Psalms 51-54 (Week 18)

1. A Prayer of Repentance

A year in the Psalms Psalm fifty one a prayer of repentance. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your loving kindness, according to the multitude of your tender mercies. Blot out my transgressions, wash me thoroughly through my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 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. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part you will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hysup, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me hear joy and gladness that the bones you have broken may rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create me in a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me by your generous spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners shall be converted to you. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth your praise. For you do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it.

You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. These, O God, you will not despise. Do good in your good pleasure to Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem. Then you shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering. Then they shall offer bulls on your altar. Verse five is relied upon by the advocates of ademic sin, our inherited depravity. By that is meant that human beings come into the world in a state of sin, having received it from the mother at the time of conception, she having received the same condition from her mother, and so on back to Adam and Eve. The doctrine is not only contrary to the general teaching of the Bible, but it’s not taught by this verse, as the critical study of the words will show.

The words I was shapen are from Chill, and Young translates it to be formed, brought forth. Strong defines it a primitive route, properly to twist or whirl, in a circular or spiral manner, specifically to dance to writhe in pain, especially a pertrition, childbirth, or fear. Conceive is from Yacim and Strong’s first definition is a primitive root, probably to be hot. It is a word for warm in Ecclesiastics 4 11, where the warmth is caused by the nearness of one body to another, not by one body being enclosed by another. A child being warmed in the arms of his mother would thus be warmed in the sense of the present verse. With this critical information considered in the light of the general teaching of the Bible, the meaning of the verse is clear.

2. Why Do You Boast in Evil

It shows that the conditions described by David were dated at and after his birth. This will disprove the doctrine that the stain of sin is attached to a person before he is born. We are not told why David mentioned this subject in connection with his own conduct. However, we have no right to assume what his purpose was and then build up a human theory on the basis of that assumption. A year in the Psalms, Psalm fifty-two. Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually. Your tongue devises destruction like a sharp razor working deceitfully. You love evil more than good, lying rather than speaking righteousness. You love all devouring words, you deceitful tongue. God shall likewise destroy you forever. He shall take you away and pluck you out of your dwelling place, and uproot you from the land of the living.

The righteous also shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him, saying, Here is the man who did not make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness. But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. I will praise you forever because you have done it, and in the presence of your saints I will wait on your name, for it is good. Psalm fifty one was devoted to David’s personal sin, and he did not spare himself from severe condemnation. He can very consistently address his remarks now to other sinners. They have been boastful of their wrongdoings while David repented of his in bitterness.

3. The Fool Has Said There Is No God

The consistency of the goodness of God should have caused the workers of iniquity to become ashamed of themselves. A razor can be so sharp that it would cut a gash unnoticed by the victim for the moment. The fact it is used to compare the deceitfulness of a wicked tongue. It would be bad enough were a man to put evil and good on a par with each other in one’s estimation it is much worse when he prefers the evil A year in the Psalms Psalm fifty three The fool has said in his heart there is no God they are corrupt and have done abominable iniquity there is none who does good God looks down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there are any who understand who seek God every one of them has turned aside they have together become corrupt.

4. Behold, God Is My Helper

There is none who does good no not one have the workers of iniquity no knowledge who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon God they are in great fear where no fear was, for God has scattered the bones of him who camps against you. You have put them to shame because God has despised them. Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion when God brings back the captivity of his people let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad. Belief in the existence of God is the strongest of motives for a righteous life. By that token we should not be surprised to see the atheists as a class of unrighteous men. A year in the Psalms. Psalm 54. Save me, O God, by your name, and vindicate me by your strength.

Hear my prayer, O God. Give ear to the words of my mouth, for strangers have risen up against me, and oppressors have sought after my life. They have not set God before them. Behold, God is my helper. The Lord is with those who uphold my life. He will repay my enemies for their evil. Cut them off in your truth. I will freely sacrifice to you. I will praise your name, O Lord, for it is good, for he has delivered me out of all trouble, and my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies.

David proposed to make an offering that would cost him something. The motive that was expressed for sacrificing to God was reverence for his good name.