The Joy of Forgiveness – Psalm 51

“To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.” Psalm 51:1

In 2 Samuel 12:9-14, Nathan the prophet told David, “You despised the commandment of the Lord.” “Did evil in His sight! You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword. You have taken his wife to be your wife...” “Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me...” “You have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.”

David’s response to the Holy Spirit’s conviction was, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Then, the Holy Spirit directed Nathan the prophet to tell David, “The Lord also has put away your sin. You shall not die.” God was gracious to forgive David. He didn’t take His Spirit from David as He did to King Saul after Saul set up a monument to himself and disobeyed the Lord’s direct orders. [1]

However, just as the sin of Adam and Eve yielded negative consequences, so did David’s sin yield for him negative consequences. In 2 Samuel 12:10, 14, the Lord told him, “The sword shall never depart from your house.” “The child also who is born to you shall surely die.”

In Psalm 51, David’s main concern is to be right with the Lord once again.

God has created new hearts for multitudes of sinners who have turned to Him for salvation.

In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Paul wrote, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” Paul described the kinds of sins that previously held them captive, but then, confirmed to them that God washed their sins away and sanctified them in the Name of Jesus.

In Luke 7:34, the enemies of Jesus accused Him of being a friend of sinners. They meant this in a derogatory way, as though He approved of sin. Jesus doesn’t approve of sin. He delivers captives of sin from its captivity and gives sinners a new heart to walk with God in holiness.

In John 8:3-11, Jesus forgave a woman’s sin whom the religious leaders wanted to execute. Jesus said to the religious leaders, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” They left. Jesus asked the woman, “Has no one condemned you?” She answered, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you, Go and sin no more.”

David’s sin is a warning to us all to take heed lest we fall. We may not think of ourselves as sinners, but except for the grace of God, we will fall prey to it. Abiding in Christ is the key to avoiding the temptation to sin. 1 John 3:6 says, “Whoever abides in Him does not sin.”

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness. According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from 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.” Psalm 51:1-4

David did not deny his sin. He kept it in front of him and professed it as evil in God’s sight. He knew that he had been unjust toward God. He had no one to blame for his sin but himself. God was right to convict him.

In Luke 18:10-14, in His parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, Jesus said that the man whom God justified stood at a distance from God, would not lift his eyes to heaven, beat his chest, and prayed, “God be merciful to me a sinner!” David used words like these to repent. [2]

Sin defiles us and renders us unfit us for communion with God. [3] When God pardons sin, he cleanses us from it, so that we have peace with God and with ourselves once again.

“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.” Psalm 51:5-6

In Psalm 86:16, David refers to his mother as God’s handmaid, but here he says that she conceived him in sin. Though by grace she was God’s handmaid, she was by nature, a daughter of Eve. Every one of us is born into the world with us a corrupt nature. This is what we call original sin. Original sin is that foolishness which is bound in the heart of a child. It is proneness to backslide from God and to do evil. [4]

God desires truth in our inward parts. Thanks be to God for His grace! The Lord also is ready and willing to give us wisdom in the hidden part, that is, in our inner being. God’s wisdom helps us to make good choices that lead to blessings not curses.

“Purge me with hyssop, 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.” Psalm 51:7-9

In Exodus 12:22, hyssop was used by God’s people to spread blood on the doorposts of their homes so that the angel of death might not claim their firstborn sons. In Numbers 19:17-20, hyssop was dipped into water and used to sprinkle water onto a tent where someone had died.

David wanted to be ceremonially clean in the sight of God.

God’s forgiveness yields joy and gladness. God’s forgiveness replaces brokenness with rejoicing.

The pain of a heart broken by sin is comparable to a broken bone. But praise God, the same Spirit that smites and wounds also heals and binds up.

David asked the Lord to hide His face from his sins. He did not want God to be provoked by them into action against him. He wanted God to blot them out forever. [5]

Since Christ has come into the world, and took our sins upon Himself, we now ask God that the blood of Christ His Son be applied to us. 1 John 1:7 says, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” His blood turns our darkness into brightness that is whiter than snow.

“Create in me 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.” Psalm 51:10-12

I have a special personal connection with Psalm 51:10-12. In the early morning hours of June 10, 1973, the Lord gave me a dream in which I saw great light and heard angels singing the words of Psalm 51:10-12. When I woke up, I told my brother about the dream. He said to me, “You should write it down and see what happens.”

Later that day, my father was suddenly taken to heaven, after he died of a heart attack. Then, at his funeral, I heard the Gospel and understood that my father, who professed faith in Jesus Christ, was with God in heaven. I was greatly comforted. But something more happened! I had an impression from the Lord that someday I would either take the Gospel to China or Africa, or both nations. However, before the Lord sent me out, He created in me a clean heart by giving me His steadfast Holy Spirit, and the joy of His salvation. Glory to God!

Between 1985-1997, the Lord had me in China sharing the Gospel with people and since then, He has connected me with people from 39 of Africa’s 54 nations. Praise be to God for His grace!

God’s Spirit helped David to realize how unclean his heart was, and yet, how clean God was able to make it. Nothing is impossible with God. God created the world. He can create a new heart in us. In Ezekiel 36:26, the Lord says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”

The Holy Spirit renewed David. After he repented, he did not commit adultery or murder again. In fact, later, when his caregivers chose a beautiful woman to lay next to him to keep his old frail body warm, 1 Kings 1:4 explicitly states that he did not have intimate relations with her.

The Lord did not cast David from His presence. He did not take His Spirit from David as He did with King Saul. Towards the end of his life, in 2 Samuel 23:2, David wrote, “The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me. His Word was on my tongue.”

“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.” Psalm 51:13

In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus told Peter that after he repented, he should strengthen his brothers. He was to apply the same grace which God applied to him to others. That is what David did! [6]

One of sin’s ill effects is sadness. Thus, David prayed, “Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation.” Psalm 126:5 says, “Those that sow in tears shall reap in joy.” Another of sin’s ill effects is weakness. Thus, David prayed, “Uphold me by Your generous Spirit.” [7]

“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 a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise.” Psalm 51:14-17

David needed God to save him from the guilt of bloodshed. He had killed many enemy soldiers in battle, but likely refers here to the blood guilt of executing Bathsheba’s innocent husband Uriah. He intentionally setup Uriah to be killed in battle so he could steal Bathsheba for himself.

When a sinner knows that God has forgiven his sins, he is apt to sing of God’s righteousness. Christ made us righteous by His bitter sufferings and death on the cross. Such love is worth singing about. When he felt the guilt of his sin weighing heavy upon him, he did not want to speak, but now that his sins are forgiven, he prays, “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise.” Guilt silenced him. Forgiveness gave him a song.

David wrote to God. “You desire not sacrifices. You delight not in burnt-offerings.” Sacrifices blot out sin until the next sin is committed, but do not necessarily yield a change of heart. God looks for a broken spirit and a contrite heart. A person in such a case is ready to yield his or her spirit and heart to God. God creates new spirits and hearts out of broken and contrite ones.

“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.” Psalm 51:18-19

Thanks to God’s redemptive work, David genuinely desired God’s good pleasure for people. “Build the walls!” “Be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness!” He was experiencing closeness with God. He desired the same for everyone else. Glory to God!



[1] 1 Samuel 13:13-14; 15:11-12; 16:14
[2] Matthew Henry’s Commentary
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid
[5] Ibid
[6] Ibid
[7] Ibid