The Psalms (Volume 3, Psalms 51–100) E-Book

Christopher Ash

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 1289

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Commentary from Christopher Ash Sets Out a Deeply Christian Study of Psalms 51–100 While reading Psalms, it is common for commentaries to focus on Old Testament meaning, without connecting it deeply to Christ's fulfillment in the New Testament. By studying Scripture this way, believers miss out on the fullness of God's word. The key to experiencing authentically Christian worship is learning a Christ-focused approach to praying and singing the Psalms. In this thorough commentary, Christopher Ash provides a careful treatment of Psalms 51–100, examining each psalm's significance to David and the other psalmists, to Jesus during his earthly ministry, and to the church of Christ in every age. Ash includes introductory quotations, a deep analysis of the text's structure and vocabulary, and a closing reflection and response, along with selected quotations from older readings of the Psalms. Perfect for pastors, Bible teachers, and students, this commentary helps readers sing and pray the Psalms with Christ in view. - Exhaustive: Christopher Ash's exegesis explores how the Psalms are quoted and echoed throughout the New Testament - Applicable and Heartfelt: Explains how a Christ-centered approach to reading the Psalms influences doctrines of prayer, prophecy, the Trinity, ecclesiology, and more - Ideal for Pastors and Serious Students of Scripture: Written for Bible teachers, Sunday school and youth leaders, and small-group leaders

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“These wonderful volumes on the Psalms place the whole church of Christ in their author’s debt. To have carried to completion the vision of such a project is a breathtaking accomplishment. And to have done it with the author’s characteristically loving and careful approach to the text of Scripture, coupled with richness of exposition, humility of spirit, and wise personal and pastoral application, stimulates our admiration and gratitude. In an era when the evangelical church in the West has, by and large, turned its back on the wisdom of two millennia of Christian praise dominated by the Psalms, these four magnificent volumes provide both the equipment and the inspiration needed to discover what our Lord and Savior himself experienced. They deserve to become—indeed, are surely destined to be—the go-to resource for multitudes of preachers, teachers, and students for decades to come. We are richer because of their publication.”

Sinclair B. Ferguson, Chancellor’s Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary; Teaching Fellow, Ligonier Ministries

“Since the Enlightenment, it has become fashionable to hypercontextualize the Psalms, thereby repudiating eighteen centuries of Christ-centered preaching, teaching, and scholarship. In this magisterial commentary, Christopher Ash returns to the old paths by displaying Christ and his glory in all 150 psalms. The Reformers and the Puritans would have loved this warm, devotional, and accessible work, for herein Ash provides the kind of experiential, practical, and Christ-saturated exegesis that they so dearly treasured. With careful historical-theological reflection and a tender pastoral heart, Ash guides the people of God as they seek to better read, sing, meditate on, study, and preach the Psalms. This commentary will no doubt become a staple in the pastor’s library for many years to come.”

Joel R. Beeke, Chancellor and Professor of Homiletics and Systematic Theology, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

“Modern readers often gravitate toward the Psalms because in them they see a mirror for themselves and their own emotions. This is not wrong, but as Christopher Ash reminds us, it is insufficient. The writers of the New Testament and many throughout church history read the Psalms because in them they found Christ. Ash provides a comprehensive help to the church to read the Psalms afresh from that Christ-centered perspective, in a way that not only exercises our minds but feeds our souls.”

Iain M. Duguid, Professor of Old Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary

“How easy it is to quickly read ourselves into the center of the Psalms, and yet how important it is not to do this. Christopher Ash can be counted on to see a psalm in its real setting, grasp its proper culmination in Christ, and tell its rich implications to us. Few writers think with as much faithfulness or illumination as Ash does, and these volumes will be the new treasure chest in learning and psalmody.”

Simon Manchester, Former Rector, St. Thomas’ Anglican Church, North Sydney, Australia

“In this four-volume work, Christopher Ash casts a vision of the Psalter that is theologically centered on Christ, typologically related to Christ, and ultimately fulfilled in Christ—a book of the Old Testament that reveals, in type and shadow, through image of king and priest, prophet and teacher, supplicant and sufferer, the divinity and humanity of Christ, who in his humanity perfectly expressed the full range of human emotions and affections in the vicissitudes of his earthly humiliation as he awaited his heavenly exaltation. Therefore, he is the true and better singer of the Psalter, the one through whom and in union with whom the Christian and the church today can sing ‘the Psalms of Jesus’ with eyes unveiled. Encyclopedic in scope, enlightening in content, enthusing in purpose—this magnum opus ought to find a place in every pastor’s library, in every student’s book budget, and on every Christian’s bedside table. These volumes will hopefully change the way we read—and sing!—the Psalms for years to come.”

Jonathan Gibson, Associate Professor of Old Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary

“This is a landmark commentary that belongs in the library of every Bible teacher and scholar. Grounded in wide-ranging research, warmed by sincere devotion, and crafted with unusual elegance, this work offers the reader an exegetical and theological feast for both heart and mind. Any believer who has studied and taught the Psalms knows the challenge of handling them in faithfulness as truly Christian Scripture. In these pages Ash has pursued the compelling thesis that the Psalms are emphatically Christ centered from beginning to end, having Christ as their true subject and object. For those who wish to understand how and why this is so, this study is both a treasure and a delight.”

Jonathan Griffiths, Lead Pastor, The Metropolitan Bible Church, Ottawa, Canada

“How pleasing it is to find a modern, scholarly commentary that unashamedly leads us to Jesus the Messiah! The case for this Christ-centered work is carefully argued and applied to each psalm without ignoring original contexts or their relevance to believers. More controversially, Christopher Ash provides the most compelling defense to date for accepting every penitential and imprecatory line in the Psalter as appropriate on the lips of the sinless Savior, the Christian’s covenant head. Helpful quotations from early Christian writers, the Reformers, and contemporary authors add to the commentary’s appeal. I warmly recommend it.”

Philip H. Eveson, Former Principal and Old Testament Tutor, London Seminary; author, Psalms: From Suffering to Glory

“To simply call this resource a commentary seems too mundane. What Christopher Ash presents us with here is an extensive and detailed exploration of the verdant theological landscape of the Psalter, with Jesus the Messiah as the lodestar. These remarkable volumes are weighty but not burdensome, erudite but not arid. Ash’s pastoral insights into the Psalms reflect a maturity and wisdom that can be cultivated only over a lifetime spent in the full counsel of Scripture and ministry in the church. What a tremendous achievement this is, what a blessing it is sure to be to the church, and what a testament to the beauty and transforming power of the true and final King, Jesus Christ.”

