Psalms 51:12 - Exposition

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation . Give me back that "joy" which was mine when I was conscious of thy favour, and felt that thou wert my Strength and my Salvation ( Psalms 18:1 ; Psalms 62:2 , etc.). And uphold me with thy free spirit. There is no "thy" in the original; and it is his own spirit, not God's Spirit, of which the psalmist here speaks. "Uphold me," he says, "preserve me from falling, by giving me a 'free,' or 'generous,' or 'noble' spirit—the opposite of that 'spirit of bondage' which the apostle says that Christians do not receive" ( Romans 8:15 ).