Psalms 51:1

_HAVE MERCY UPON ME, O GOD, ACCORDING TO THY LOVINGKINDNESS: ACCORDING UNTO THE MULTITUDE OF THY TENDER MERCIES BLOT OUT MY TRANSGRESSIONS._ Psalms 32:1 was written AFTER this Psalms 51:1, before David's adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. Since there he invites all to share with him the blessing of experienced forgiveness by heartily confessing sin, so here he seeks it, and promises, in the event of receiving it, to teach other transgressors the way of peace. Psalms 51:1.-Prayer resting on confession of actual and original sin (Psalms 51:1); purification sought, and the gift of the Spirit ...

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 of his compassions, _to intimate that mercy of an ordinary kind would not suffice for so great a sinner. Had he prayed God to be favorable, simply according to his clemency or goodness, even that would have amounted to a confession that his case was a bad one; but when he speaks of his sin as remissible, only through the countless multitude of the compassions of God, he represents it as peculiarly atrocious. There is an implied antithesis between the greatness of the mercies sought for, and the greatness of the transgression which required them. Still more emphatical is the expression which f...

1-6 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, who alone can heal them? he drew up, by Divine teaching, an account of the workings of his heart toward God. Those that truly repent of their sins, will not be ashamed to own their repentance. Also, he instructs others what to do, and what to say. David had not only done much, but suffered much in the cause of God; yet he flees to God's infinite mercy, and depends upon that alone for pardon and peace. He begs the pardon of sin. The blood of Christ, sprinkled upon the conscience, blots out the transgression, and, having reconciled us to God, reconciles us to ourselves. The believer longs to have the whole debt of his sins blotted out, and every stain cleansed; he would be thoroughly washed from all his sins; but the hypocr...

PSALM LI _The psalmist, with a deeply penitent heart, prays for remission_ _of sins_, 1-4; _which he confesses, and deeply deplores_, 5-14; _states his willingness to offer sacrifice, but is convinced that_ _God prefers a broken heart to all kinds of oblations_, 15-17; _prays for the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem, and_ _promises that then the Lord's sacrifice shall be properly_ _performed_, 18, 19. NOTES ON PSALM LI The _title_ is long: "To the chief M

HAVE MERCY OPON ME, O GOD - This is the utterance of a full heart; a heart crushed and broken by the consciousness of sin. The psalmist had been made to see his great guilt; and his first act is to cry out for mercy. There is no attempt to excuse his sin, or to apologise for it; there is no effort to vindicate his conduct; there is no complaint of the righteousness of that holy law which condemned him. It was “guilt” that was before his mind; guilt only; deep and dreadful guilt. The appeal properly expresses the state of a mind that is overwhelmed at the remembrance of crime, and that comes with earnestness to God to plead for pardon. The only hope of a sinner when crushed with the consciousness of sin is the mercy of God; and the plea for that mercy will be urged in the most earnest and impassioned language that the mind can employ. “Accordingly to thy Iovingkindness.” On the meaning of...

EXPOSITION THIS is the first of a series of fifteen psalms assigned by their titles to David, and mostly attached to special circumstances in his life, which are said to have furnished the occasions for their composition. The school of writers which brushes aside the "titles" as unauthorized and unhistorical, and so regards itself as wholly free to assign to any psalm any date and any author that it prefers, places this among post-Captivity compositions, especially on account of Psalms 51:18, Psalms 51:19 (so Professor Cheyne, Dr. Robertson Smith, the Four Friends, and others). Those, on the contrary, who consider the "titles" to be_ _entitled to regard and respect, even if not absolutely authoritative,_ _find either nothing in the psalm unsuitable to David's t

HAVE MERCY UPON ME, O GOD,.... David, under a sense of sin, does not run away from God, but applies unto him, and casts himself at his feet, and upon his mercy; which shows the view he had of his miserable condition, and that he saw there was mercy in God, which gave him hope; and upon his bended knees, and in the exercise of faith, he asks for it; ACCORDING TO THY LOVINGKINDNESS; not according to his merits, nor according to the general mercy of God, which carnal men rely upon; but according to his everlasting and unchangeable love in Christ; from which as the source, and through whom as the medium, special mercy comes to the children of men. The acts of special mercy are according to the sovereign will of God: he is not moved to mercy neither by the merits nor misery of men, but by his free grace and favour; it is love that sets mercy to work: this is a most glaring gleam of Gospel li...

This is a portion of Scripture, which can never be read too often. If any among us have never found mercy, let them use this Psalm as their own personal prayer; while those who have found mercy can read between the lines, and read the sweetness of pardon into the bitterness of sorrow for sin. This Psalm was written by David when Nathan came to him after his great sin with Bathsheba. He needed Nathan to come to him to rebuke him. If David had not been in a very sad state of heart, he would not have fallen into the sin; and it was that state of heart which left him so hardened, so obdurate, that he needed Nathan pointedly to say to him, «Thou art the man.» After that, he wrote and prayed this truly penitential Psalm. Psalms 51:1. _Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness_ He used to talk about being God's servant; but he says nothing about that now. He u

HAVE This Psalm must ever be, in its successive steps, the mould of the experience of a sinning saint who comes back to full communion and service. The steps are: (1) sin thoroughly judged before God (vs. 1-6); (2) forgiveness and cleansing through the blood (v. 7.f.c.) (3) cleansing (v. 7,1,c, to 10.) Compare (John 13:4); (Ephesians 5:26); (1 John 1:9). (4) Spirit-filled for joy and power (vs. 11,12); (5) service (v. 13); (6) worship (vs 14-17); (7) the restored saint in fellowship with God, not about self, but about the blessing of Zion. Personally, it was David's pathway to restored communion after his sin with Bathsheba. Dispensationally, it will be the

Psalms 51 The Confession _ 1. Conviction and prayer for forgiveness (Psalms 51:1)_ 2. Prayer for cleansing and restoration (Psalms 51:9) 3. Blood guiltiness acknowledged (Psalms 51:14) 4. Prayer for Zion (Psalms 51:18) This great penitential Psalm, according to the inscription, was the outburst of confession and repentance of David when Nathan had uncovered his sin. Well has it been said, “So profound a conviction of sin, so deep and unfeigned a penitence, so true a confession, a heart so tender, so contrite, a de