Psalm 51 Commentary: The Bible tells us that sin is deceitful. And with its deception, it can harden us.

But every once in a while – or hopefully sooner than that – God breaks in on our lives and helps us recognize the gravity of our sin.

And that’s the attitude of David in Psalm 51. God has caused David to once again be sensitive to spiritual realities and to confess his sin openly and honestly to the Lord.

So, let’s turn our attention to Psalm 51.

Now, in many cases it seems that the superscription to individual psalms is not all that helpful for the sake of interpreting the content of the rest of that psalm. But Psalm 51 is not like that at all. Because in Psalm 51, we are given one of the most informative superscriptions that appears before any psalm.

KJV Psalm 51:1

<[To/For] the [chief Musician/Choir Director/Music Director],

So, our minds hearken back to the story told in 2 Samuel 12 where David is confronted by the prophet Nathan about his adultery with Bathsheba and his subsequent murder of her husband.

Nathan – as you recall – sets David up with a story about a wealthy man who steals the one beloved sheep that a poor man had. And naturally, David gets stirred up by this story and declares the death sentence on this rich man. And then of course Nathan declares to David that he himself is that rich man.

By extension – then – David deserves the fate that he declared for that rich man from Nathan’s story. David deserves to die.

But David humbly confesses his sin. And Nathan declares that God has declared that David would not die.

So, there was forgiveness – great forgiveness from God for great transgression. And then the story in 2 Samuel moves on from there quickly.

But as we read through Psalm 51, it’s almost as if the psalmist doesn’t want to leave that scene. He wants to linger in that moment in which David was confronted by Nathan and then responded to God’s rebuke.

The way that 2 Samuel 12 portrays it, Nathan rebuked David – David repented – and then the story moves on. David’s repentance there is presented as very brief.

Psalm 51 though elaborates on David’s feelings. It gets into David’s mind as he laments his own awful sin to the Lord. It captures the moment of David being confronted by God through Nathan.

And so, for us, it’s an example of repentance – brought into focus. How does a person who loves God respond when he comes to realize the enormity of his sin?

This psalm will fill-out for us what it can look like to practice 1 John 1:9 – to confess our sins and find God to be faithful and just to forgive us all our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

So, as we begin to study this psalm, we start with David’s initial plea for mercy from God.

[Have mercy upon/Be gracious to] me, O God, [according to/because of] thy [lovingkindness/loyal love]:

So, David is asking for mercy. He’s asking for his transgressions to be blotted out.

What’s the basis for this? How can David feel justified in asking for God to have mercy on him?

Well, it’s certainly not the cleanness of David’s hands – or the purity of his life. That’s gone forever for David at this point.

No – David doesn’t come to God