The Psalms are songs of worship. It is the “hymnbook” of the nation of Israel. They describe her worship of the Lord. They are prayers to God. An important part of prayer involves confession of sin. Confession of sin is absolutely essential to worship; for that reason, we find many penitential psalms in the Psalter.
Psalm 51 was written by King David, following his affair with Bathsheba and the resulting murder of her husband Uriah (cf. 2 Sam 11:1–12:25). A period of close to a year ensued, during which David was covering his sin, continuing on in ritual worship, although Psalm 32 describes the misery of this time. God sent Nathan the prophet to confront David, and he confessed his sin. This prayer to God is written as David reflects on his need for God’s forgiveness.
Confession is essential to worshiping God. We might be tempted to think that confession of our sin is good, but not necessary to worship. David makes the connection between God’s forgiveness and our ability to worship God very clear. God must forgive me so I can worship him.
God, Please Forgive Me (vv. 1–9)
I need your forgiveness because I have sinned (vv. 1–3). David is not squeamish about confessing his sin. He asks God for mercy— because he has sinned. He needs God's forgiveness and cleansing.
I need your forgiveness because I have sinned against you (v. 4). One might be tempted to think that David's sin was primarily against Bathsheba, Uriah, and the child who died. But first and foremost, David realized his sin was against God. The king of Israel had disobeyed the Sovereign King of the Universe, his Creator.
I need your forgiveness because I am sinful (v. 5). Oftentimes, we are content to think that our sins are really "just mistakes" and anomalies since we are basically good. But David says otherwise: we are not sinful because we sin, but we sin because we are sinful. We are sinners by nature and by choice.
I need your forgiveness because you are sinless (v. 6). Compared with the holiness and sinlessness that characterizes God and the obedience that God commands, we are sinful. We must be forgiven by God.
I need your forgiveness because I am unclean (v. 7). The imagery of the hyssop and the cleansing spoke of defilement, such as one who suffered from leprousy. Our sin is not just a matter of "nobody's perfect"; rather, it is defiling and revolting to a pure and holy God.
I need your forgiveness because I cannot worship and praise you as I ought (v. 8). David sought God's forgiveness not to be relieved of his guilty feelings or low self-esteem. He realized that without forgiveness, he could not worship God.
God, Please Restore My Worship to You (vv. 10–19)
You must forgive me in order for me to worship you because my sin affects my relationship with You (vv. 11–14). David had seen how Saul was reduced for all practical extents and purposes to an imbecile when God removed the ministry of his Holy Spirit from him. This theocratic anointing, a ministry of the Holy Spirit that enabled the mediator of the theocratic kingdom to perform his tasks well and be an effective leader, had transformed Saul from a tall yet backward bumbler into a dynamic leader who lead thousands into battle. Yet because of Saul's disobedience, this ministry of God's Spirit was removed, and Saul become virtually unfit for society, much less the kingship.
David had seen all of this happen. He had a front-row seat to observe Saul's demise. Now he had disobeyed God in a huge way. He did not want what happened to Saul to happen to him. He could not continue as the king of God's people if God removed the ministry of his Holy Spirit. In order for David to continue as king, he needed God's forgiveness.
You must cause me to praise You because my sin affects my worship to You (v. 15). It was not a matter of David simply wanting to worship God. He was unable to worship God because of his sin. Attempting to worship God with unconfessed sin in our lives is futile. Sometimes we tend to think that having sin in our lives makes prayer a little less effective and makes worship not quite as fruitful. Rather, sin makes worship impossible. How can we worship God as the one and only God when we have set up another god in his place? When we sin, our disobedience to God has displaced him from the place of priority that he deserves.
You must enable me to please you because my sin affects others’ worship (vv. 16–19). For the months when David's sin was still hidden from the eyes of men, I am certain he continued with the daily and weekly sacrifices the king was expected to make. Hundreds of animals met their demise as David sacrificed sin offerings, trespass offerings, burnt offerings, and many more. But this worship was wasted time and effort. God was not pleased with David's worship when he still clung to another idol in his heart, his sin. Only after receiving God's forgiveness could he truly worship God and expect his blessing on the city of Jerusalem and the people of Israel.
