Psalm 51:1-12

Psalm 51 is the story of a guilt-ridden psalmist who confesses and, instead of finding wrath, finds restoration and re-creation. The setting of this psalm is meant to be read in light of David’s infidelity with Bathsheba and subsequent confrontation with the prophet Nathan. Therefore, the background context of this passage is riddled with the guilt of infidelity and murder, as David had Bathsheba’s husband murdered to be with her himself, as well as the grief of losing their first child. Therefore, it has been traditionally held as a personal/individual lament, understood as one of the seven penitential psalms (Pss. 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143), and in this case specifically, it is a crying out to God and a confession of the sins that David has perpetrated.

This passage deals with the topic of sin, the sin here is understood as a willful rebellion against God because of David’s transgressions. But this is not solely a passage about sin, and the sinful character of man, but rather, the psalm is more importantly about the grace and mercy of God, and the character of love that God is at their very core. This is a passage about restoration, reconciliation, and re-creation told through the lament of sin as well as the praises of someone who has been released from the prison and bondage of sin. This passage is a look at confession and conviction, where we see lamentation and self-examination move towards a broken and redeemed heart. It is, for us, an insight into the power of confession, the weight of sin, and the generative restoration of God’s love and grace and bears with it great exegetical/homiletical reflection. Clare Brooks notes in her essay on Psalm 51, “This Psalm speaks of places in our past that we fear to tread, lest we lose ourselves in the labyrinth of despair. Yet this Psalm also celebrates redemption: We will be purged with hyssop, we will be whiter than snow, we will rejoice in our salvation. The preacher's challenge is to invite the worshiper to a new experience of both the pain of self-examination and the relief of redemption.”[1]

Psalm 51 begins with a plea from the psalmist to God for an outpouring of mercy, love, and compassion in the face of great transgression, sins, and guilt. It is a way of the psalmist calling back on previous experiences with God in the face of sin and rebellion. In this, we see a harkening back to events, such Exodus 34, where we see Moses’ interaction with God after Israel idolatrous turn, making the golden calf, where God is described as merciful, compassionate, loving and faithful. The thought here is that the psalmist is recalling this story and using the same terminology as a plea for similar treatment, as God did with Israel after their rebellion and sin.

The text also highlights the almost parental love God has for his people, calling for the compassion and mercy of that which would be had between a parent and their child. Elisabeth Webb notes in her homiletical reflection, “The text begins with this cry for mercy, and is rooted in the speaker’s prior experience of who God is. The Hebrew word hesed, translated in verse 1 as ‘steadfast love,’ refers to the covenantal relationship between God and the people of Israel. God has promised to be theirs, and they have promised to be God’s; the covenant is a mutual promise to ‘be for’ each other. The word translated ‘abundant mercy,’ raham, is rooted in rehem, or ‘womb.’ The speaker is calling on God’s ‘womb love,’ the overflowing, eternally connected love that a mother has for her child.” She adds a summation, which is extremely important to the whole of Psalm 51, “The speaker knows who God is and pleads for mercy from within the fold of God’s never-ending compassion.”[2]

The psalmist then turns and notes that their guilt and sin is always before them. This is important, because it indicates that they are aware of the way they sinned against God. In v.4, the Psalmist says, “Against you, you alone, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,” This is not to say that no others were impacted by the actions of David, nor is it to deny the very real and earthly consequences of our actions. In the case of David, there are consequences for his sin that impact many others, including Uriah, Bathsheba, his child, and himself. v.4 is not making an argument that sin has no impact on others, but only to signify that the psalmist is acknowledging the way sin impacts our relationship with God. Brooks observes, “The psalmist recognizes that all sin is sin against God. Other people are involved, and the process of forgiveness involves them; however, the root of sin is distortion of our relationship with God.”[3]