William A. Ross, Associate Professor of Old Testament, Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte

“With historical breadth, exegetical finesse, rhetorical care, and a deeply doxological thrust, Christopher Ash’s commentary brings the Psalms closer to the center of Christian devotion—and Jesus Christ to the very center of the Psalter. These wonderful volumes have helped me grasp, more deeply than ever before, just why Dietrich Bonhoeffer called the Psalms an ‘incomparable treasure.’ More than that, they have revealed the incomparable treasure himself who sings in every psalm yet whose voice we so often fail to hear.”

Scott Hubbard, Editor, Desiring God; Pastor, All Peoples Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota

“This new commentary—in which ‘the person of Christ is central to the meaning and force of every psalm’—is theologically rich, spiritually refreshing, and carefully assembled to understand Old and New Testament themes in the light of Christ. Here is a commentary that will be rewarding in the study as the minister prepares to teach the Psalms or, indeed, the many New Testament passages that reference them. This is also great material for personal devotions. Thank you, Christopher Ash, for such a rich resource to help us know Christ.”

Nat Schluter, Principal, Johannesburg Bible College

“A masterful balance of being thoughtfully Christ centered and warmly devotional at the same time. A blessing for my personal quiet time and my sermon preparation.”

Denesh Divyanathan, Senior Pastor, The Crossing Church, Singapore; Chairman, Evangelical Theological College of Asia; President, Project Timothy Singapore

The Psalms

A Christ-Centered Commentary

Other Crossway Books by Christopher Ash

The Heart of Anger: How the Bible Transforms Anger in Our Understanding and Experience, coauthored with Steve Midgley (2021)

Job: The Wisdom of the Cross (2014)

Married for God: Making Your Marriage the Best It Can Be (2016)

Trusting God in the Darkness: A Guide to Understanding the Book of Job (2021)

The Psalms

A Christ-Centered Commentary

Volume 3

Psalms 51–100

Christopher Ash

The Psalms: A Christ-Centered Commentary, Volume 3, Psalms 51–100

© 2024 by Christopher Brian Garton Ash

Published by Crossway1300 Crescent StreetWheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Portions of this work are adapted from Christopher Ash, Bible Delight: Heartbeat of the Word of God; Psalm 119 for the Bible Teacher and Bible Hearer (Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2008); Ash, Psalms for You: How to Pray, How to Feel, and How to Sing (Epsom, UK: Good Book, 2020); and Ash, Teaching Psalms: From Text to Message, 2 vols. (Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2017–2018). Used by permission of the publishers.

Cover design: Jordan Singer

First printing 2024

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated into any other language.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible. Public domain.

Scripture quotations marked NASB® are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.

Quotations marked NETS are taken from A New English Translation of the Septuagint, © 2007 by the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, Inc. Used by permission of Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked REB are taken from the Revised English Bible, copyright © Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press, 1989. All rights reserved.

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.

Hardcover ISBN (vol. 3): 978-1-4335-6393-5ePub ISBN (vol. 3): 978-1-4335-6396-6PDF ISBN (vol. 3): 978-1-4335-6394-2Hardcover ISBN (4-vol. set): 978-1-4335-6388-1ePub ISBN (4-vol. set): 978-1-4335-8843-3PDF ISBN (4-vol. set): 978-1-4335-8841-9

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023938846

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

2025-05-14 09:01:21 AM

To Tyndale House, Cambridge,

a fellowship of delight

in the Scriptures (Ps. 1:2).

Jesus, my shepherd, brother, friend,my prophet, priest, and king,my Lord, my life, my way, my end,accept the praise I bring.

John Newton

“How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds”

Contents

Preface

Abbreviations

Commentary on Psalms 51–100

Book 2 (continued)

Psalm 51

Psalm 52

Psalm 53

Psalm 54

Psalm 55

Psalm 56

Psalm 57

Psalm 58

Psalm 59

Psalm 60

Psalm 61

Psalm 62

Psalm 63

Psalm 64

Psalm 65

Psalm 66

Psalm 67

Psalm 68

Psalm 69

Psalm 70

Psalm 71

Psalm 72

Book 3

Psalm 73

Psalm 74

Psalm 75

Psalm 76

Psalm 77

Psalm 78

Psalm 79

Psalm 80

Psalm 81

Psalm 82

Psalm 83

Psalm 84

Psalm 85

Psalm 86

Psalm 87

Psalm 88

Psalm 89

Book 4

Psalm 90

Psalm 91

Psalm 92

Psalm 93

Psalm 94

Psalm 95

Psalm 96

Psalm 97

Psalm 98

Psalm 99

Psalm 100

Epigraph Sources

Bibliography

Subject Index

Name Index

Scripture Index

Preface

The Nature and Purpose of This Commentary

I am persuaded that the Psalms belong to Jesus Christ. I believe that the Psalms themselves point to a fulfillment only possible in the divine-human person of Christ. Through its quotations and echoes of the Psalms, the New Testament bears witness to a textured understanding in which Christ is central. For the larger part of church history, this has broadly been the way Christians have read the Psalms. This commentary is therefore a Christ-centered commentary, in which I seek to see Christ front and center when reading the Psalms. I have attempted to explain and argue my case in volume 1, Introduction: Christ and the Psalms.

Since the so-called “Enlightenment” in the eighteenth century, Christ has been eclipsed in much Psalms scholarship and preaching. With a few notable exceptions, recent commentaries tend either to omit Christ from many or all of the Psalms or mention him as little more than an afterthought. But I have become persuaded that Jesus Christ is the subject and object of the Psalms, that his majestic divine-human person is woven into the warp and woof of the Psalter, and that he is the preeminent singer of psalms, the focus of the Psalter, and the one without whom the Psalms cannot be understood aright. I therefore want to place Christ in the foreground of our reading of every psalm and to do so in ways that are shaped by the New Testament. I want to set before us what the Psalms might look and feel like if in truth they do belong to Christ.

