Psalm 51, Purify Me!

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

This psalm comes out of 2 Samuel 11-12.  This is a tragic, yet beautiful story of the one said to be "after God's own heart."  There is one spiritual truth that must be learned from this episode.  If we do not learn it, we will live in spiritual defeat all our lives.  What is it?

This is one of seven penitential psalms in the psalter. (The others are psalms 6, 32, 38, 102, 130 and 143.)

There may be wordplay in this heading, says Alter. The same Hebrew word, bo,  meaning "come in/into", is used for Nathan's actions and David's: Nathan "comes to" David after David "comes into" Bathsheba.

Psalm 51: 1-3, Mercy and unfailing love

 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; 

according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

 Wash away all my iniquity 

and cleanse me from my sin.

 For I know my transgressions, 

and my sin is always before me.

David pours out his heart, embarrassed and ashamed of his sinful actions. He leans on God's steadfast love and compassion. He is haunted by his shameful actions, amazed and traumatized by the depth of his own wickedness.

Psalm 51: 4, Against only You

Against you, you only, have I sinned 

and done what is evil in your sight, 

so that you are proved right when you speak 

and justified when you judge.

Clearly, David sinned against Bathsheba, Uriah and others. His actions eventually killed Uriah and other soldiers, and led to rebellion in his own household. As one reads through 2 Samuel, one could indirectly attribute the rape of Tamar and the murder of Ammon to David's actions. In this passage, David is presumably not really avoiding the blame for those effects, but is, by contrast, emphasizing that at root, his rebellion was foremost against YHWH, the Creator of the universe. (As Kidner puts it, David recognizes that the heart of his actions were his treason against YHWH.)

This passage has long been a model for both Jewish and Christian repentance. Our rebellion is first against God and then, as a consequence of that primal sin, often a hurtful act against others.

In 2 Samuel 12: 24-25, after this confession, YHWH, speaking through Nathan, names David's child Jedidiah, that is, "Loved by YHWH."

Verse 4 is quoted in Paul's letter to the Romans (Romans 3: 4.)

Psalm 51: 5-6, Broken from birth

 Surely I was sinful at birth, 

sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; 

you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

In David's despair, he sees that he has been broken, sinful, all his life. And this before a God who requires truth and transparency. 

Psalm 51: 7-9, Wash me!

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; 

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness; 

let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

Hide your face from my sins 

and blot out all my iniquity.

Hyssop (most likely the plant ezov) was used in Old Testament times in a purification rite when one has been healed of a skin disease (see Leviticus 14: 1-7 ) or when a house is free of mold (see Leviticus 14: 48-52.) Here David asks that he be healed and presented clean with metaphorical hyssop.  In the next line, he desires to be as clean as fresh snow.  (That description of purity also occurs in Isaiah 1: 18.)

Kidner argues that the verbs from verse 6b through verse 8 are future perfect, that is, David affirms that God will teach him wisdom, will cleanse him and wash him, will give him joy and gladness.... In a similar vein, Kidner claims the word translated rejoice is a strong word -- David wishes that his crushed bones will dance with joy!  (In repentance, many of us desire to express our shame and sorrow by prolonged sadness. We want to show God how sorry we are! Yet David expects, once back into the presence of YHWH, that he will get up and dance!)

Psalm 51: 10-15, Pure heart

 Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me from your presence

or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation 

and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Alter claims the Hebrew word translated "cast" here is stronger than that -- David pleads that God not fling him away in anger. The Holy Spirit, here, represents the very presence of YHWH and David begs to be kept in that embrace. (David was present in 1 Samuel 16: 14 when, we are told, "the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit... tormented him." It is possible that David is pleading to avoid that punishment.)

Psalm 51: 10-15, Let me teach others!

Then I will teach transgressors your ways, 

and sinners will turn back to you.

Save me from bloodguilt, O God, 

the God who saves me, 

and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

O Lord, open my lips, 

and my mouth will declare your praise.

It is often alcoholics who minister best to alcoholics; it is broken people who minister best to broken people. David wants to be restored so that he can teach other transgressors and bring them back to a relationship with God. 

Psalm 51: 16-17, Broken and contrite heart

You do not delight in sacrifice, 

or I would bring it; 

you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; 

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

David bases his request for forgiveness on God mercy and is aware that sacrifices are only symbolic; God really desires a broken and contrite heart. 

Notice the upswing in emotion as the psalm progresses.  As David sings this prayer of repentance, his attitude rises, his confidence returns.

Psalm 51: 18-19, Build up Jerusalem

In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; 

build up the walls of Jerusalem.

Then there will be righteous sacrifices, 

whole burnt offerings to delight you; 

then bulls will be offered on your altar.

At the end of the psalm, David's thoughts turn outward to Israel, asking that all Israel have righteous sacrifices.  

Since these last two verses are quite different from the rest of the psalm, and since the walls of Jerusalem were torn down and rebuilt long after David, some (Alter) suggest that these last two verses are added as a follow-up prayer by a later editor.  Others (Kidner) admit the possibility of the contribution of a later editor but also allow the possibility that David is, at the end of his prayer, expressing the spiritual state of Israel in physical terms.

Caroline Cobb has an album on the psalms. (You can find Caroline Cobb on Spotify here.) Her rendition of Psalm 51 is Have Mercy.