Psalm 51:1-17

Psalm 51 is a penitential psalm (others are Psalms 36, 32, 38, 102, 130, and 143).

Let’s look first at this psalm’s historical note: “A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.” 73 psalms have the ascription “of David” (Hebrew: לְדָוִֽד [lidavid]). Of these, 14 are associated with some episode of David’s life.

Ancient and modern Christians took the phrase “of David” to mean “composed by David.” It is, however, unlikely that David wrote any of the psalms of the Bible. The Hebrew (לְדָוִֽד) can mean “by David” but also “for David,” “concerning David,” and “to David.” The Hebrew preposition (ל) has a flexible range of meanings. It is best to regard Ps. 51 as a penitential psalm that, in the process of preservation, copying, and transmission, was thought to provide insight into or commentary on an episode in David’s life—the events surrounding his adultery with Bathsheba and the death of her husband, Uriah. The purpose of this and other historical introductions in the psalms linked to David was to present David as a person to whom the rest of us could relate—a person who found himself in trouble, who sinned, who had enemies, and so on. These psalms use give us a David who is like us. They strive to be concrete (by connecting the theme to a moment in David’s life) and also universal (since David’s problems in these psalms are typical human problems).

Let’s now consider the psalm’s canonical context. The psalms coming immediately before Ps. 51 are concerned, like it, with acceptable sacrifice and with Zion. (The lectionary reading, which ends at 51:17, unfortunately loses this psalm’s connection to the preceding Zion-psalms.)

In particular, Ps. 50 distinguishes God’s “faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice” (50:5) from the wicked (50:16-21) and urges “a sacrifice of thanksgiving” in place of animal sacrifice (50:9-14).

Ps. 51 takes up these issues from the perspective of a repentant Israelite:

For you have no delight in sacrifice;

    if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.

The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;

    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (51:16-17).

Both psalms are concerned with what constitutes right sacrifice and with God’s rejection of the sacrifices of the wicked. Ps. 51 asks the additional question, How can a person’s sacrifices be acceptable to God, especially after that person has sinned? The answer is framed in terms of purity.

Old Testament law required those who entered the temple area to be in a state of purity. This included people coming to offer sacrifice. As a result, this psalm abounds with the language of purity:

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

    and cleanse me from my sin. (v. 2)

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (v. 7)

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

    and put a new and right spirit within me. (v. 10)

Purity is of critical importance, because impurity bars a person from God’s presence. This, in fact, is the central worry of the psalmist:

Do not cast me away from your presence,

    and do not take your holy spirit from me. (v. 10)

However, impurity is not the cause of the psalmist’s problems—it is the consequence. The cause is sin.

Against you, you alone, have I sinned

    and done what is evil in your sight. (v. 4)

In response to the sin that brings impurity, the psalmist requires forgiveness:

Have mercy on me, O God,

    according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy,

    blot out my transgressions. (v. 1)

Hide your face from my sins,

    and blot out all my iniquities. (V. 9)

Corresponding to the idea of sin as transgression, God is depicted as a just judge:

you are justified in your sentence

    and blameless when you pass judgment. (v. 4)

However, God is not simply just; God is also merciful (v. 1). Because of God’s mercy, the psalmist can be confident that God will

·       Teach me wisdom in my secret heart. (v. 6)

·       Let me hear joy and gladness; (v. 8a)

·       Let the bones that you have crushed rejoice (v. 8b)

·       Restore to me the joy of your salvation, (v. 12a)

·       Sustain in me a willing spirit. (v. 12b)

Once the psalmist has repented and been cleansed, the psalmist will be in a position help others on the way:

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

    and sinners will return to you. (v. 13)

The state of purity is thus a response to the problem of Psalm 50—the existence of wicked people. If the psalmist and others will, in a condition of purity, continue in the presence of God, then “sinner will return” to God through the teaching and example of righteous people.

Once restored to the state of purity, the psalmist will be able once again to offer acceptable sacrifice. As in Ps. 50, sacrifice is conceived, not as the offering of animals, but as praise and repentance:

O Lord, open my lips,

    and my mouth will declare your praise.

For you have no delight in sacrifice;

    if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.

The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;

    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (vv. 15-17)

However, praise and repentance do not bring the system of animal sacrifice to an end. Indeed, they make it possible. The psalmist prays:

Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;

    rebuild the walls of Jerusalem;

then you will delight in right sacrifices,

    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

    then bulls will be offered on your altar. (vv. 18-19).

With this prayer, Ps. 51 turns it attention to a leading theme of the preceding psalms—Zion and its well-being. Although often, in the Psalms, Zion is threatened by military enemies, for Ps. 51 the threat comes from impurity and sin. Sin and impurity render sacrifices null and void and imperil God’s presence in Zion. Only repentance and praise can render sacrifice acceptable and thus preserve Zion as the place of God’s presence.

In closing, let me offer a few cautionary words about trying to squeeze too much doctrinal content out of Ps. 51. Although it is indeed theologically rich, the history of interpretation shows that it is too easy for Christians to read meanings into it that are probably not in the text. I will mention two.

First, consider v. 5:

Indeed, I was born guilty,

    a sinner when my mother conceived me.

This verse is often used as a proof-text for the doctrinal of original sin. Although this doctrine is a central theme in Christian theology, it is a mistake to try to force it onto this verse. Instead, we should read this verse as the psalmist’s hyperbolic confession of sin—In the moment of repentance, when we finally come to terms with the depth of our sin, we seem (and may well be) so utterly sinful that it characterizes the totality of our life. It so dominates our life-history that we feel that there was never a time when we were not immersed in sin. We can affirm the psalmist’s feelings without forcing v. 5 to establish all the details of the church’s doctrine of original sin. In particular, we should avoid using this verse to address questions about the transmission of original sin across the generations. These are important questions, but they do not find answers in this verse.

Second, Let us look at v. 11:

Do not cast me away from your presence,

    and do not take your holy spirit from me. 

In Hebrew, the phrase “your holy spirit” (the NIV and some other translations render it “your Holy Spirit”) is ר֥וּחַ קָ֝דְשְׁךָ֗ (ruach kodshka), literally, “the spirit of your holiness.” According to the rules of Hebrew poetry, this phrase is parallel to “your presence” (literally, “your faces”) in the first line of the verse. This means that “the spirit of your holiness” is a restatement of “your presence.” It is thus unlikely that v. 11 is an exact reference to the third person of the Trinity. This verse has a different concern: unclean things must be kept separate from what is holy. The psalmist, in a state of impurity, is faced with the loss of God’s holy presence. Only repentance can ensure that the psalmist is not “cast away” from God’s presence and removed from the spirit of God’s holiness. As with the doctrine of original sin, the doctrine of the Trinity is central to the Christian faith; however, this doctrine is not found in v. 11, which instead is concered with God’s holiness.