David Sees Bathsheba Bathing From the RoofBible World
51:2Psalms 51:2
Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
David's prayer after the prophet's sharp reproof for his great transgression asks God according to His loving-kindness and tender mercy to wash him completely from the guilt, defilement and inward stain of iniquity and sin and make the heart clean and pure. It is spoken in sincere deep sorrow and humiliating confession with sin ever before him as done against God alone, bowing under chastisement without resistance and trusting that God's mercy can forgive and cleanse without delay. The burdened sinner who so turns to God in repentance and faith finds pardon and restoration to covenant relation and communion with Him through the merits and blood of Jesus Christ and the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit, who creates a clean heart, renews a right spirit and inclines the will to keep His commandments. Any conscious sinner, however defiled and unable to cleanse self from one stain of guilt, may make this prayer of faith personally and without hesitation, for awareness of being a sinner is sufficient reason to seek mercy without first becoming holy. The Lord hears the sincere prayer and extends mercy still, but thorough conversion keeps the seriousness of sin before the mind without repeating it, and to go on refusing this cleansing is to remain unclean and be lost.
David's Setting and Words
Psalm 51:2 is David's prayer after God sent His prophet with a message of sharp reproof for his great sin and transgression of the law, spoken to him as the exalted and honored king of Israel. The plea for thorough washing from iniquity and cleansing from sin was made according to God's loving-kindness and multitude of tender mercies to blot out transgressions, with hope of pardon through God's mercy. It was joined with acknowledgment of transgressions, with sin ever before the sinner, and with confession that the evil was done against God alone so that God is justified when He speaks and clear when He judges.
He made it into a sacred song to be sung in the public assemblies of his people before the court, priests and judges, princes and men of war, to preserve the knowledge of his fall to the latest generation. In it he openly recounts his sin, guilt, repentance, and hope of pardon through God's mercy instead of concealing his guilt, so that others and later generations might be instructed by the sad history of his fall. His penitential psalm openly recounts guilt and repentance so that later generations may learn from his history.
To be thoroughly washed and cleansed means more than pardon: it asks God to remove guilt, defilement, and the inward stain of iniquity and sin and to make the sinner and the heart clean and pure, with complete cleansing. The sinner cannot cleanse the soul from its stain, but brings a sinful, polluted soul to God and trusts Him alone to wash it clean. Sin is an inward stain needing cleansing, and the penitent seek God's forgiveness for the heart to be washed and made clean.
The request is made according to God's loving-kindness and multitude of tender mercies to blot out transgressions, turning to God as a best friend and appealing to His mercy. It came in anguish and remorse after his great sin, as he turned to God as his best friend. It is joined with acknowledgment of transgressions, with sin ever before the sinner, and with confession that the evil was done against God alone so that God is justified when He speaks and clear when He judges.
Repentance and Restoration
The prayer is sincere, deep sorrow and anguish and remorse, with penitence and humiliation and bitter, humiliating confession, pouring out the soul before God in longing for purity of heart and holiness. It is the cry of one convicted of great sin who turns to God without delay to seek mercy and pardon, feeling that loss of the crown could be endured but loss of God's favor could not. It means bowing under God's chastisement without stubborn resistance to His expressed will or rebellion against reproof, in contrition as profound as guilt and humility under the sense of sin. Such is the contrite and humble spirit with whom God dwells and whom He revives.
It shows the strength of sincere penitence in keeping confidence in God who puts the rebuke in the prophet's mouth, having no hatred for the prophet, but relying on the mercy of the God loved and served and honored. It is loving much because much is forgiven, trusting God more than man, refusing the counsel of men who excuse unrepented sin and pass over wrongs God has not forgiven, and accepting God's decision as just and merciful, which is why David was beloved though not perfect. It expresses trust that God's mercy can forgive and cleanse, sought without delay by one convicted of sin. The awareness of being a sinner is sufficient reason to seek mercy without first becoming holy, holding God's favor more precious than the crown.
A sinner burdened by guilt who turns to God in repentance and faith in Jesus Christ finds pardon through Christ and is forgiven and restored to covenant relation with God and to harmony and communion with Him. Penitence and humility lead the Lord to forgive and take the penitent into covenant relation with Himself, even after departing from righteousness and being rebuked and punished. The forgiven one takes courage to walk again in His commandments even while suffering consequences for the sin. True repentance and thorough conversion require recognizing the seriousness of sin and keeping it before the mind without repeating the offense. Because of that thorough repentance the Lord had compassion on David, but to repeat the same sin after reproof would forfeit that compassion, so his repentance stands as a beacon warning to turn from the same course.
