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Psalm 51:1–4
Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight—that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge (v. 4).
Psalm 51 is the prayer of a man who is repenting of his sin. But we must remember that what we have in this psalm is not simply the thoughts of David. Rather, this is a sample of human repentance as it is articulated under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God is using David’s experience to illustrate what genuine repentance looks like, for the benefit of saints throughout the ages.
David very properly begins his prayer of repentance with an appeal not to God’s justice but to His mercy. A penitent sinner always casts himself upon the mercy of the court. David specifically asks God to have mercy “according to Your lovingkindness.” The Hebrew word that is translated as “lovingkindness” in this plea is that rich word hesed, which we have encountered regularly throughout 1 and 2 Samuel. It means “loyal love.” Its use here is significant because it appears so often in reference to God’s covenant with Israel. After God entered His covenant, He remained true to it, demonstrating His love and loyalty to His people from generation to generation. David understood this, and so he appealed to God’s covenantal love for him as a son of Abraham. God’s unchanging covenantal love for His people is also the basis on which we may ask for His mercy.
David then goes on to plead for God to “blot out my transgressions. Wash me … from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” This is always the key request a penitent sinner makes of God. Why? Because, as David indicates in verse 3, he is burdened by the awareness of his sin, by the guilt that he is carrying. Once the heart is convicted and a sinner sees how he has offended the holy God, he cannot put aside feelings of self-loathing. He goes to God as the only one who can wash guilt away and blot out the record of sin.
In verse 4, David declares that his sin was against God alone. Yes, he understands that he has wronged many people, but in the final analysis he is most guilty of sinning against God. He freely acknowledges that God would be perfectly just and totally blameless if He were to let the entire weight of His holy wrath fall upon him. God has every right to do with him as He sees fit. Of course, David is appealing for mercy, not justice, but his recognition of God’s right to punish howsoever He desires reveals a key element of repentance.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
It was the infinitely high standard of God’s righteousness that required Christ to bear the penalty for our sins on the Cross. God poured out His justice on our Substitute, that we might receive mercy. Thus, God is both just and the Justifier (Rom. 3:26). Think on these things, and praise the wise and holy ways of God in saving sinners.
For Further Study
- Rom. 5:9
- Eph. 5:2
- 1 Thess. 5:9
- Heb. 9:26