There is much you will not find in this commentary. My background is that of a preacher and pastor rather than a trained biblical scholar. I have sought to interact with a representative sample of writers across the centuries (surveyed in volume 1, Introduction: Christ and the Psalms) but have not, for the most part, attempted to interact with the voluminous and ever-growing secondary literature. I hope I am sufficiently aware of the more significant debates, but for a full study of these things, readers should consult one or more of the recent technical commentaries. I have worked from the Hebrew text but have no particular expertise in the language, especially as regards Hebrew poetry, translation of tense forms, and poetic parallelism. Much scholarly debate surrounds theories of the dating, possible contexts of origins, and putative redaction histories of various psalms. Too often it seems to me that scholars construct theories on the basis of inadequate evidence; furthermore, I am not persuaded that these debates are always useful to Christian disciples seeking to weave the Psalms into their lives of prayer and praise.

This commentary is not, therefore, a substitute for technical, scholarly commentaries. What you will find here, I hope, is the Psalms read with the breadth of a whole-Bible perspective allied with the depth of a clear focus on Christ, the center of history and the fulcrum of the Bible story. I thus hope to do four things:

1. To help you understand the lyrics of these songs, what the words mean and what the poetry signifies

2. To assist us in feeling the “tune,” that is, the affectional and emotional dimensions of these songs

3. To point to the volitional commitment that is asked of disciples when we join in the Psalms—for to say the Psalms means moving from the audience, where we listen without commitment, to the choir, where commitment is expected

4. To motivate you to take that step and actively to make the Psalms a part of your lives of prayer and praise

I hope this commentary will prove useful to all kinds of Christian people—and especially to those who preach, teach, or lead studies on the Psalms.

How Each Psalm Is Treated

After one or more chapter epigraphs of quotations from other writers, each psalm is considered in three sections.

The orientation section involves consideration of how we ought to view the psalm in the light of Jesus Christ. This includes reference to New Testament quotations and echoes and to the context of the psalm in history (if known) and in its canonical context, especially with reference to nearby psalms. I hope that setting this section first helps the reader engage in a manner that places Christ at the center, rather than on the periphery.

The text section begins with consideration of the structure. Since there is an extraordinarily wide variation in perceived structures, I have sought to be cautious and tentative except where the structure seems very clear. The text section continues with verse-by-verse commentary, taking into account the orientation section and seeking to make clear the meaning of the words and lines as well as the flow of the poetry.

The reflection and response section points to what a Christian response might look like when appropriating this psalm.

Three Questions in Psalms Interpretation

Three questions are often asked when reading the Psalms that merit even concise mention at the outset of this commentary. For a fuller discussion, please see volume 1, Introduction: Christ and the Psalms. These questions, with my very brief conclusions, are listed below.

1. Who are “the righteous”? A careful analysis of the Psalms gives us a portrait of those who delight in the covenant God and find assurance of final vindication in him. This assurance is rooted in the righteousness of their covenant head. Because neither David nor his successors lived with perfect righteousness, they clearly foreshadow another covenant head who will. “The righteous” in the Psalms, then, are righteous by faith in the covenant God.

2. Can Jesus Christ be considered to be praying the Psalms when the psalmists confess their sins and plead for forgiveness? My conclusion is that he does so as the covenant head of a sinful people, just as he submitted to John the Baptist’s baptism of repentance. The shadow of the cross fell on him, who had no sin, as he prayed these psalms and our sin was imputed to him.

3. How are we to understand the prayers for God to punish the wicked in the Psalms? A study of the New Testament supports the conclusion that Jesus Christ prays these prayers from a pure heart, and so we pray them—cautiously and with trembling—in him. Every time we pray, “Your kingdom come,” in the Lord’s Prayer, we pray for this punishment on the finally impenitent, even as we pray for many to repent before it is too late.

The Superscriptions and the Shape of the Psalter

Much scholarly attention has focused in recent years on the canonical order of the Psalms and the ways in which the five books of the Psalms and the superscriptions may help us understand the significance of this order. I am persuaded that the canonical order is as much the fruit of the Holy Spirit’s direction as is the composition of the Psalms themselves. But I have sought to be cautious in making claims about discerning the meaning of this structure in detail. At the start of each book of the Psalter, I have included a very brief introduction to that book.

I accept the reliability of the superscriptions, while recognizing that we do not understand all the terms used in them. I have commented briefly on these terms (and the word Selah) the first time each appears. In particular, I accept that “of David” and similar expressions indicate authorship, and I have sought to argue this position (a minority among scholars) in volume 1, Introduction: Christ and the Psalms.

Texts and Translations

I have followed the normal Jewish and Christian understanding that the Masoretic Text is the most reliable witness to the original form of the texts. Some modern translations give considerable weight to the Greek translations (and sometimes also to the Dead Sea Scrolls and the ancient Versions), but I have erred on the side of caution, except where there are overwhelming reasons for rejecting the Masoretic Text. I have indicated where there is significant uncertainty.

When quoting Hebrew or Greek, I provide both the original forms and the transliteration in the main text. In footnotes I provide only the original Hebrew or Greek.

I have used the English Standard Version (ESV) as my base text (though I have at times taken liberty to break stanzas differently from the ESV). I have found this an admirable translation for the purposes of detailed study. Where there are significant differences, I have sometimes referred to the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), the King James Version (KJV), the New American Standard Bible (NASB), the New International Version (NIV), the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), and the Revised English Bible (REB).

Hebrew Tense Forms

Scholars vary in the terminology they use for the two tense forms in Hebrew. One form may be called the perfect, the perfective, the suffix conjugation, or the qatal. The other may be called the imperfect, the imperfective, the prefix conjugation, or the yiqtol. For simplicity I use the traditional terminology perfect and imperfect, even though these do not translate simply into English perfect or imperfect tenses, especially in poetry. In general, it may be true that an imperfect form conveys an action that is continuing (typically but not always future), while a perfect form indicates an action that is completed (typically but not always past). But there are many exceptions (especially when following the vav consecutive).

The Divine Name “the Lord”

The Hebrew name יהוה‎, or YHWH, often written Yahweh and sometimes called the tetragrammaton (after its four consonants), is written “Lord” in quotations from the biblical text (in line with the usual convention for English translations). Outside quotations, I prefer to use the phrases covenant Lord or covenant God, rather than the word Yahweh, partly because we do not know for sure how it was pronounced but mainly because it captures the strong Old Testament context of covenantal lordship.

The Davidic King

When speaking of the Davidic king/King, I have generally capitalized King to encourage the reader to think toward the fulfillment of Davidic kingship in Christ, the final King. I have typically used the lowercase king when referring exclusively to an old covenant king, whether David or one of his successors.