Call to Seek Cleansing
Anyone conscious of sin may make this washing his own prayer to God, asking Him to take away iniquity and purify the heart. This invitation reaches even one whose soul is defiled and polluted, who has opened the heart to Satan, and who has stood for years resisting light and opposing God's messengers, until many iniquities have separated him from God. Such a one comes confessing that he cannot save himself or reform himself at will, that he cannot cleanse his soul from even one stain of guilt, and that he dares not trust his case to any power but God's. The awareness of being a sinner is itself sufficient reason to seek mercy, without first becoming holy.
It is a prayer of faith to be offered without delay, speculation, or hesitation. It is to be prayed sincerely and personally to God, and made one's own to Christ as the only refuge, with the helpless soul hanging on Him in full trust for all help. The petitioner asks Him not to leave him alone, but to support and comfort him and to cover the defenseless head, freely receiving from His plenteous grace as from a fountain of life. In view of the judgment this personal appeal to God and trust in Christ as Saviour is to be made before it is too late.
The cleansing is sought only through the merits of Jesus Christ. Pardon and justification come through the blood of the Lamb, through the blood of Christ, with transgressions pardoned and sins blotted out from the book of God's remembrance. Sanctification comes through the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit and through the truth, clothing the sinful and polluted soul with garments of purity and righteousness. That work means a clean heart created, a right spirit renewed, His Spirit and love put in the heart, the heart inclined to keep His commandments, the will united to His will, and the joy of salvation restored, while He does not cast away from His presence nor take His Holy Spirit away. It makes and keeps one pure within by abounding healing streams, freely received as a fountain springing up within the heart to all eternity.
The Lord hears the sincere prayer for complete cleansing from sin. Mercy is still extended to the sinner who heeds the pleading voice of the Spirit and returns, bringing conversion and transformation because there is forgiveness with God. To go on refusing this cleansing is to remain unclean and be lost.
This cleansing belongs with humble repentance and confession, whose lessons are to be practiced. A clean heart enables unity and love. Merely nominal profession does not refine or sanctify, and without genuine purity and Christlikeness one's influence is unsavory and worthless.
David's prayer after the prophet's sharp reproof for his great transgression asks God according to His loving-kindness and tender mercy to wash him completely from the guilt, defilement and inward stain of iniquity and sin and make the heart clean and pure. It is spoken in sincere deep sorrow and humiliating confession with sin ever before him as done against God alone, bowing under chastisement without resistance and trusting that God's mercy can forgive and cleanse without delay. The burdened sinner who so turns to God in repentance and faith finds pardon and restoration to covenant relation and communion with Him through the merits and blood of Jesus Christ and the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit, who creates a clean heart, renews a right spirit and inclines the will to keep His commandments. Any conscious sinner, however defiled and unable to cleanse self from one stain of guilt, may make this prayer of faith personally and without hesitation, for awareness of being a sinner is sufficient reason to seek mercy without first becoming holy. The Lord hears the sincere prayer and extends mercy still, but thorough conversion keeps the seriousness of sin before the mind without repeating it, and to go on refusing this cleansing is to remain unclean and be lost.
David's Setting and Words
Psalm 51:2 is David's prayer after God sent His prophet with a message of sharp reproof for his great sin and transgression of the law, spoken to him as the exalted and honored king of Israel. The plea for thorough washing from iniquity and cleansing from sin was made according to God's loving-kindness and multitude of tender mercies to blot out transgressions, with hope of pardon through God's mercy. It was joined with acknowledgment of transgressions, with sin ever before the sinner, and with confession that the evil was done against God alone so that God is justified when He speaks and clear when He judges.
He made it into a sacred song to be sung in the public assemblies of his people before the court, priests and judges, princes and men of war, to preserve the knowledge of his fall to the latest generation. In it he openly recounts his sin, guilt, repentance, and hope of pardon through God's mercy instead of concealing his guilt, so that others and later generations might be instructed by the sad history of his fall. His penitential psalm openly recounts guilt and repentance so that later generations may learn from his history.
To be thoroughly washed and cleansed means more than pardon: it asks God to remove guilt, defilement, and the inward stain of iniquity and sin and to make the sinner and the heart clean and pure, with complete cleansing. The sinner cannot cleanse the soul from its stain, but brings a sinful, polluted soul to God and trusts Him alone to wash it clean. Sin is an inward stain needing cleansing, and the penitent seek God's forgiveness for the heart to be washed and made clean.