Then, in v.5, the psalmist makes the point that sin was in them from birth, “Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.” This has been taken to mean that sin is passed down either via biology or through the act of sex, which has, at times, distorted our understanding of intimacy. J. Clinton McCann states in The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, “It is not intended to suggest that sin is transmitted biologically or that sexuality is sinful by definition. Rather, it conveys the inevitability of human fallibility. In each human life, in the human situation, sin is pervasive… While sin is inevitable and pervasive in the human situation, it is not ultimately the determining reality.”[4] 

v.7 then requests cleansing, to be washed “whiter than snow”, and refers to the use of hyssop where one is made clean. This could be referring to cleansing ceremonies, where the practice of using hyssop was common as a way of someone who is experiencing the effect of disease, think leprosy, and a way of cleansing themselves to be reintegrated back into their community. In our passage, this idea is used as a way of referencing reintegration for the psalmist back into community with God through forgiveness. The Willem VanGemeren, in the The Expositor’s Bible Commentary notes, “He prays that the Lord, like a priest, may cleanse him from his defilement. The unclean, such as lepers, used to present themselves before the priest on the occasion of their purification. The priest, being satisfied that the unclean person had met the requirements for purification, would take a bunch of ‘hyssop’ and sprinkle the person with water, symbolic of ritual cleansing. Here the psalmist petitions the Lord to be his priest by taking the hyssop and by declaring him cleansed from all sin.”[5] v.7 is a prayer and plea to be made right before God, to be cleansed, to be restored and reintegrated into right standing and relationship.

In vv.8-12, we see the psalmist make a plea for God to recreate and reconcile them. This comes to a head in Psalm 51’s most memorable verse set, vv.10-12, which say, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing Spirit.” (vv.10-12 NRSV) The psalmist doesn’t just want to be forgiven, but instead, wants to be recreated, brought into new life and new creation. McCann observes, “The verb ‘create’ (bara, בָּרָא) is used in the OT only of God’s activity. It is particularly prominent in the opening chapters of genesis and in Isaiah 4—55, where God’s creative activity involves the doing of a ‘new thing’... In short, it is God’s fundamental character to restore, rehabilitate, and recreate sinners… in Psalm 51, the psalmist affirms that his or her life depends on God’s willingness to forgive and God’s ability to re-create sinners.”[6] The psalmist is praying and crying out for salvation, for new life, for reconciliation. It is a plea for rehabilitation and restoration.

This passage bears a powerful passage about the weight of sin, the destruction it can and often does bring, but most importantly, Psalm 51 is also about the love, mercy, and grace of God, restoring, reconciling, and recreating us as a people. This psalm is a reminder that confession and self-awareness/reflection are important to our spiritual development, especially in the face of sin. However, it is also a reminder that God’s love and mercy are greater than our folly and sin.

As we conclude, I could think of no better way to close than by sharing this quote, “In short, Psalm 51 is not just about Israel or David or some unknown ancient psalmist; it is also about us! It is about who were are and how we are as individuals, families, churches - sin pervades our lives. It’s embarrassing. That is the bad news. But the good news of Psalm 51 is even more prominent. Psalm 51 is not just about human nature; it is about God’s nature. And the good news is that God is willing to forgive sinners and is able to re-create people…. grace is fundamental. That is the good news.”[7]  We can be made new through God’s grace, recreated by God’s love, and that is good news indeed!

[1] Claire Vonk Brooks, “Between Text and Sermon: Psalm 51.” Interpretation 49, no. 1 (Jan, 1995), 62.

[2] Elizabeth Webb, “Commentary on Psalm 51:1-12,” Working Preacher from Luther Seminary, accessed April 25, 2024, https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fifth-sunday-in-lent-2/commentary-on-psalm-511-12-3

[3] Brooks, 63.

[4] J. Clinton McCann, “Psalms,” section, in The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary: A Commentary in Twelve Volumes, vol. 4 (Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1996), 639–1280, 885, 886.

[5] Willem A. VanGemeren and Frank E. Gaebelein. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: With the New International Version of the Holy Bible. Vol. 5. 12 vols. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992, 381.

[6] McCann, 886.

[7] McCann, 888.