Salmos 51

Salmos 51

Clarke: “A Psalm of themselves, a kind of ejaculatory prayer for the redemption of the captives from Babylon, the re-building of Jerusalem, and the restoration of the Temple worship.” Reject. I am not afraid to say that I reject those views. Rightly considered, we shall find they are an essential part to and complement of the rest of the Psalm. Instead of being alien, we shall find they are of the same blood and ancestry. I. DAVID’S SIN was so heinous that no provision was made for it in the Mosaic economy (Psalm 51:16, 17). 1. “Murder and adultery were by law punishable by death; and therefore no sacrifices were appointed to be offered by those who were guilty of them.” 2. Now read Ps 51:16, 17 with that fact in mind. 3. A murderer could only appeal to the mercy of God, as in Ps 51:1 of this Psalm. 4. Here is an interesting Dispensational fact—the taking of life is God’s prerogative which He reserved for Himself in the Adamic dispensation (Ge 4:15), but handed over to magistrates in the antediluvian (Ge 5 and 6). 5. Let us remember that that last decree has never been repealed, so that the agitation for the abolition of capital punishment is wrong and unscriptural. 6. If I was asked to visit a murderer in his cell, I should direct him to Luke 23:34–43+, and the story of David with the 51st Psalm. II. THE GREAT VALUE OF REAL REPENTANCE, plus the Sacrifice of the Cross (Psalm 51:17, 19). 1. Oh the importance of that little word “Then” in Ps 51:19. 2. What a fine description of true penitence we have in Ps 51:17. 3. Penitence alone has no saving element in it. 4. Yet only the true penitent can enter into the benefits of Christ’s death. 5. God has no delight in sacrifices and burnt-offerings for their own sake; but merely as shadows of the true atonement and expression of a penitent and believing heart. (Col 2:17) 6. An impenitent spirit bolts and bars the door against the mercy and grace of God, and makes of no value the death of Christ. 7. Of what value is the repetition of the General Confession without true penitence? III. THE GREAT BULWARK OF A NATION consists primarily in spiritual fitness and qualification (Ps 51:18). 1. What, think you, is the great bulwark of a nation? Not warriors and warships, but godly men and women. “Sin is a disgrace to any people, but righteousness exalteth a nation.” 2. David’s sin had exposed the whole nation to disaster. 3. David feared lest his guilt should render him as an Achan in the congregation of Israel, and therefore he concluded his penitential prayer with entreating God to protect and prosper Zion. 4. His sin had, as it were, broken down the walls of Jerusalem. Grace alone could rebuild. 5. I doubt whether our City Missions would be reckoned by many as a national asset; rather they would be estimated as a non-producing class, therefore parasites. But the fact is, they are re-building and strengthening the national wall of defence against our foes. 6. The workers are under-masons, working under the great Master-mason and Architect of the Universe. Let us build well, for we are building for eternity. SOUL-WINNING INTRODUCTION. Final. 1. This, our eighth study, must for the present be our concluding study of Psalm 51. 2. And from the standpoint of workers, what a fine conclusion this is to be sure. “Then.” 1. How important some little words are. 2. The first word of this verse is of supreme value. Soul-Winners. 1. All believers should be professional soul-winners, carrying on soul-winning on non-professional lines. 2. Here are several important points: I. ITS QUALIFICATION. 1. In his Presidential Address at a Wesleyan Conference, Dr. Ritson made this statement: “The Christian ministry is the only profession in the world in which the message and the messenger are inseparable.” 2. The success of our message depends very largely upon the success of the message with and in us. 3. In order that the right quality might be behind the work, there must be soul adjustment with God. 4. “THEN.” When? a. Be converted (Luke 22:31,32+). The Lord might at times use unconverted people, but that is not His usual rule. b. Be converted again, i.e., restored. c. In the enjoyment of pardon, assurance, fellowship, purity, gladness. d. In the possession of Pentecostal fullness. e. In the practice of prayer. II. ITS MOTIVE. 1. “Then.” When? When additionally indebted to God for wondrous grace. 2. An expression of gratitude for abounding mercies received personally. 3. As a great longing for others to share in the same blessed experience. III. ITS USUAL PRELIMINARY. Teaching God’s Ways. And what a wondrous teacher David would become. From bitter experience he could discourse on: 1. The evil nature and bitterness of sin itself. 2. The nature of true repentance. 3. The requirement in order that sin might be forgiven, i.e., Cross. 