Psalm 51

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 51:16

For thou desirest not sacrifice ,.... Legal sacrifice; for there was no sacrifice appointed under the law for murder and adultery; else would I give it ; he would gladly have offered it up; thou delightest not in burnt offering ; at least such kind of sacrifices, though they were of divine appointment, and at that time in full force and use; yet they were not the only and principal sacrifices God desired and delighted in; nor were they at all acceptable to him without faith in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 51:17

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit ,.... That is humbled under a sense of sin; has true repentance for it; is smitten, wounded, and broken with it, by the word of God in the hand of the Spirit, which is a hammer to break the rock in pieces; and that not merely in a legal, but in an evangelical way; grieving for sin as committed against a God of love; broken and melted down under a sense of it, in a view of pardoning grace; and mourning for it, while beholding a pierced and wounded... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 51:18

Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion ,.... This verse, and Psalm 51:19 , are thought, by a Spanish Rabbi mentioned by Aben Ezra, to have been added by one of the holy men that lived in the time of the Babylonish captivity; though rather it is thought, by the latter, to be written by David, under a spirit of prophecy, concerning, times to come; and so Kimchi thinks they are prophetic of future things; of the destruction of the first and second temple, and of the acceptableness of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 51:19

Then shall thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness ,.... Which must be different from the legal ones he desired not, and did not delight in, Psalm 51:16 ; but design sacrifices under the Gospel dispensation, as the word "then" shows, which connects this verse with Psalm 51:18 , and in the first place intend the sacrifice of Christ, which is of a sweet smelling savour to God; and his righteousness, with which he is well pleased, because the law is magnified and made... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 51

The psalmist, with a deeply penitent heart, prays for remission of sins, Psalm 51:1-4 ; which he confesses, and deeply deplores, Psalm 51:5-14 ; states his willingness to offer sacrifice, but is convinced that God prefers a broken heart to all kinds of oblations, Psalm 51:15-17 ; prays for the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem, and promises that then the Lord's sacrifice shall be properly performed, Psalm 51:18 , Psalm 51:19 . The title is long: "To the chief Musician, A Psalm... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 51:1

Have mercy upon me, O God - Without mercy I am totally, finally ruined and undone. According to thy loving-kindness - Mark the gradation in the sense of these three words, Have Mercy on me, חנני chonneni ; thy Loving-Kindness, חסדך chasdecha ; - thy Tender Mercies, רחמיך rachameycha , here used to express the Divine compassion. The propriety of the order in which they are placed deserves particular observation. The first, rendered have mercy or pity, denotes that kind of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 51:2

Wash me throughly - כבסני הרבה harbeh cabbeseni , "Wash me again and again, - cause my washings to be multiplied." My stain is deep; ordinary purgation will not be sufficient. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 51:3

For I acknowledge my transgressions - I know, I feel, I confess that I have sinned. My sin is ever before me - A true, deep, and unsophisticated mark of a genuine penitent. Wherever he turns his face, he sees his sin, and through it the eye of an angry God. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 51:4

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned - This verse is supposed to show the impropriety of affixing the above title to this Psalm. It could not have been composed on account of the matter with Bath-sheba and the murder of Uriah; for, surely, these sins could not be said to have been committed against God Only, if we take the words of this verse in their common acceptation. That was a public sin, grievous, and against society at large, as well as against the peace, honor, comfort, and life of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 51:5

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity - A genuine penitent will hide nothing of his state; he sees and bewails, not only the acts of sin which he has committed, but the disposition that led to those acts. He deplores, not only the transgression, but the carnal mind which is enmity against God. The light that shines into his soul shows him the very source whence transgression proceeds; he sees his fallen nature, as well as his sinful life; he asks pardon for his transgressions, and he asks washing... read more

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