Psalm Numbering

I have numbered the Psalms according to the Masoretic Text and all English translations throughout. Most patristic writers followed the Psalm chapter numbering in, or derived from, the Greek translations. This numbering differs from the Hebrew numbering as shown in table 1. So, for example, when commenting on what our English Bibles call Psalm 107, Augustine of Hippo (354–430) refers to it as Psalm 106. But even when referring to the Septuagint or Vulgate, I have translated into the Masoretic Text numbering.

Table 1 Psalm Numbering in English and Greek Versions

Psalm Number in English Versions

Psalm Number in Greek Versions

Pss. 1–8

Unchanged: Pss. 1–8

Pss. 9–10

Combined into Ps. 9

Pss. 11–113

One less: Pss. 10–112

Pss. 114–115

Combined into Ps. 113

Ps. 116

Split into Pss. 114 and 115

Pss. 117–146

One less: Pss. 116–145

Ps. 147

Split into Pss. 146 and 147

Pss. 148–150

Unchanged: Pss. 148–150

Verse Numbering

I have used English verse numbering throughout, with superscriptions labeled S. Where a psalm has more than a very short superscription, the Masoretic Text usually designates the superscription verse 1, increasing all subsequent verse numbers by one. Otherwise, the superscription forms the start of verse 1. I have noted this feature when commenting on each superscription.

Abbreviations

AB  Anchor Bible

ACCS  Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Edited by Thomas C. Oden. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1998–2010.

ACW  Ancient Christian Writers

AD  anno Domini, “in the year of the Lord,” often called the Common Era, CE

BC  before Christ, sometimes called before the Common Era, BCE

BCOTWP  Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms

BDB  Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs. A Hebrew Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1906.

BECNT  Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament

BHS  Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Edited by Karl Elliger and Wilhelm Rudolph. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1983.

ca.  circa, “approximately”

CBSC  Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

CC  Continental Commentaries

CFTL  Clark’s Foreign Theological Library

chap(s).  chapter(s)

CNTOT  Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Edited by G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007.

CSC  Crossway Short Classics

DSS  Dead Sea Scrolls

EBTC  Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary

e.g.  exempli gratia, “for example”

esp.  especially

etc.  et cetera, “and so forth”

FC  Fathers of the Church

fl.  floruit, “flourished”

HALOT  The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Ludwig Koehler, Walter Baumgartner, and Johann J. Stamm. Translated and edited under the supervision of Mervyn E. J. Richardson. 4 vols. Leiden: Brill, 1994–1999.

IBC  Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching

i.e.  id est, “that is”

JBL  Journal of Biblical Literature

JSOTSup  Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series

KEL  Kregel Exegetical Library

lit.  literally

LXX  Septuagint (Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures)

MC  A Mentor Commentary

MT  Masoretic Text

NCB  New Century Bible

NIVAC  NIV Application Commentary

NSBT  New Studies in Biblical Theology

NT  New Testament

OT  Old Testament

RCS  Reformation Commentary on Scripture. Edited by Timothy George and Scott M. Manetsch. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2011–.

SBLDS  Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series

SBT  Studies in Biblical Theology

SJT  Scottish Journal of Theology

SSBT  Short Studies in Biblical Theology

SSLL  Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics

s.v.  sub verbo, “under the word”

THOTC  Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary

TOTC  Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries

trans.  translator, translated by

Vg.  Vulgate (Jerome’s Latin translation of the Bible)

WBC  Word Biblical Commentary

WCS  Welwyn Commentary Series

Commentary on

Psalms 51–100

Book 2 (continued)

Book 2 of the Psalter runs from Psalm 42 to Psalm 72. Unlike almost all of book 1, Psalms 42–50 do not have David’s name in the superscription. Psalms 42–49 are “of the sons of Korah” (except Ps. 43; see vol. 2), and Psalm 50 is “of Asaph.” From Psalm 51 onward, “of David” is usually present again. At the end of the book, we read, “The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended” (Ps. 72:20), signaling (it is usually thought) the end of the earliest “David collection.” This may mean that Psalms 42–49 were also composed by David and performed by the sons of Korah and by Asaph; this was the most common view among the ancient writers but is less popular today.

Book 2 also begins a group of psalms (Pss. 42–83) with a marked preference for the general word “God” (אֵל‎, El, or אֱלֹהִים‎, Elohim) rather than “the Lord.”1 The most obvious example of this phenomenon is the virtual repetition of Psalm 14 in Psalm 53 but with the change of divine name. We do not know the reason for the preference for “God” in these psalms.2

1  Pss. 42–83 are sometimes referred to as the so-called Elohistic Psalter. The difference in divine names is quite striking. In these psalms, יהוה‎ appears 45 times and the general terms 210 times. In the rest of the Psalter, יהוה‎ appears 584 times and the general terms only 94 times. Mitchell Dahood (1922–1982), Psalms, 3 vols., AB (New York: Doubleday, 1965), 1:256.

2  For further discussion, see Bruce K. Waltke, James M. Houston, and Erika Moore, The Psalms as Christian Lament: A Historical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2014), 185n62.

Listen to [David] crying out, and cry with him; listen to him groaning, and groan too; listen to him weeping, and add your tears to his; listen to him corrected, and share his joy. . . . The prophet Nathan was sent to that man; and notice how humble the king was. He did not brush his mentor’s words aside, nor did he demand, “How dare you speak to me like this? I am the king!” King in his majesty though he was, he listened to the prophet; now let Christ’s lowly people listen to Christ.

Augustine

Expositions of the Psalms

This is the most deeply affecting of all the Psalms, and I am sure the one most applicable to me.

Thomas Chalmers

In Charles H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David

Each solitary sin, the more it is perceived in its fundamental character, and, as it were, microscopically discerned, all the more does it appear as a manifold and entangled skein of sins, and stands forth in a still more intimate and terrible relation, as of cause and effect, to the whole corrupt and degenerated condition of which the sinner finds himself.

Franz Delitzsch

Biblical Commentary on the Psalms

Psalm 51

Orientation

Jesus teaches that we ought to confess our sins in the manner of Psalm 51. When the prodigal son addresses his father with the words, “Father, I have sinned against heaven. . . . I am no longer worthy” (Luke 15:21), he follows the pattern of the psalm: he acknowledges his guilt fully, he confesses his sin clearly, he is forgiven and cleansed completely, and the story ends with a meal that restores to him the joy of his salvation.1 When the tax collector beats his breast and says, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13), his prayer is “in effect the opening words of Psalm 51.”2

Jesus is the glorious solution to the desperate predicament of this psalm. He is the sacrifice whose propitiation makes forgiveness assured for each believer who prays these words. Paul quotes Psalm 51:4b in Romans 3:4. Just as Psalm 51:4b expresses David’s admission that he fully deserves whatever punishment he may receive, so in Romans 3:4 Paul teaches that humankind fully deserves God’s punishment. Only the propitiatory death of Christ, which he goes on to expound (Rom. 3:21–26), can give us hope.