4. Encourage them to come by relating own experience. How we May Teach God’s Ways. 1. Through the Word, noting God’s ways with others. 2. Through a relation of our own personal experiences. IV. ITS ULTIMATE END. “And sinners shall be converted UNTO THEE.” 1. Not unto a Church, or denomination, or Assembly, or system of belief, good and essential as these are. 2. “Unto Thee.” James Smith - Handfuls of Purpose - THE GREAT CHANGE PSALM 51 David had grievously sinned, and Nathan, at the command of God, had done for him what the Holy Spirit does for us. “Convinces of sin.” The penitential language of this Psalm is always appropriate on the lips of a soul passing out of the agonies of conscious guilt, into the joys of forgiving grace. I.—CONFESSIONS. Here it was deep and real “I acknowledge my transgressions.” There was no further attempt to cover it up. “Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned.” He is conscious that his secret sin was an open insult to the name and character of God, as every sin is. “Thou desirest truth in the inward parts” (v. 6). He feels now more keenly than ever that God looketh on the heart. Hypocrisy, like faith and truthfulness, is a thing of the heart (Luke 11:39). It is to such confessors that the Faithful and Just One gives forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9). II.—PETITIONS. Where there are such confessions there will also be petitions. The vessel of the heart needs not only to be emptied of the evil, but filled with the good. His first petition is for the— 1. MERCY OF GOD. “Have mercy upon me, O God” (v. 1). Nothing but mercy can meet his case, and that mercy must be the mercy of God. No convicted sinner would dare to ask for justice or righteousness, only the self-righteous are presumptuous enough to think of this. Then he pleads for— 2. CLEANSING FROM SIN. “Wash me thoroughly … and cleanse me from my sin” (Ps 51:2). The remedy must be as thorough as the disease. Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. God’s infallible cure for the guilt and pollution of sin is “The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son.” (1 John 1:7). 3. EXPIATION FROM GUILT. “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean” (Ps 51:7). “Expiate me by a sin offering” is another rendering. The hyssop had to do with the blood of the lamb (Ex. 12:22). God’s forgiveness is always on the ground of expiation. If the conscience is to be purged from dead and sinful works, it must be by “the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God.” (Heb. 9:14). 4. REGENERATION OF HEART. “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Ps 51:10). The remedy would not be perfect that only dealt with past sins and present guilt; the heart which is “deceitful and wicked” must be changed. The clean heart is a new creation. It is a heart destitute of the love of sin, and filled with the love of God. It is a condition described in the New Testament as being “born again” (John 3:3). 5. RENEWAL OF SPIRIT. “Renew a right spirit within me.” With the new heart comes the new spirit within us, and upon us (Ezek. 36:25–27). There cannot be the right spirit where there is not the clean heart. The hearts that were purified by faith were filled with the Holy Ghost (Acts 15:8–9). The absence of the right spirit is the evidence of indwelling sin. 6. RESTORATION OF JOY. “Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation” (Ps 51:12). As a backslider, this joy had faded out of his life, but with the new heart and right spirit it was sure to return. At least, the way was open now for the return of this bright bird of Paradise into his life. Sorrow may endure for the night of confession, but joy cometh in the morning of forgiveness and renewal. There is a joy in His salvation, a joy that should never be lost. 7. PRESERVATION BY HIS POWER. “Uphold me with Thy free Spirit” (Ps 51:12). Now that he has been set free from the law of sin and death, he longs to be kept in this condition of spiritual freedom. “Hold Thou me up.” As one who had been burned with the fire of sin, he now dreads it. Although we have had the cleansing power of His blood, we still need the upholding power of His Spirit. He is able to keep us from falling. III.