Psalm 51

Psalm 51 belongs to Book II of the Psalms (Psalms 42–72). The preceding psalm, Psalm 50, is a psalm of Asaph declaring that God desires a sacrifice of thanksgiving rather than animal offerings. Psalm 51 continues this theme, voicing one person's confession of sin and the offering of "a broken spirit."

Structure

• Superscription Identifies the psalm as David's, composed when Nathan came to him after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Korean Bibles do not assign a verse number to the superscription.
• Verses 1–2 Appealing to God's lovingkindness and tender mercies, the psalmist asks God to blot out his transgressions and wash him.
• Verses 3–6 He confesses that his sin is ever before him. He says that he has sinned against God alone and was shapen in iniquity, and he acknowledges that God desires truth in the inward parts.
• Verses 7–12 He asks to be purged with hyssop. He pleads with God to create a clean heart in him, not to take His holy spirit from him, and to restore to him the joy of salvation.
• Verses 13–17 He resolves to teach transgressors God's ways. He asks to be delivered from bloodguiltiness and confesses that the sacrifice God seeks is not burnt offering but a broken and contrite heart.
• Verses 18–19 He prays that God would do good to Zion and build the walls of Jerusalem. Then, he declares, sacrifices of righteousness and burnt offerings will be offered with delight.

Key Verses

• Psalm 51:4 "That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest" — quoted by Paul in Romans 3:4.
• Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God" — a petition for the renewal of the heart as an act of divine creation.
• Psalm 51:17 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit" — frequently cited for placing a heart of repentance above outward form.

People and Places

• David: the author named in the superscription.
• Bathsheba and Nathan: mentioned only in the superscription. The events behind the psalm are recorded in 2 Samuel 12.
• Zion and Jerusalem: the places for whose restoration the psalmist prays in verse 18.

Points for Reflection

• The "bloodguiltiness" of verse 14 is commonly connected with the death of Uriah, although the text itself names no one. Scholars also differ on whether the superscription was attached to the psalm from the beginning.
• Verse 5 is cited in the Reformed tradition and elsewhere as evidence that human beings bear a sinful disposition from birth. Other interpreters read it as a poetic expression of a deeply personal confession.
• Interpretations of verse 11, "take not thy holy spirit from me," diverge. Some relate it to the question of whether a believer can lose the Holy Spirit, while others take it to refer to the spirit of anointing given to the king (1 Samuel 16:14). This difference also bears on discussions of the perseverance of the saints.
• Verses 16–17 say that God does not delight in sacrifice, yet verse 19 says that sacrifices will again be offered with delight. Some scholars regard verses 18–19 as a postexilic addition.

In the Korean Church

The psalm is frequently used as a text for sermons and prayer meetings on the theme of repentance, and worship songs whose lyrics are drawn from verses 10–12 are widely sung. The Revised Common Lectionary appoints this psalm for Ash Wednesday, so churches that follow the liturgical calendar read it at the beginning of Lent. The Western church has long counted it among the seven Penitential Psalms.