Further, we observe that in its first praying, this is a prayer of the king. The prayer for Zion (the people of God) in Psalm 51:18–19 suggests that this is important.3 The singer is not any old individual sinner but the king; this is why his restoration is the key to the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, for “the people stood and fell with [the king].”4 This may point to a connection at a deeper level between David the sinful king and Jesus our sinless King. What if Jesus Christ actually prays Psalm 51?

I have argued that this is the most plausible reading of Psalms 6, 32, and 38, all of them psalms of repentance.5 But Psalm 51 is a peculiarly intense case, including as it does repentance from original sin (51:5); this leads many to feel that Jesus cannot possibly pray this psalm of repentance, even if he may pray the others.6 But we need to ponder the very depths of his atoning sacrifice, in which he was made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). Every facet and character of our sin (and David’s sin) was taken by Jesus on himself, including original sin (our sin in our sinful origins). All this he made his own for us; had it not been so, his atoning death would have been insufficient for our righteousness. Jesus Christ, who was himself without sin (Heb. 4:15), took on himself even David’s cry “I was brought forth in iniquity.” It may be, therefore, that we should read even Psalm 51 as a prayer of Jesus as he enters into the misery of our sins for us.

Not all will be persuaded that this is so. If we are, it is important to be clear that Jesus does not repent in our place,7 for we must repent and pray the psalm for ourselves. Nevertheless, in Psalm 51 Jesus demonstrates a horror at sin and a resolute turning from sin that together constitute a perfect repentance. Neither we nor David repents perfectly. The turning of the sinless Jesus from our sin as it envelops him is a most wonderful facet of the active obedience of Jesus Christ in his earthly life. We are saved by his sin-bearing death; we are not saved by his repentance. Nevertheless, he does not simply instruct us to pray Psalm 51; perhaps he leads us in praying it.

Psalm 51 is linked to Psalm 50 by the motif of sacrifice and the question of what sacrifices are acceptable to God (50:9–14; 51:16–19).8 Psalm 50:23 mentions both sacrifice and the right ordering of one’s moral way; both of these lead naturally to Psalm 51.9 The theme of instruction (51:13–15) links back to Psalm 49.

This is the fourth of the seven traditional penitential psalms.10 The connection between Psalms 32 and 51 may be that Psalm 51 is David’s first (heartfelt) confession and that Psalm 32 later fulfills the pledge of Psalm 51:13 to teach transgressors his ways.

In the Davidic psalms of book 2 (most of those from Pss. 51 to 71), there is perhaps a deliberate and suggestive inclusio. Psalm 51 is David’s repentance after going in to Bathsheba. Psalm 72 celebrates the peaceful messianic reign connected to Bathsheba’s son Solomon.11 Here is a cameo of amazing grace.

The Text

Structure

Several structures have been suggested, each with some justification.12 To my mind, the most persuasive may be as follows: Psalm 51:1–9 focuses mainly on prayer for forgiveness (bracketed by “blot out”);1351:10–17 shifts the focus toward prayer for personal renewal (bracketed by a clean heart and right spirit and by a broken spirit and broken and contrite heart), leading naturally in to 51:18–19, which is a prayer for the renewal of the people of God.

Within this structure we may also note that (1) 51:13–15 has a theme of the King speaking to others; (2) 51:16–19 shares a theme of sacrifice; and (3) some of 51:1–9 anticipates renewal (e.g., 51:6, 8), while some of 51:10–17 returns to the motif of forgiveness (esp. 51:14a).

Superscription

S    To the choirmaster.14 A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.15

Although this psalm is suitable “for the loneliness of individual penitence,” the designation To the choirmaster suggests that “this matchless Psalm is equally well adapted for the assembly of the poor in spirit.”16 It is a remarkable testimony to God’s grace in David that he should make his intensely personal repentance so public, for true repentance is a deeply humbling work of grace; it both instructs us and provokes us to a like repentance.17

If, as has been suggested, Psalm 51:18–19 refers to the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the exile,18 then these verses may be a later Spirit-inspired editorial addition. But there is no reason why David himself, as a prophet, should not have prayed them, and it is better to suppose that he did.

The drama when Nathan the prophet wentto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba, is recorded in 2 Samuel 12:1–15. The Hebrew for went to and gone in to is identical:19 David went in to Bathsheba (he lay with her), and as a result, the prophet Nathan went in to David (with words of rebuke), the sinful pleasure of the one balanced by the painful mercy of the other. There are verbal connections between this incident and the psalm, including the phrase “evil in [God’s] sight” (2 Sam. 12:9; Ps. 51:4) and the language of sin against God (2 Sam. 12:13; Ps. 51:4).20 David’s response to Nathan is remarkable, for “no other king of his time would have felt any compunction for having acted as he did.”21

51:1–9 Prayer for Forgiveness

1    Have mercy on me, O God,

    according to your steadfast love;

    according to your abundant mercy

    blot out my transgressions.

2    Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

    and cleanse me from my sin!

Three words for comprehensive sin and three words for abundant cleansing begin David’s passionate prayer. Transgression means active rebellion against God;22iniquity indicates a twisting, perversion, or depravity from the straight and right way; and sin denotes a wandering or missing of the moral mark.23 Together they speak of sin in all its ugly fullness, for “the pollution of sin goes through the whole powers of the soul and body, . . . through mind, will, affections, senses, bodily and all.”24 The verbs for cleansing are blot out (also Ps. 51:9), the erasure or cancellation of a debt in God’s book (e.g., Isa. 43:25; 44:22; cf. Acts 3:19; Col. 2:14) or the removal of dirt (e.g., from a bowl, 2 Kings 21:13); wash, used of the vigorous washing of very dirty clothes (cf. Isa. 1:16; Jer. 2:22; 4:14)25 and often of ritual purification (e.g., Ex. 19:10); and cleanse, also associated with ritual cleansing, particularly of lepers (e.g., Lev. 13:6).26 A comparably deep cleansing is prophesied in Isaiah 4:4.

