_David prayeth for remission of sins, whereof he maketh a deep confession: he prayeth for sanctification. God delighteth not in sacrifice, but in sincerity: David prayeth for the church._ To the chief musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathshe... [ Continue Reading ]
WASH ME THOROUGHLY, &C.— The original כבסני ברבה _hereb kabseini_ is, _multiply,_ or, _in multiplying, wash me from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin;_ for the word _multiply_ refers to both verbs, _wash me and cleanse me,_ and is well rendered in our version by _thoroughly wash me;_ as a ga... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR I ACKNOWLEDGE MY TRANSGRESSIONS— אדע _adang; I know, I am conscious of my transgression._ When David saw himself in the parable, and had pronounced his own condemnation, he then saw his sins in their proper aggravations, and his iniquity _was ever before him._ His own conscience condemned him, a... [ Continue Reading ]
AGAINST THEE, &C.— Injuries done to private persons are offences against government, and, as to the right of punishment, offences only against government. And therefore, though David had injured Bathsheba, whom he had corrupted, and Uriah, whom he had murdered; yet, as no one could call him to an ac... [ Continue Reading ]
BEHOLD, I WAS SHAPEN IN INIQUITY, &C.— _Behold, I was born,_ &c. I do not find that the original word חוללתי _cholalti,_ which we render _shapen,_ does ever so signify. It unquestionably denotes _to bring forth,_ as a woman does her child; and in all the places where it is rendered _shapen,_ it woul... [ Continue Reading ]
BEHOLD, THOU DESIREST TRUTH, &C.— The common interpretation here is, that David makes mention of God's loving sincerity, in the _inward parts, i.e._ the mind and spirit, by way of aggravating his own guilt, for the shameful dissimulation that he had been guilty of with respect to Uriah. To which he... [ Continue Reading ]
PURGE ME WITH HYSSOP— תחטאני _techatteeni:_ properly, _expiate my sin,_ with hyssop. The Psalmist alludes to the purification from the leprosy; Leviticus 14:52 or from the touch of a dead body; Numbers 19:19 both which were to be done by the sprinkling of water and other things with hyssop. The Psal... [ Continue Reading ]
MAKE ME TO HEAR JOY AND GLADNESS— The displeasure which God expressed against the sins he had been guilty of, and the deep sense he had of the aggravated nature of them, filled him with such pains and agonies of mind, that he compares them to that exquisite torture which he must have felt had all hi... [ Continue Reading ]
HIDE THY FACE FROM MY SINS— The verb סתר _satar,_ properly signifies _to veil,_ or hide with a veil. The meaning is, "Do not look upon my sins with a severe eye, nor place them in the light of thy countenance with all their aggravations; but draw, as it were, a veil between thyself and them, that th... [ Continue Reading ]
CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART— _A clean heart,_ is a heart free from those impure and disordered passions of which David had too fatally felt the effects, and in possession and under the influence of those sacred dispositions of piety, holiness, and virtue, in which the moral rectitude and purity of th... [ Continue Reading ]
CAST ME NOT AWAY FROM THY PRESENCE— _From before thy face._ Heb. The _coming to God's presence,_ was the approaching the tabernacle of the ark, and its courts, where the sacrifices were offered, and the visible tokens of God's majesty appeared in the cloud and glory: and therefore, to _be cast out o... [ Continue Reading ]
RESTORE UNTO ME THE JOY OF THY SALVATION— i.e. The pleasure I have formerly enjoyed, of having a special interest in thy favour, and of being assured that thou wilt continually protect and deliver me from all mine enemies and troubles. The next clause might be rendered nearer to the Hebrew, _Let a f... [ Continue Reading ]
AND SINNERS SHALL BE CONVERTED UNTO THEE— i.e. "Be persuaded, by my declaring to them the mercy I have experienced in the forgiveness of my sins, to return to thee by repentance, that they also may obtain the pardon of their offences." Happy for mankind, says Dr. Delaney, upon the consideration urge... [ Continue Reading ]
DELIVER ME FROM BLOOD-GUILTINESS— This is the proper sense of the expression. The Hebrew דמים _damim,_ is _bloods,_ in the plural; which generally signifies _murder._ See 2 Samuel 16:7.; Psalms 59:2.; Ezekiel 7:23. The meaning of the petition here is, "Deliver me from the bloods I have unrighteously... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THOU DESIREST NOT SACRIFICE, &C.— Chandler renders this verse, _For thou takest no pleasure in sacrifice, that I should give it; thou approvest not whole burnt-offerings._ There were no sacrifices of atonement appointed by the law for murder and adultery; and therefore the Psalmist says, that Go... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SACRIFICES OF GOD, &C.— The sacrifices of God are either, such as were fit to be offered to God in consequence of such grievous offences as David had committed, or such as God would regard, or as could be in any degree available to secure his forgiveness through the alone merit of the great Aton... [ Continue Reading ]
DO GOOD IN THY GOOD PLEASURE, &C.— It has been observed, that this and the next verse seem plainly to shew this Psalm to have been written during the captivity, and therefore the title to be wrong; and that when the Psalm was penned, God could not accept any offering, because the temple and altar we... [ Continue Reading ]