psalm-51:2-4,psalm-19:13

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 51:1-19

The psalm consists of an opening strophe, extending to four verses, which is an earnest prayer for mercy and forgiveness ( Psalms 51:1-4 ); a second strophe, of eight verses, which is an entreaty for restoration and renewal ( Psalms 51:5-12 ); a third strophe, of five verses, setting forth the return which the psalmist will make, if he is forgiven and restored ( Psalms 51:13-17 ); and a conclusion, in two verses, praying for God's blessing on the people, and promising an ample return... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 51:1-19

This might be called The minister's psalm. We may imagine the servant of the Lord engaged in devout meditation. He looks before and after. He communes with himself as to his life and work. The deepest thoughts of his heart are revealed. I. EVER - GROWING SENSE OF THE EVIL OF SIN . Sin is thought of in the abstract, and its badness is seen. It is looked at in the world, in society, in the Church, and more and more its evils are discerned. But worst of all, it is felt... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 51:2

Wash me throughly from mine iniquity . Wash me, as a fuller washes a fouled garment ( πλῦνον , LXX ; not υίψον ), not as a man washes his skin. And cleanse me from my sin . "Transgressions," "iniquity," "sin," cover every form of moral evil, and, united together, imply the deepest guilt (comp. Psalms 51:3 , Psalms 51:5 , Psalms 51:9 , Psalms 51:14 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 51:3

For I acknowledge my transgressions (comp. Psalms 32:5 , "I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin"). The first step in repentance is contrition; the second, confession; the third, amendment of life. And my sin is ever before me. I bear it in mind; I do not hide it from myself. I keep it continually before my mental vision. This, too, is characteristic of true penitence. Mock penitents confess their sins, and straightway forget... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 51:3

A portrait. Lord Macaulay tells us that the Earl of Breadalbane, who was the chief hand in the Massacre of Glencoe, never had rest afterwards. "He did his best to assume an air of unconcern. He made his appearance in the most fashionable coffee-house in Edinburgh, and talked loudly and self-complacently about the important service in which he had been engaged in the mountains. Some of his soldiers, however, who observed him closely, whispered that all this bravery was put on. He was not... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 51:4

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned . Though no sins could be more directly against man than adultery and murder, yet David feels that that aspect of them shrinks away into insignificance, and is as if it were not, when they are viewed in their true and real character, as offences against the majesty of God. Every sin is mainly against God; and the better sort of men always feel this. "How can I do this great wickedness," says Joseph, when tempted by Potiphar's wife, " and sin against... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 51:2

Wash me throughly from mine iniquity - literally, “Multiply to wash me.” The word rendered “throughly” is a verb, either in the infinitive or imperative mood, and suggests the idea of “multiplying” or “increasing.” The reference is to that which might need constant or repeated washings in order to remove a stain adverbially to denote intensity, or thoroughness. On the word wash as applicable to sin, see the notes at Isaiah 1:16.And cleanse me from my sin - Remove it entirely. Make me wholly... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 51:3

For I acknowledge my transgressions - literally, I know, or make known. That is, he knew that he was a sinner, and he did not seek to cloak or conceal that fact. He came with the knowledge of it himself; he was willing to make acknowledgment of it before God. There was no attempt to conceal it; to excuse it. Compare the notes at Psalms 32:5. The word ““for”” does not imply that he referred to his willingness to confess his sins as an act of merit, but it indicates a state of mind which was... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 51:4

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned - That is, the sin, considered as an offence against God, now appeared to him so enormous and so aggravated, that, for the moment, he lost sight of it considered in any other of its bearings. It “was” a sin, as all other sins are, primarily and mainly against God; it derived its chief enormity from that fact. We are not to suppose that David did not believe and notice that he had done wrong to people, or that he had offended against human laws, and against... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Psalms 51:2

Psalms 51:2. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, &c. “I have made myself exceeding loathsome by my repeated and heinous acts of wickedness, which, like a stain that hath long stuck to a garment, is not easily purged away; but do not, therefore, I beseech thee, abhor me, but rather magnify thy mercy in purifying me perfectly, and cleansing me so thoroughly, that there may be no spot remaining in me.” Bishop Patrick. Hebrew, הרבה כבסני , harbeh chabbeseeni, is literally, multiplica,... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 51:1-19

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 51:1-19

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 51:2

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 51:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 51:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 51:4

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 51:2

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 51:3

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Psalms 51:4

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Psalms 51:2

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