a
heart pliable to the word of God, and patient under the rod of God,
a heart subdued and brought into obedience; it is a heart that is
tender, like Josiah's, and trembles at God's word. Oh that there
were such a heart in us! (2.) How graciously God is pleased to
accept of this. It is <i>the sacrifices of God,</i> not one, but
many; it is instead of all burnt-offering and sacrifice. The
breaking of Christ's body for sin is the only sacrifice of
atonement, for no sacrifice but that could take away sin; but the
breaking of our hearts for sin is a sacrifice of acknowledgment, a
sacrifice of God, for to him it is offered up; he requires it, he
prepares it (he provides this lamb for a burnt-offering), and he
will accept of it. That which pleased God was not the feeding of a
beast, and making much of it, but killing it; so it is not the
pampering of our flesh, but the mortifying of it, that God will
accept. The sacrifice was bound, was bled, was burnt; so the
penitent heart is bound by convictions, bleeds in contrition, and
then burns in holy zeal against sin and for God. The sacrifice was
offered upon the altar that sanctified the gift; so the broken
heart is acceptable to God only through Jesus Christ; there is no
true repentance without faith in him; and this is the sacrifice
which he will not despise. Men despise that which is broken, but
God will not. He despised the sacrifice of torn and broken beasts,
but he will not despise that of a torn and broken heart. He will
not overlook it; he will not refuse or reject it; though it make
God no satisfaction for the wrong done him by sin, yet he does not
despise it. The proud Pharisee despised the broken-hearted
publican, and he thought very meanly of himself; but God did not
despise him. More is implied than is expressed; the great God
overlooks heaven and earth, to look with favour upon a <i>broken
and contrite heart,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.lii-p28.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.66.1 Bible:Isa.57.15" parsed="|Isa|66|1|0|0;|Isa|57|15|0|0" passage="Isa 66:1,Isa 57:15">Isa.
lxvi. 1, 2; lvii. 15</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p29">III. David intercedes for Zion and
Jerusalem, with an eye to the honour of God. See what a concern he
had,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p30">1. For the good of the church of God
(<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p30.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.18" parsed="|Ps|51|18|0|0" passage="Ps 51:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>): <i>Do good
in thy good pleasure unto Zion,</i> that is, (1.) "To all the
particular worshippers in Zion, to all that love and fear thy name;
keep them from falling into such wounding wasting sins as these of
mine; defend and succour all that fear thy name." Those that have
been in spiritual troubles themselves know how to pity and pray for
those that are in like manner afflicted. Or, (2.) To the public
interests of Israel. David was sensible of the wrong he had done to
Judah and Jerusalem by his sin, how it had weakened the hands and
saddened the hearts of good people, and opened the mouths of their
adversaries; he was likewise afraid lest, he being a public person,
his sin should bring judgments upon the city and kingdom, and
therefore he prays to God to secure and advance those public
interests which he had damaged and endangered. He prays that God
would prevent those national judgments which his sin had deserved,
that he would continue those blessings, and carry on that good
work, which it had threatened to retard and put a stop to. He
prays, not only that God would do good to Zion, as he did to other
places, by his providence, but that he would do it in his <i>good
pleasure,</i> with the peculiar favour he bore to that place which
he had chosen to put his name there, that the walls of Jerusalem,
which perhaps were now in the building, might be built up, and that
good work finished. Note, [1.] When we have most business of our
own, and of greatest importance at the throne of grace, yet then we
must not forget to pray for the church of God; nay, our Master has
taught us in our daily prayers to begin with that, <i>Hallowed be
thy name, Thy kingdom come.</i> [2.] The consideration of the
prejudice we have done to the public interests by our sins should
engage us to do them all the service we can, particularly by our
prayers.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.lii-p31">2. For the honour of the churches of God,
<scripRef id="Ps.lii-p31.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.51.19" parsed="|Ps|51|19|0|0" passage="Ps 51:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>. If God would
show himself reconciled to him and his people, as he had prayed,
then they should go on with the public services of his house, (1.)
Cheerfully to themselves. The sense of God's goodness to them would
enlarge their hearts in all the instances and expressions of
thankfulness and obedience. They will then come to his tabernacle
with burnt-offerings, with whole burnt-offerings, which were
intended purely for the glory of God, and they shall offer, not
lambs and rams only, but bullocks, the costliest sacrifices, upon
his altar. (2.) Acceptably to God: "<i>Thou shalt be pleased with
them,</i> that is, we shall have reason to hope so when we perceive
the sin taken away which threatened to hinder thy acceptance."
Note, It is a great comfort to a good man to think of the communion
that is between God and his people in their public assemblies, how
he is honoured by their humble attendance on him and they are happy
in his gracious acceptance of it.</p>
</div></div2>