Psalm 51 was written by King David, following his affair with Bathsheba and the resulting murder of her husband Uriah (cf. 2 Sam 11:1–12:25). A period of close to a year ensued, during which David was covering his sin, continuing on in ritual worship, although Psalm 32 describes the misery of this time. God sent Nathan the prophet to confront David, and he confessed his sin. This prayer to God is written as David reflects on his need for God’s forgiveness.
Confession is essential to worshiping God. We might be tempted to think that confession of our sin is good, but not necessary to worship. David makes the connection between God’s forgiveness and our ability to worship God very clear. God must forgive me so I can worship him.
God, Please Forgive Me (vv. 1–9)
I need your forgiveness because I have sinned (vv. 1–3). David is not squeamish about confessing his sin. He asks God for mercy— because he has sinned. He needs God's forgiveness and cleansing.
I need your forgiveness because I have sinned against you (v. 4). One might be tempted to think that David's sin was primarily against Bathsheba, Uriah, and the child who died. But first and foremost, David realized his sin was against God. The king of Israel had disobeyed the Sovereign King of the Universe, his Creator.
I need your forgiveness because I am sinful (v. 5). Oftentimes, we are content to think that our sins are really "just mistakes" and anomalies since we are basically good. But David says otherwise: we are not sinful because we sin, but we sin because we are sinful. We are sinners by nature and by choice.
I need your forgiveness because you are sinless (v. 6). Compared with the holiness and sinlessness that characterizes God and the obedience that God commands, we are sinful. We must be forgiven by God.
I need your forgiveness because I am unclean (v. 7). The imagery of the hyssop and the cleansing spoke of defilement, such as one who suffered from leprousy. Our sin is not just a matter of "nobody's perfect"; rather, it is defiling and revolting to a pure and holy God.
I need your forgiveness because I cannot worship and praise you as I ought (v. 8). David sought God's forgiveness not to be relieved of his guilty feelings or low self-esteem. He realized that without forgiveness, he could not worship God.
God, Please Restore My Worship to You (vv. 10–19)
You must forgive me in order for me to worship you because my sin affects my relationship with You (vv. 11–14). David had seen how Saul was reduced for all practical extents and purposes to an imbecile when God removed the ministry of his Holy Spirit from him. This theocratic anointing, a ministry of the Holy Spirit that enabled the mediator of the theocratic kingdom to perform his tasks well and be an effective leader, had transformed Saul from a tall yet backward bumbler into a dynamic leader who lead thousands into battle. Yet because of Saul's disobedience, this ministry of God's Spirit was removed, and Saul become virtually unfit for society, much less the kingship.
David had seen all of this happen. He had a front-row seat to observe Saul's demise. Now he had disobeyed God in a huge way. He did not want what happened to Saul to happen to him. He could not continue as the king of God's people if God removed the ministry of his Holy Spirit. In order for David to continue as king, he needed God's forgiveness.
You must cause me to praise You because my sin affects my worship to You (v. 15). It was not a matter of David simply wanting to worship God. He was unable to worship God because of his sin. Attempting to worship God with unconfessed sin in our lives is futile. Sometimes we tend to think that having sin in our lives makes prayer a little less effective and makes worship not quite as fruitful. Rather, sin makes worship impossible. How can we worship God as the one and only God when we have set up another god in his place? When we sin, our disobedience to God has displaced him from the place of priority that he deserves.
You must enable me to please you because my sin affects others’ worship (vv. 16–19). For the months when David's sin was still hidden from the eyes of men, I am certain he continued with the daily and weekly sacrifices the king was expected to make. Hundreds of animals met their demise as David sacrificed sin offerings, trespass offerings, burnt offerings, and many more. But this worship was wasted time and effort. God was not pleased with David's worship when he still clung to another idol in his heart, his sin. Only after receiving God's forgiveness could he truly worship God and expect his blessing on the city of Jerusalem and the people of Israel.
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