1._Have mercy upon me. _David begins, as I have already remarked, by praying for pardon; and his sin having been of an aggravated description, he prays with unwonted earnestness. He does not satisfy himself with one petition. Having mentioned the _loving-kindness _of the Lord, he adds _the multitude... [ Continue Reading ]
3._For If know my sins _(259) He now discovers his reason for imploring pardon with so much vehemency, and this was the painful disquietude which his sins caused him, and which could only be relieved by his obtaining reconciliation with God. This proves that his prayer did not proceed from dissimula... [ Continue Reading ]
4._Against thee, thee only, have I sinned _(260) It is the opinion of some that he here adverts to the circumstance of his sin, although it was committed against man, being concealed from every eye but that of God. None was aware of the double wrong which he had inflicted upon Uriah, nor of the want... [ Continue Reading ]
5_Behold, I was born in iniquity, _etc He now proceeds further than the mere acknowledgement of one or of many sins, confessing that he brought nothing but sin with him into the world, and that his nature was entirely depraved. He is thus led by the consideration of one offense of peculiar atrocity... [ Continue Reading ]
6._Behold, thou hast desired truth, etc. _This verse confirms the remark which we already made, that David was far from seeking to invent an apology for his sin, when he traced it back to the period of his conception, and rather intended by this to acknowledge that from his very infancy he was an he... [ Continue Reading ]
7._Thou shalt purge me with hyssop _He still follows out the same strain of supplication; and the repetition of his requests for pardon proves how earnestly he desired it. He speaks of _hyssop _(266) _, _in allusion to the ceremonies of the law; and though he was far from putting his trust in the me... [ Continue Reading ]
10_Create in me a clean heart, O God! _In the previous part of the psalm David has been praying for pardon. He now requests that the grace of the Spirit, which he had forfeited, or deserved to have forfeited, might be restored to him. The two requests are quite distinct, though sometimes confounded... [ Continue Reading ]
12_Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation _He cannot dismiss his grief of mind until he have obtained peace with God. This he declares once and again, for David had no sympathy with those who can indulge themselves in ease when they are lying under the divine displeasure. In the latter clause of t... [ Continue Reading ]
13_I will teach transgressors thy ways _Here he speaks of the gratitude which he would feel should God answer his prayer, and engages to show it by exerting himself in effecting the conversion of others by his example. Those who have been mercifully recovered from their falls will feel inflamed by t... [ Continue Reading ]
14_Deliver me from bloods _His recurring so often to petitions for pardon, proves how far David was from flattering himself with unfounded hopes, and what a severe struggle he sustained with inward terrors. According to some, he prays in this verse to be delivered from the guilt of the blood of Uria... [ Continue Reading ]
16._For thou wilt not accept a sacrifice _By this language he expresses his confidence of obtaining pardon, although he brought nothing to God in the shape of compensation, but relied entirely upon the riches of Divine mercy. He confesses that he comes to God both poor and needy; but is persuaded th... [ Continue Reading ]
17_The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. _He had shown that sacrifices have no such efficacy in procuring the Divine favor as the Jews imagined; and now he declares that he needed to bring nothing whatever to God but a contrite and humbled heart. Nothing more is necessary, on the part of the si... [ Continue Reading ]
18_Do good to Zion in thy good pleasure: build thou the walls of Jerusalem _(273) From prayer in his own behalf he now proceeds to offer up supplications for the collective Church of God, a duty which he may have felt to be the more incumbent upon him from the circumstance of his having done what he... [ Continue Reading ]
19_Then shalt thou accept sacrifices of righteousness _In these words there is an apparent, but only an apparent, inconsistency with others which he had used in the preceding context. He had declared sacrifices to be of no value when considered in themselves, but now he acknowledges them to be accep... [ Continue Reading ]