Psalms 51:6

_BEHOLD, THOU DESIREST TRUTH IN THE INWARD PARTS: AND IN THE HIDDEN PART THOU SHALT MAKE ME TO KNOW WISDOM._ Behold. The repetition of exclamation (cf. Psalms 51:5) implies the close connection of Psalms 51:5 -`My very nature, as that of all mankind, is tainted with sin, but thou desirest sincere righteousness: therefore there urgent need that thou, who alone canst, shouldst impart righteousness, and its first beginning, the pardon of sin.' THOU DESIREST TRUTH IN THE INWARD PARTS - "truth," i:e., true righteousness, as opposed to self-deceit and hypocrisy, of which he was guilty all the time (nearly a year) that he continued living in sin, though not giving up the outward profession of a worshipper of God ...

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 heir of eternal death. He thus represents his whole life to have been obnoxious to condemnation. So far is he from imitating those who arraign God as the author of sin, and impiously suggest that he might have given man a better nature, that in the verse now before us he opposes God’s judgment to our corruption, insinuating, that every time we appear before him, we are certain of being condemned, inasmuch as we are born in sin, while he delights in holiness and uprightness. He goes further, and asserts, that in order to meet the approval of God, it is not enough that our lives be conformed to th...

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...

Verse Psalms 51:6. _BEHOLD, THOU DESIREST TRUTH_] I am the very reverse of what I should be. _Thou desirest truth in the heart_; but in me there is nothing but sin and falsity. _THOU SHALT MAKE ME TO KNOW WISDOM._] Thou wilt teach me to restrain every inordinate propensity, and to act according to the dictates of sound wisdom, the rest of my life....

BEHOLD, THOU DESIREST TRUTH IN THE INWARD PARTS - The word rendered “desirest,” means to have pleasure in; to delight in; and the idea is that this only is agreeable to God, or this only accords with his own nature. The word rendered “inward parts,” means properly the reins, and is usually employed to denote the seat of the mind, the feelings, the intellect. Compare the notes at Job 38:36. The allusion is to the “soul;” and the idea is, that God could be satisfied with nothing “but” purity in the soul. The “connection” is this: David was deeply conscious of his own pollution; his deep, early, native depravity. This, in his own mind, he contrasted strongly with the nature of God, and with what God must require, and be pleased with. He “felt” that God could not approve of or love such a heart as his, so vile, so polluted, so corrupt; and he felt that it was necessary th

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

BEHOLD, THOU DESIREST TRUTH IN THE INWARD PARTS,.... With delight and pleasure, as the word d signifies: meaning either Christ, the truth and the life, formed and dwelling in the hearts of his people; or the Gospel, the word of truth, which has a place there; and particularly that branch of it which proclaims pardon to sensible sinners, and is the ground of hope within them: or else a true and hearty confession of sin, which David now made; or rather internal holiness and purity of heart, in opposition to the corruption of nature before acknowledged: this is what is agreeable to the nature of God, is required by his holy law, and is wrought in the hearts of his people in regeneration; and this is "truth", real, and not imaginary, genuine and unfeigned; where it is there is a true sense of sin, a right sight of Christ, unfeigned faith in him, sincere love to him, hope in him without hypoc...

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

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

LI. A PENITENTIAL PSALM. Psalms 51:1. Prayer for pardon and inward renewal. Psalms 51:13. A promise to proclaim God's mercy and bring sinners back to Him. Psalms 51:18 f. Prayer for the restoration of Jerusalem, which will make sacrifice possible and popular once more. The Ps. was not written by David, and still less by David after his double sin of murder and adultery. How could David have said, Against thee, thee only, have I sinned? Besides, the Ps. shows the influence of exilic and post-exilic literature. The mention of the Holy Spirit occurs here only and Isaiah 63:10 in the so-called Third Is