RRB notes on Psalm 51
Psalms 51 KJV
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.
1. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. [a]
[a] A great penitential prayer (see note on Neh. 1:5).
2. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3. For I acknowledge my transgressions: [1] [b] and my sin is ever before me.
[1] Sins against God should be confessed to God, sins against individuals should be confessed to those individuals, and sins against a congregation should be confessed to the local congregation (Matt. 18:15-17; 1 Cor. 5:1-13; 1 Tim. 5:20).
[b] 1 John 1:9; Prov. 28:13.
4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, [2] and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
[2] According to the greatest Moslem professional teachers of the “Holy” Koran, David would never have to confess any sins (Sura 4:111) because he was not only “pure” (Sura 19:13) but “sinless” (Sura 19:14, footnote 15:35). Religious garbage!
5. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10. Create in me a clean heart, [c] O God; and renew a right spirit [d] within me. [3]
[c] Figurative, not the literal organ.
[d] A right attitude.
[3] The verse has nothing to do with the New Birth by the Holy Spirit, as can be seen by verse 11.
11. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. [4]
[4] This verse runs completely contrary to the “historic position” of Fundamental Baptists who pervert the entire Old Testament to prove eternal security in all dispensations. The truth is that David could have lost the Holy Spirit but didn’t (2 Sam. 12:13). His predecessor, Saul, did (1 Sam. 16:14). Before Saul, Samson lost the Holy Spirit (Judg. 16:20) but got Him back again (Judg. 16:28-30 cf. Heb. 11:32).
12. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
15. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
16. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: [5] thou delightest not in burnt offering.
[5] David knew that no sacrifice could pay for the sins of adultery and murder. They were (in the Old Testament) what a Catholic would call “mortal sins.” (Rome created an ungodly mess by stealing the Old Testament material in an attempt to create a fake Israeli theocracy – the Roman Catholic State-Church.) In the Old Testament, when a man committed murder, the lamb on the altar did him no good at all: the “shed blood of the lamb” couldn’t pay for that sin (see note on Exod. 29:37).
17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
18. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. [6]
[6] Notice, again, how the Psalm switches from an individual (David) to the nation of Israel (see notes on Psa. 25:16, 28:7).
19. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar. [e]
[e] A Millennial reference that has no application to the Church Age (Col. 2:14-17 cf. Ezek. 43-46).
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Note on Nehemiah 1:5 KJV
And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: [2]
[2] This is one of those penitential prayers, like Ezra’s prayer (Ezra 9:5-15), Daniel’s prayer (Dan. 9:3-19), and David’s prayer (Psa. 51).
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Note on Exodus 29:37 KJV
Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, [h] and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy. [9]
[h] Ezek. 43:25.
[9] See Exodus 30:29 and notice the remarkable illustration of this verse in 1 Kings 2:28-34 dealing with Joab. He ran to the altar because it was “holy,” but he forgot that the burnt lamb on the altar of offering cannot pay for the sins of murder or adultery (Num. 35:31; Lev. 20:10). This is why David was in such a sweat in Psalms 51. He knew what he had coming to him.
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Note on Psalms 25:16 KJV
16. Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted. [2]
[2] Verses 16-22 again illustrate that the doctrinal content of Psalms is aimed at Israel while the spiritual, devotional content can be applied to a Christian. Verses 16-21 are requests that any Christian can make to God spiritually, but when you hit verse 22, that is an individual Jew praying for his nation.
22. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.
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Note on Psalms 28:7 KJV
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: [3] therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
[3] Notice, again, the double application where an individual's prayer for help (here) turns out to be a prayer for the nation (vs. 9).
9. Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.