In Psalm 51:1b the word translated mercy conveys compassion (used of Joseph in Gen. 43:30, fulfilled when Jesus is moved with compassion). There is a play on abundance: abundant and thoroughly have the same root. We might translate it “According to your abundant kindness . . . wash me abundantly.” The focus is on God (O God . . . your steadfast love . . . your abundant mercy) before it is on David and his sin. He begins with God, in the fullness of his covenantal attributes, before speaking of his sin. Martin Luther (1483–1546) vividly contrasts “God in general or absolute terms,” from whom we must flee, with God here “as He is dressed and clothed in His Word and promises, so that from the name ‘God’ we cannot exclude Christ.”27

3    For I know my transgressions,

    and my sin is ever before me.

To know here means not simply “to be cognizant of” or even “to acknowledge” but to be deeply aware. There is a connection here with Romans 3, which quotes Psalm 51:4b, for true knowledge begins with “knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20), as this psalm demonstrates.28 Here is a man who knows in experience “the intolerable burden of the wrath of God,” for he “is oppressed by his conscience and tossed to and fro, not knowing where to turn.”29 Psalm 32:3–4 is almost a commentary on this verse. The second line intensifies the first with the phrase before me (both “in my consciousness” and “opposite me, against me” as my accuser)30 and the word ever, for until he is cleansed, he cannot put these sins behind him.

4    Against you, you only, have I sinned

    and done what is evil in your sight,

    so that31 you may be justified in your words

    and blameless in your judgment.

The emphasis of 51:4a is in the words you, you only, and in your sight. Far from denying that David has committed an offense against Bathsheba and Uriah, the point is that sin is, in its essence, an offense against God. A classic expression of this is in Leviticus 6:2, in which an offense against a neighbor is described as a “sin” and “a breach of faith against the Lord.” It is this that renders injustice and immorality so serious. Far from minimizing the harm done to others, this confession admits that it matters more than the unbeliever can ever grasp. The phrase in your sight presses this home to the conscience, for “where there is grace in the soul it reflects a fearful guilt upon every evil act, when we remember that the God whom we offend was present when the trespass was committed.”32 There is no light relief from “an accusing conscience and an offended God.”33

Paul quotes Psalm 51:4b in Romans 3:4. Psalm 51:4a sets up 51:4b. Precisely because David admits his sin (51:4a), he can go on to place himself in the hands of God, admitting in advance that whatever God chooses to say and do (his words, that is, any verdict he passes, his judgment) will be right (justified).34 The verb “prevail” in Greek (Rom. 3:4; “be . . . blameless” in Ps. 51:4) translates a Hebrew verb that means “to be clean in a moral sense”35 and therefore to prevail if tried in court. God is entirely justified when he judges.36 To admit this, with no claim of extenuating circumstances, is a mark of true repentance. As Luther puts it, “Judgment of self is in substance justification of God; . . . justification of self is in substance judgment of God.”37

5    Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

    and in sin did my mother conceive me.38

Behold emphasizes what follows. David speaks of his birth39 and then, pressing back to the roots of his existence, of his conception.40 The parallelism makes clear that his sinfulness is not related to a supposed sinfulness in his parents’ act of conception41 since it is he who is a sinner (51:5a). Rather, he says that even in his earliest moments of existence he is shaped by iniquity and sin. Taken alongside Romans 5:12, this verse presents to us the doctrine of original sin, or sin in our human origins.42 David

wraps up all of human nature in one bundle and says, “I was conceived in sin.” . . . I am a sinner, not because I have committed adultery, nor because I have had Uriah murdered. But I have committed adultery and murder because I was born, indeed conceived and formed in the womb, as a sinner.43

David “is not saying he is a sinner because he sinned; rather, he is saying he sinned because he is a sinner.”44 As Derek Kidner notes, “This crime, David now sees, was no freak event: it was in character; an extreme expression of the warped creature he had always been, and of the faulty stock he sprang from.”45

There is also a corporate sense in which this is true of the people of God, for right back at Mount Sinai, in the episode of the golden calf, their sinfulness was apparent (cf. the similar theme in Ezek. 16; 20; 23). But the fundamental meaning of the confession is individual. Each man and woman inherits the sin of Adam; Israel’s corporate sinfulness is the expression of this universal human sinfulness.

6    Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,

    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Behold (emphatic) builds on the “behold” in the previous verse: if a person is deeply sinful, then God must work deeply in the heart to do his work of grace. In the midst of a passionate prayer for forgiveness, this verse anticipates the renewal that dominates from Psalm 51:10 onward. Although there are uncertainties in the words translated inward being46 and secret heart,47 together they clearly indicate the depths of human personhood, the roots of our desires, affections, imaginations, and decisions. There is a movement from God’s delight (which is the counterpoint to God’s righteous anger) to God’s gracious action (You teach me); truth (perfect sincerity, utter purity, and genuineness) is parallel to wisdom, of which the fear of the Lord is the root.

7    Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

To purge means to purify from uncleanness.48Hyssop, a plant that can grow out of a wall (1 Kings 4:33), was used for ritual sprinkling, with the blood of the Passover lamb (Ex. 12:22) and with the blood of a sacrificed bird in the ceremony for the cleansing of a leper (Lev. 14:4–6). It was also used with water for ceremonial cleansing after contact with death (Num. 19:16–19). The dominant use is with sacrificial blood. David “appeals to God Himself to perform the office of the priest and cleanse him from his defilement”49—finally by the blood of Christ (Heb. 9:25–28). Indeed, writes John Calvin, “It is the peculiar work of the Holy Spirit to sprinkle our consciences inwardly with the blood of Christ, and, by removing the sense of guilt, to secure our access into the presence of God.”50 Only when God himself washes us with the blood of Christ will we be whiter than snow (cf. Isa. 1:18) and walk before God with white garments to symbolize cleansed hearts (e.g., Rev. 3:4–5; 4:4). Considering what this meant for David and old covenant believers, Luther writes that David “asks to be sprinkled with the Word of faith in the coming Christ, who will sprinkle His church with His blood”; what matters is that “you believe in the validity of no satisfaction, no work, no Law, no righteousness in the sight of God except this single sprinkling.”51

8    Let me hear joy and gladness;

    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.