—RESULTS. Where there has been a decided work of grace, signs will follow. He had— 1. A DESIRE TO WIN SOULS. “Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways; and sinners shall be converted (turned) unto Thee” (Ps 51:13). When, by experience, we have learned “Thy ways,” we have something worth teaching; something that transgressors need to know. It is a great work to convert a sinner (Jas. 5:19–20). If God hath blessed us, it is that we might be made a blessing. He that winneth souls is wise. 2. A DESIRE TO PRAISE GOD. “O God of my salvation; my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness;” and again, “O Lord, open Thou my lips, and my mouth shall shew forth Thy praise” (Ps 51:15). Those saved by the Lord have a double debt to pay. They are debtors to the unsaved—to teach them His way—they are debtors to God, to praise Him. “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me” (Ps. 50:23). EXPOSITION BY C.H. SPURGEON PSALM 51 It is a Psalm, and therefore it is to be sung. It is dedicated to the chief Musician, and there is music in it, but it needs a trained ear to catch the harmony. The sinner with a broken heart will understand the language and also perceive the sweetness of it; but as for the proud and the self-righteous, they will say, "It is a melancholy dirge," and turn away from it in disgust. There are times, to one under a sense of sin, when there is no music in the world like that of the 51st Psalm, and it is music for the chief Musician, for "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth;" and this is the Psalm of penitence, and there is joy in it, and it makes joy even to the chief Musician himself. Verse 1. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Here is a man of God, a man of God deeply conscious of his sin, crying for mercy, crying with all his heart and soul, and yet with his tear-dimmed eyes looking up to God, and spying out the gracious attributes of Deity, lovingkindness, and tender mercies, multitudes of them. There is no eye that is quicker to see the mercy of God than an eye that is washed with the tears of repentance. When we dare not look upon divine justice, when that burning attribute seems as if it would smite us with blindness, we can turn to that glorious rainbow of grace round about the throne, and rejoice in the lovingkindness and the tender mercies of our God. 2. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. "If washing will not remove it, burn it out, O Lord; but do cleanse me from it; not only from the guilt of it and the consequent punishment, but from the sin itself. Make me clean through and through. ' Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.'" 3. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. "As if the record of it were painted on my eyeballs. I cannot look anywhere without seeing it. I seem to taste it in my meat and drink; and when I fall asleep, I dream of it, for thy wrath has come upon me, and now my transgression haunts me wherever I go." 4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.1 This is the sting of sin to a truly penitent man, that he has sinned against God. The carnal mind sees nothing in that. If ever it does repent, it repents of doing wrong to man. It only takes the manward side of the transgression; but God's child, though grieved at having wronged man, feels that the deluge of his guilt-that which drowns everything else-is that he has sinned against his God. It is the very token and type and mark of an acceptable repentance that it has an eye to sin as committed against God. Now observe that the psalmist, having thus sinned, and being thus conscious of his guilt, is now made to see that, if the evil came out of him, it must have been in him at first; he would not have sinned as he had done had there not been an unclean fountain within him. 5, 6. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts:- Then it is not sufficient for me to be washed outside, and being outwardly moral is not enough. "Thou desirest truth in the inward parts:"- 6. And in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. In that part which is even hidden from myself, where sin might lurk without my knowing it, there wouldst thou spy it out. I pray thee, Lord, eject all sin from me, rid me of the most subtle form of iniquity that may be concealed within me. 7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. This in a grand declaration of faith. I know not of such faith as this anywhere else. The faith of Abraham is more amazing; but, to my mind, this faith of poor broken-hearted David, when he saw himself to be black with sin and crimson with crime, and yet could say, "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow," is grand faith. It seems to me that a poor, trembling, broken-down sinner, who casts himself upon the infinite mercy of God, brings more glory to God than all the angels that went not astray are ever able to bring to him. 8. "Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Brothers and sisters in Christ, we cannot sin with impunity. Worldlings may do so as far as this life is concerned; but a child of God will find that, to him, sin and smart, if they do not go together, will follow very closely upon one another's heels. Ay, and our Father in heaven chastens his people very sorely, even to the breaking of their bones; and it is only when he applies the promises to our hearts by the gracious operation of his Holy Spirit, and makes the chambers of our soul to echo with the voice of his lovingkindness, that we "hear joy and gladness" again. It is only then that our broken bones are bound up, and begin to rejoice once more. 9. Hide thy face from my sins, David could not bear that God should look upon them. 9. And blot out all mine iniquities. "Put them right out of sight. Turn thy gaze away from them, and then put them out of everybody's sight." 10. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Make me over again; let the image of God in man be renewed in me. Nay, not the image only, but renew the very Spirit of God within me." 11, 12. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; "Lift me up, and then keep me up. Let me never sin against thee again." 12,13. And uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; There are no such teachers of righteousness as those who have smarted under their own personal sin; they can indeed tell to others what the ways of God are. What are those ways? His ways of chastisement,-how he will smite the wandering; his ways of mercy,-how he will restore and forgive the penitent. 13. And sinners shall be converted unto thee.2 He felt sure that they would be converted; and if anything can be the means of converting sinners, it is the loving faithful testimony of one who has himself tasted that the Lord is gracious. If God has been merciful to you, my brother or my sister, do not hold your tongue about it, but tell to others what he has done for you; let the world know what a gracious God he is. 14. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.3 I like that confession and that prayer of David. He does not mince matters, for he had guiltily caused the blood of Uriah to be shed, and here he owns it, with great shame, but with equal honesty and truthfulness. As long as you and I call our sins by pretty names, they will not be forgiven. The Lord knows exactly what your sin is, therefore do not try to use polite terms about it. Tell him what it is, that he may know that you know what it is. "Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation." "But surely," says someone, "there is nobody here who needs to pray that prayer." Well, there is one in the pulpit at least, who often feels that he has need to pray it; for what will happen if I preach not the gospel, or if I preach it not with all my heart? It may be that the blood of souls shall be required at my hands. And my brothers and sisters, if anything in your example should lead others into sin, or if the neglect of any opportunities that are presented to you should lead others to continue in their sin till they perish, will not the sin of bloodguiltiness be possible to you? I think you had better each one pray David's prayer, "Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation." "And then, O Lord, if I once get clear of that, 'my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.'" 15. O Lord, open thou my lips; He is afraid to open them himself lest he should say something amiss. Pardoned sinners are always afraid lest they should err again. 15, 16. And my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For thou desirest no sacrifice; else would I give it: "Whatever there is in the whole world that thou desirest, I would gladly give it to thee, my God." 16-18. Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou will not despise. Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion:- You see that the psalmist loves the chosen people of God. With all his faults, his heart is right towards the kingdom under his charge. He feels that he has helped to break down Zion, and to do mischief to Jerusalem, so he prays, "Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion:"- 18, 19. Build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 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. Once get your sins forgiven, and then God will accept your sacrifices. Then bring what you will with all your heart, for an accepted sinner makes an accepted sacrifice, through Jesus Christ. Psalm 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. BGT Psalm 50:4 ἐπὶ πλεῖον πλῦνόν με ἀπὸ τῆς ἀνομίας μου καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας μου καθάρισόν με LXE Psalm 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. KJV Psalm 51:2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. NET Psalm 51:2 Wash away my wrongdoing! Cleanse me of my sin! CSB Psalm 51:2 Wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. ESV Psalm 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! NIV Psalm 51:2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. NLT Psalm 51:2 Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. NRS Psalm 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. NJB Psalm 51:2 wash me clean from my guilt, purify me from my