Psalms 51
This song was written by King David after he had been visited by the prophet Nathan. Nathan exposed David’s sin of committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering her husband. David sought the Lord for forgiveness and it was instantly granted (2 Samuel 12:13). Though a citizen of Israel under the Old Covenant, David consistently looked forward to a better covenant built upon better promises. This prayer was uttered by a man who believed that the best days were yet to come. Let’s look at some highlights from this prayer, to see what has changed and what has remarkably remained the same.
Verse 1 – David’s appeal to mercy is not based on merit, but on God’s heart of loving-kindness and according to God’s tender mercies. It is a good thing to know the heart of God so that you will know what He thinks of you in every situation.
Verse 2 – The desire to be washed thoroughly from iniquity and cleansed from sin is a New Covenant prayer. Believers under Christ have had their iniquities removed by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:17).
Verse 3 – “My sin is ever before me”. This is true only under the Old Covenant, for the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin (Hebrews 10:4). Every sacrifice reminded the giver of their multitude of offenses. For the saint, our sins are not always before us; but rather they are under the blood of Jesus.
Verse 5 – Every person is born with the seed of sin in their heart. Jesus was the only exception (John 14:30).
Verse 7 – To be purged with hyssop is to be washed off with blood and water (Leviticus 14:1-7; Numbers 19:1-19). You and I have this when we accept Jesus, for blood and water flow continually from His side for us.
Verse 9 – Under the New Covenant, God does this very thing. He hides His face from our sins and blots out all of our iniquities. How does He do this? He saw your sin in Jesus so that He will never see it in you!
Verse 10 – Christ creates a clean heart in us upon faith in His finished work, and we are given a brand new spirit. Literally, the old has passed away and everything becomes new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Verse 11 – You never have to pray this verse under the New Covenant, because you cannot be cast out of God’s presence. Instead, you get to come to Him boldly (Hebrews 4:16). Furthermore, you need never ask that God not remove His Holy Spirit from you. He can’t! You are sealed with the Holy Spirit of God until the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30).
Verse 12 – The fact that David asks for the joy of salvation again lets us know that salvation is supposed to be full of joy. If you have lost your joy, you have not lost your salvation; but find where the joy went!
Verse 16 – Where did David get the right to pray this verse? God had never indicated that He did not want animal sacrifice for sin. David is looking forward to the cross, where Jesus replaced the blood of animals once and for all.
This prayer moved the heart of God so much because it was a prayer of faith, over 1000 years in advance of the cross. Faith looked forward to Calvary for David, and grace was given. Faith looks backward to Calvary for us, and grace is given as well.
This song was written by King David after he had been visited by the prophet Nathan. Nathan exposed David’s sin of committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering her husband. David sought the Lord for forgiveness and it was instantly granted (2 Samuel 12:13). Though a citizen of Israel under the Old Covenant, David consistently looked forward to a better covenant built upon better promises. This prayer was uttered by a man who believed that the best days were yet to come. Let’s look at some highlights from this prayer, to see what has changed and what has remarkably remained the same.
Verse 1 – David’s appeal to mercy is not based on merit, but on God’s heart of loving-kindness and according to God’s tender mercies. It is a good thing to know the heart of God so that you will know what He thinks of you in every situation.
Verse 2 – The desire to be washed thoroughly from iniquity and cleansed from sin is a New Covenant prayer. Believers under Christ have had their iniquities removed by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:17).
Verse 3 – “My sin is ever before me”. This is true only under the Old Covenant, for the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin (Hebrews 10:4). Every sacrifice reminded the giver of their multitude of offenses. For the saint, our sins are not always before us; but rather they are under the blood of Jesus.
Verse 5 – Every person is born with the seed of sin in their heart. Jesus was the only exception (John 14:30).
Verse 7 – To be purged with hyssop is to be washed off with blood and water (Leviticus 14:1-7; Numbers 19:1-19). You and I have this when we accept Jesus, for blood and water flow continually from His side for us.
Verse 9 – Under the New Covenant, God does this very thing. He hides His face from our sins and blots out all of our iniquities. How does He do this? He saw your sin in Jesus so that He will never see it in you!
Verse 10 – Christ creates a clean heart in us upon faith in His finished work, and we are given a brand new spirit. Literally, the old has passed away and everything becomes new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Verse 11 – You never have to pray this verse under the New Covenant, because you cannot be cast out of God’s presence. Instead, you get to come to Him boldly (Hebrews 4:16). Furthermore, you need never ask that God not remove His Holy Spirit from you. He can’t! You are sealed with the Holy Spirit of God until the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30).
Verse 12 – The fact that David asks for the joy of salvation again lets us know that salvation is supposed to be full of joy. If you have lost your joy, you have not lost your salvation; but find where the joy went!
Verse 16 – Where did David get the right to pray this verse? God had never indicated that He did not want animal sacrifice for sin. David is looking forward to the cross, where Jesus replaced the blood of animals once and for all.
This prayer moved the heart of God so much because it was a prayer of faith, over 1000 years in advance of the cross. Faith looked forward to Calvary for David, and grace was given. Faith looks backward to Calvary for us, and grace is given as well.
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