The outcast returns to hear audible songs of joy and gladness (cf. in the sanctuary, Ps. 42:4), for there is joy in heaven (Luke 15:7, 10, 23–25) and joy in the heart of God (Zeph. 3:17) over every sinner who repents. He himself shares this joy as the bones that you have broken (lit., “crushed”; cf. the dry bones of Ezek. 37:1–14) in righteous judgment rejoice. Writing from his own vivid experience, Luther says,

In spite of all efforts and good works the timid, frightened, and terrified conscience remains until Thou sprinklest and washest me with grace and thus createst in me a good conscience, so that I hear that mysterious prompting, “Your sins are forgiven” (Matt. 9:2). No one notices, sees, or understands this except him who hears it. It can be heard, and the hearing produces a calm and joyful conscience, and confidence in God.52

9    Hide your face from my sins,

    and blot out all my iniquities.

Usually the hiding of God’s face is a sign of his displeasure (e.g., Ps. 44:24). But when our sins are uncovered in his sight (90:8; cf. 32:1), nothing matters more than that they be hidden from him. Linking this perceptively with 51:3, Augustine says, “Switch your sin to a position before your face, if you want God to turn his face away from it.”53 Either I see and confess my sin so that God will not look on it, or I cover up my sin and it is ever before God’s holy face in anger. The verb blot out ties this verse to 51:1, perhaps bookending 51:1–9.

51:10–17 Prayer for Renewal

The emphasis now begins to shift from the removal of sins to the renewal of the sinner. Luther suggests that the next section “seems to me to pertain to the gifts of the Spirit that follow the forgiveness of sins.”54

10    Create in me a clean heart, O God,

    and renew a right spirit within me.

A clean heart (in which God delights, Ps. 51:6) can happen only by a work of God that is deeper than the furthest depths of sin. The verb create (בָּרָא‎, bara) always has God as its subject and indicates “bringing into being what did not exist before,”55 for “nothing less than a miracle could effect his reformation.”56 Here is a work “which borroweth nothing from the creature,”57 for it must be a new and sovereign work of God, creating a clean heart not by a measure of assistance in cleaning up an indifferent heart (which just needs a little bit of divine help for its self-improvement) but by a work of sovereign grace ex nihilo.

Although the verb renew can refer to the restoration of something existing (e.g., “repair,” Isa. 61:4), here the parallel with create necessitates that it carry its meaning of “make new.” The right58 spirit means a human spirit that is morally fixed, steadfast, and resolute in its loyalty to God.59

This prayer anticipates—and believes—the promised new covenant (e.g., Jer. 24:7; 32:39; Ezek. 11:19; 36:26), for it involves a new creation, a “new self” (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15; Eph. 4:24).

11    Cast me not away from your presence,

    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

Cast me not is emphatic: “Do not fling me.”60 God removed his Holy Spirit from King Saul (1 Sam. 16:14); David fears this more than anything else. This language was used later about the whole people (the verb “cast out” in, e.g., 2 Kings 17:20; 24:20); the two are connected, for if this happens to the Davidic king, it will happen to his people. Only a Messiah-King with the Holy Spirit can bring his people into the presence of God.

12    Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

The joy of God’s salvation is found only in Christ. David “is pointing to Christ, in the contemplation of whom he was joyful even in his very tears.”61 The adjective willing speaks of a new human spirit to whom doing right is free, glad, generous, even spontaneous (cf. Ex. 35:22). Such a God-given spirit, possible only by the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ps. 51:11), is a miracle of grace.

13    Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

    and sinners will return to you.

The forgiven transgressor-king (51:1, 3) turns to teach transgressors the moral ways of God, for these ways can be walked only by those who return in the repentance of this psalm and experience the new covenant renewal in Christ to which this psalm points. This psalm, together with Psalm 32, does precisely this. In them our King teaches us that we must repent and shows us how to repent.

14    Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,

    O God of my salvation,

    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.

Bloodguiltiness usually means guilt from shedding human blood62 (as David has done to Uriah), although it can mean guilt more generally, as it is often used for Israel corporately (e.g., Isa. 4:4; Hos. 12:14).63 In this verse the movement is from deliverance and salvation to a singing aloud of God’s covenant righteousness, by which he righteously pardons his penitent people (cf. 1 John 1:9), even as he righteously punishes the impenitent.

15    O Lord, open my lips,

    and my mouth will declare your praise.

Psalm 51:13–15 is summed up by this prayer, that the lips of the forgiven penitent will be opened, that his mouth can declare the praise of the God of salvation in Christ.

16    For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;64

    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

For hints at a logical development from what precedes; perhaps the logic is that David offers his penitent heart because this is what God wants. The verb delight (here and in 51:6, 19) gives a window into the heart of God. This is not an absolute rejection of the sacrificial system, given by God under the old covenant; rather, it speaks against the shallow abuse of that system (as 51:19 confirms). The context makes this clear, with its radical emphasis on heart repentance and a work of God’s sovereign grace deep in the human spirit. There is a strikingly similar sentiment in Psalm 40:6, which we know to be fulfilled in the sacrifice of Christ, for, as Augustine says, “Those former sacrifices were symbolic; they prefigured the one saving sacrifice.”65Calvin writes memorably that the old covenant sacrifices were “borrowing from Christ the necessary purchase-money of redemption.”66

17    The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Psalm 51:17 is the counterpart to 51:16. The sacrifices of God67 means those with which God is pleased. As in 51:10, the heart and the spirit are combined to convey the whole human person. The words broken (“shattered”) and contrite (lit., “crushed,” as in “broken,” 51:8) both convey the effect of deep repentance on a person; when we see our sins in anything approaching their true horror, we are utterly crushed and devastated by the sight.68

51:18–19 Prayer for the Renewal of the People of God

18    Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;

    build up the walls of Jerusalem;

Zion now comes into focus, for the right standing of the King before God is the sine qua non of the prosperity of God’s people. J. Alec Motyer (1924–2016) explains, “David, as king, could not sin simply as a private individual: his sin threatened the fabric of public life. Consequently, he would be as anxious for the building up of Jerusalem (Ps. 51:18) as for his own restoration.”69

As David considers the city that lies at the heart of the people, and as a later generation will use these words in prayer for restoration from exile (cf. 102:13, 16), so this is also “a further prophecy [of] the new Sion . . . the heavenly Jerusalem to be built on earth” (cf. Gal. 4:26; Rev. 21).70 Here is a prayer “that the Lord might build His church.”71 David prays for God to “hasten Zion’s final glory, and then shall there be no more scandals to give the enemy cause to blaspheme, no more backslidings, no more falls; then shalt thou be fully honoured as the God of atonement.”72

It may be that the walls suggest a clear distinction between the church and the world, so that the church is in the world but the world is not in the church.73

19    then will you delight in right sacrifices,

    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

The phrase right sacrifices (cf. Deut. 33:19; Ps. 4:5) indicates, in this context, sacrifices offered in a right spirit, the spirit of penitence exemplified by this psalm. Burnt offerings translates the usual word focusing on their ascending in smoke and flame.74Whole burnt offerings translates an adjective that emphasizes the entirety of what is offered. Together they speak of “the entire self-dedication of the worshipper.”75

Reflection and Response

1. Our major response ought, very simply, to be to make the psalm our own, both in heartfelt individual repentance and also as we join in congregational repentance.