The request is made according to God's loving-kindness and multitude of tender mercies to blot out transgressions, turning to God as a best friend and appealing to His mercy. It came in anguish and remorse after his great sin, as he turned to God as his best friend. It is joined with acknowledgment of transgressions, with sin ever before the sinner, and with confession that the evil was done against God alone so that God is justified when He speaks and clear when He judges.
Repentance and Restoration
The prayer is sincere, deep sorrow and anguish and remorse, with penitence and humiliation and bitter, humiliating confession, pouring out the soul before God in longing for purity of heart and holiness. It is the cry of one convicted of great sin who turns to God without delay to seek mercy and pardon, feeling that loss of the crown could be endured but loss of God's favor could not. It means bowing under God's chastisement without stubborn resistance to His expressed will or rebellion against reproof, in contrition as profound as guilt and humility under the sense of sin. Such is the contrite and humble spirit with whom God dwells and whom He revives.
It shows the strength of sincere penitence in keeping confidence in God who puts the rebuke in the prophet's mouth, having no hatred for the prophet, but relying on the mercy of the God loved and served and honored. It is loving much because much is forgiven, trusting God more than man, refusing the counsel of men who excuse unrepented sin and pass over wrongs God has not forgiven, and accepting God's decision as just and merciful, which is why David was beloved though not perfect. It expresses trust that God's mercy can forgive and cleanse, sought without delay by one convicted of sin. The awareness of being a sinner is sufficient reason to seek mercy without first becoming holy, holding God's favor more precious than the crown.
A sinner burdened by guilt who turns to God in repentance and faith in Jesus Christ finds pardon through Christ and is forgiven and restored to covenant relation with God and to harmony and communion with Him. Penitence and humility lead the Lord to forgive and take the penitent into covenant relation with Himself, even after departing from righteousness and being rebuked and punished. The forgiven one takes courage to walk again in His commandments even while suffering consequences for the sin. True repentance and thorough conversion require recognizing the seriousness of sin and keeping it before the mind without repeating the offense. Because of that thorough repentance the Lord had compassion on David, but to repeat the same sin after reproof would forfeit that compassion, so his repentance stands as a beacon warning to turn from the same course.
Call to Seek Cleansing
Anyone conscious of sin may make this washing his own prayer to God, asking Him to take away iniquity and purify the heart. This invitation reaches even one whose soul is defiled and polluted, who has opened the heart to Satan, and who has stood for years resisting light and opposing God's messengers, until many iniquities have separated him from God. Such a one comes confessing that he cannot save himself or reform himself at will, that he cannot cleanse his soul from even one stain of guilt, and that he dares not trust his case to any power but God's. The awareness of being a sinner is itself sufficient reason to seek mercy, without first becoming holy.
It is a prayer of faith to be offered without delay, speculation, or hesitation. It is to be prayed sincerely and personally to God, and made one's own to Christ as the only refuge, with the helpless soul hanging on Him in full trust for all help. The petitioner asks Him not to leave him alone, but to support and comfort him and to cover the defenseless head, freely receiving from His plenteous grace as from a fountain of life. In view of the judgment this personal appeal to God and trust in Christ as Saviour is to be made before it is too late.
The cleansing is sought only through the merits of Jesus Christ. Pardon and justification come through the blood of the Lamb, through the blood of Christ, with transgressions pardoned and sins blotted out from the book of God's remembrance. Sanctification comes through the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit and through the truth, clothing the sinful and polluted soul with garments of purity and righteousness. That work means a clean heart created, a right spirit renewed, His Spirit and love put in the heart, the heart inclined to keep His commandments, the will united to His will, and the joy of salvation restored, while He does not cast away from His presence nor take His Holy Spirit away. It makes and keeps one pure within by abounding healing streams, freely received as a fountain springing up within the heart to all eternity.
The Lord hears the sincere prayer for complete cleansing from sin. Mercy is still extended to the sinner who heeds the pleading voice of the Spirit and returns, bringing conversion and transformation because there is forgiveness with God. To go on refusing this cleansing is to remain unclean and be lost.
This cleansing belongs with humble repentance and confession, whose lessons are to be practiced. A clean heart enables unity and love. Merely nominal profession does not refine or sanctify, and without genuine purity and Christlikeness one's influence is unsavory and worthless.