sin. NAB Psalm 51:4 Wash away all my guilt; from my sin cleanse me. YLT Psalm 51:2 Thoroughly wash me from mine iniquity, And from my sin cleanse me, GWN Psalm 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my guilt, and cleanse me from my sin. BBE Psalm 51:2 Let all my wrongdoing be washed away, and make me clean from evil. RSV Psalm 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! NKJ Psalm 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. ASV Psalm 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. DBY Psalm 51:2 Wash me fully from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. BHT Psalm 51:4 (harBË) [hereb] KaBBüsëºnî më`áwönî û|mëHa††ä´tî †ahárëºnî NIRV Psalm 51:2 Wash away all of the evil things I've done. Make me pure from my sin. RWB Psalm 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Wash: Ps 51:7 Eze 36:25 Zec 13:1 1Co 6:11 Heb 9:13,14 10:21,22 1Jn 1:7-9 Rev 1:5 7:14 cleanse: Ps 51:7 19:12 THE FILTHINESS OF SIN! IT MAKES US DIRTY IN GOD'S EYES! Sin defiles our entire person, making us "dirty" from the inside out! If we really understood sin the way God sees sin and understood the defiling character of sin, we would hopefully be less likely to deliberately sin against God. THOUGHT - Man's problem, my problem, is that we don't see sin the way God sees sin. Lord open the eyes of our heart to see sin and the effects of sin the way you see it. Amen. Note the symmetrical presentation of David's requests… Blot out (Ps 51:1) Wash (Ps 51:2) Cleanse (Ps 51:2) Purify (Ps 51:7) Wash (Ps 51:7) Blot out (Ps 51:9) Roe - David also realizes that this blotting out has to be done by a "washing and a cleansing." He is dirty. He feels guilty. He has felt guilt for some time. It is getting dirtier and dirtier, and the dirtier he feels, the more estranged and alienated he feels from a God who is Holy. The primary attribute of God, as revealed in the Scriptures, is not love. It is not grace. It is not mercy. It is holiness. The word of God to mankind is, "Be ye holy for I am holy." Now it does not say God is lopsided. It does say, however, that the fact that God is a holy God is over and above all others the issue in dealing with mankind. God cannot deal with us on any other basis than his holiness. He does not wink at sin. He cannot wink at sin. He says, "I cannot deny myself." He is not like the pagan gods who do anything. Our God is constrained by his character. And the chief attribute of his character as he reveals it is holiness. So everything that God does must be done in the context of his holiness. If he is to have mercy, lovingkindness, compassion and grace toward David, he must first deal with his holiness. So David realizes there has to be a washing and a cleansing of him by God or he is a dead man....There is no way I can describe God except as God describes himself. He "...dwells in unapproachable light whom no man has seen or can see." That is describing Jesus Christ in context of I Timothy 6:16. I think of light as being bright; it is clean; it exposes; it reveals. There are no shadows in it. That's how I think of God's holiness. It is an infinite light, everything wide open, nothing concealed, totally penetrating every nook and cranny of my being and laying it out for what it is. There is no hiding. I can't turn down the light. I kind of think of it in that way....He has been revealing himself, and he wants us to reveal ourselves. That is why the Christian life is a life of transparency. We ought to be a transparent people. That is why we try to encourage things like body life, but it is difficult. We tend to hide our tremendous needs behind a facade because we don't want to let on how needy we really are. That is exactly the opposite of God. God just displays himself in the Scriptures, and that is what God wants from us. Wash (kabac/kabas) me thoroughly from my iniquity ('avon) - Note that wash and thoroughly are both verbs and both are imperatives in the Hebrew. The literal is awkward to render into English, the word thoroughly being first in the original Hebrew. It could be rendered something like "multiply to wash me" (Barnes OT Commentary and C H Spurgeon). David pleads for and pictures divine forgiveness using three verbs (actually 4 if one counts "thoroughly") - blot out, wash and cleanse. The metaphor of washing is that of the ancient mode of laundering clothes which would be soaked, soaped, beat, wrung out, and rinsed. David pictures himself as dirty, polluted clothing in need of a deep, cleansing washing. Thoroughly in English means fully, completely, carried through to completion, taking care aout detail, being complete in all respects, all of these ideas serving to help us understand the degree of washing David is asking of God. Man’s way of dealing with sin is denial or defense. God’s way is declaration. -- Larry R Moyer