2. David’s repentance took place a year or so after his sin (evidenced by the birth and death of the son then conceived). By David’s response to Nathan’s rebuke, we too learn to comply humbly “with the calls to repentance, which may be addressed to [us] by his servants, instead of remaining under sin till [we] be surprised by the final vengeance of Heaven.”76David Dickson notes “how faithful ministers ought to be in their proper charges, reproving sin, even in the greatest personages, when God calleth them unto it, and how acceptable their reproof should be to the honest heart.”77

3. Augustine writes, “We have read about what we must shun [i.e., in the superscription]; now let us listen to what we must imitate if we have slipped into sin, for there are many who are very willing to fall with David, but unwilling to rise again with him.” Cautioning against the glee with which we may watch the fall of a great saint, he goes on to say that these falls should cause us to tremble: “Let all who have not fallen listen, to ensure they do not fall; and let all who have fallen listen, so that they may learn to get up again.” He preaches especially to those who “have fallen already, and study the words of this psalm with some evil thing on their consciences,” and he exhorts them that “they must indeed be aware of the gravity of their wounds, but not despair of our noble physician.”78

4. Commenting on Psalm 51:3, Luther observes that “sham saints . . . pervert this psalm and say: ‘I perceive the sins of others, and the sins of others are always before me.’”79

5. It is worth meditating on the fact that pardon itself (pledged to us in Christ) may precede by some time our experiential grasp of it. As Dickson observes, “The dividing of the grant of pardon from the effectual intimation thereof unto the conscience, is done in God’s wisdom and mercy towards his child for good; for here it ripeneth repentance, and bringeth forth this deep confession.”80

6. Luther writes with eloquent and passionate conviction about this psalm. He scorns the “fine and pleasing theologians!” who offer life and joy without conviction of sin. Rather, he notes,

God is the kind of God who does nothing for any other purpose than to regard and love the contrite, vexed, and troubled, and . . . He is a God of the humble and the troubled. If anyone could grasp this definition with his heart, he would be a theologian. . . .

We have to learn that a Christian should walk in the midst of death, in the remorse and trembling of his conscience, in the midst of the devil’s teeth and of hell, and yet should keep the Word of grace, so that in such trembling we say, “Thou, O Lord, dost look on me with favor.”81

7. While the instruction of others (51:13–15) is the particular responsibility of Christian leaders, it is a wholesome discipline for each Christian to share with others the joy of cleansing and the health of repentance.

8. Although the prayer for the upbuilding of the church (51:18–19) is primarily the prayer of the King, it is good for us also to conclude our penitence with the prayer that the repentance God has granted to us will also be vouchsafed to his whole church.

1  Frank Lothar Hossfeld (1942–2015) and Erich Zenger (1939–2010), Psalms, trans. Linda M. Maloney, ed. Klaus Baltzer, 3 vols., Hermeneia (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2005–2011), 2:24–25.

2  J. L. Mays (1921–2015), Psalms, IBC (Louisville: John Knox, 1994), 199.

3  This is rightly noted by John Goldingay, Psalms, 3 vols., BCOTWP (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006–2008), 2:125.

4  E. W. Hengstenberg (1802–1869), Commentary on the Psalms, trans. P. Fairbairn and J. Thomson, 3 vols., CFTL 1–2, 12 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1845), 2:183.

5  In this paragraph and the next I am indebted to Garry Williams and Philip Eveson (through personal correspondence), whose different perspectives have helped me clarify in my mind the theological issues involved here.

6  E.g., Andrew A. Bonar (1810–1892), Christ and His Church in the Book of Psalms (London: J. Nisbet, 1859), 160.

7  It seems that Richard Belcher comes close to saying this when he writes, “Christ vicariously confessed and repented in our behalf.” Richard P. Belcher Jr., The Messiah and the Psalms: Preaching Christ from All the Psalms (Fearn, Ross-Shire, Scotland: Mentor, 2006), 87. Ferguson rightly states that “the NT knows no such category as the perfect vicarious repentance of Christ.” Sinclair B. Ferguson, “‘Blessèd Assurance, Jesus Is Mine’? Definite Atonement and the Cure of Souls,” in From Heaven He Came and Sought Her: Definite Atonement in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective, ed. David Gibson and Jonathan Gibson (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 621.

8  “It is as though the warning of judgment in Psalm 50 prompts the sincere repentance in Psalm 51. Psalm 50:18 denounced adulterers, and the wider context of Psalm 50 presents the Lord coming in judgment (cf. 50:1–6). The terrible prospect of judgment crushes David’s rebellion and puts him on his knees in Psalm 51, crying out for mercy from the one whose righteousness his sin offended.” James M. Hamilton Jr., Psalms, 2 vols., EBTC (Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2021), 1:506.

9  Sidney Greidanus, Preaching Christ from Psalms: Foundations for Expository Sermons in the Christian Year (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016), 241.

10  The traditional penitential psalms are Pss. 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143.

11Hossfeld and Zenger, Psalms, 2:18.

12  See the useful discussions of structure in Greidanus, Preaching Christ from Psalms, 248–50; Belcher, Messiah and the Psalms, 252n62. The many repetitions of words are noted in Goldingay, Psalms, 2:124.

13  Goldingay suggests a chiastic structure within Ps. 51:1–9. Goldingay, Psalms, 2:130–31.

14  See on Ps. 4.

15  The other historical superscriptions are for Pss. 3, 7, 18, 34, 52, 54, 56, 57, 59, 60, 63, 142. In Hebrew the superscription is verses 1–2; subsequent verse numbers are increased by two.

16  Charles H. Spurgeon (1834–1892), The Treasury of David, 3 vols. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2016), 1.2:401.

17Hengstenberg, Psalms, 2:189.

18  E.g., A. F. Kirkpatrick (1849–1940), The Book of Psalms: With Introduction and Notes