Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Psalms
Book: Psalms
Chapter: 51
Overview:
The psalmist prays for
Mercy, humbly confessing and lamenting
his sins.
(1-6) He pleads for
Pardon, that he may promote the
Glory of
God and the
Conversion of sinners.
(7-15) God is
pleased with a contrite
Heart, A
Prayer for the prosperity of
Zion.
(16-19)
1-6 David, being convinced of his
Sin, poured out his soul to
God in
Prayer for
Mercy and
Grace. Whither should backsliding
children return, but to the
Lord their
God, who alone can heal
them? He drew up,
By Divine teaching, an account of the workings
of his
Heart toward
God. Those that truly repent of their sins,
will not be ashamed to own their
Repentance. Also, he instructs
others what to do, and what to say.
David had not only done
much, but suffered much in the cause of
God; yet he flees to
God's infinite
Mercy, and depends upon that alone for
Pardon and
peace. He begs the
Pardon of
Sin. The
Blood of
Christ, sprinkled
upon the
Conscience, blots out the transgression, and, having
reconciled us to
God, reconciles us to ourselves. The believer
longs to have the whole
Debt of his sins blotted out, and every
stain cleansed; he would be thoroughly washed from all his sins;
but the
Hypocrite always has some secret reserve, and would have
some favourite
Lust spared.
David had such a
Deep sense of his
Sin, that he was continually thinking of it, with sorrow and
shame. His
Sin was committed against
God, whose
Truth we deny
By
wilful
Sin; with him we
Deal deceitfully. And the truly penitent
will ever trace back the streams of actual
Sin to the
Fountain
of original depravity. He confesses his original corruption.
This is that foolishness which is bound in the
Heart of a
Child,
that proneness to evil, and that backwardness to good, which is
the
Burden of the regenerate, and the ruin of the unregenerate.
He is encouraged, in his
Repentance, to
Hope that
God would
graciously accept him. Thou desirest
Truth in the inward part;
to this
God looks, in a returning sinner. Where there is
Truth,
God will give
Wisdom. Those who sincerely endeavour to do their
duty shall be taught their duty; but they will expect good only
from Divine
Grace overcoming their corrupt nature.
7-15 Purge me with
Hyssop, with the
Blood of
Christ applied to
my soul
By a lively
Faith, as the
Water of Purification was
sprinkled with a
Bunch of
Hyssop. The
Blood of
Christ is called
the
Blood of sprinkling, Heb 12:24. If this
Blood of
Christ,
which cleanses from all
Sin, cleanse us from our
Sin, then we
shall be
Clean indeed, Heb 10:2. He asks not to be comforted,
till he is first cleansed; if
Sin, the
Bitter root of sorrow, be
taken away, he can pray in
Faith, Let me have a
Well-grounded
peace, of thy creating,
So that the bones broken
By convictions
may rejoice, may be comforted. Hide thy
Face from my sins;
Blot
out all
Mine iniquities out of thy
Book;
Blot them out, as a
Cloud is blotted out and dispelled
By the beams of the
Sun. And
the believer desires renewal to
Holiness as much as the joy of
Salvation.
David now saw, more than ever, what an unclean
Heart
he had, and sadly laments it; but he sees it is not in his own
power to amend it, and therefore begs
God would create in him a
Clean Heart. When the sinner feels this change is necessary, and
reads the promise of
God to that purpose, he begins to ask it.
He knew he had
By his
Sin grieved the Holy
Spirit, and provoked
him to withdraw. This he dreads more than anything. He prays
that Divine comforts may be restored to him. When we give
ourselves cause to doubt our interest in
Salvation, how can we
expect the joy of it? This had made him weak; he prays, I am
ready to fall, either into
Sin or into despair, therefore uphold
me with thy
Spirit. Thy
Spirit is a free
Spirit, a free Agent
himself, working freely. And the more cheerful we are in our
duty, the more constant we shall be to it. What is this but the
liberty wherewith
Christ makes his people free, which is
contrasted with the
Yoke of
Bondage? Ga 5:1. It is the
Spirit
of
Adoption spoken to the
Heart. Those to whom
God is the
God of
Salvation, he will deliver from guilt; for the
Salvation he is
the
God of, is
Salvation from
Sin. We may therefore plead with
him,
Lord, thou art the
God of my
Salvation, therefore deliver
me from the dominion of
Sin. And when the lips are opened, what
should they speak but the praises of
God for his forgiving
Mercy?
16-19 Those who are thoroughly convinced of their misery and
danger
By Sin, would spare
No cost to obtain the remission of
it. But as they cannot make satisfaction for
Sin,
So God cannot
take any satisfaction in them, otherwise than as expressing
Love
and duty to him. The good work wrought in every true penitent,
is a broken
Spirit, a broken and a contrite
Heart, and sorrow
for
Sin. It is a
Heart that is tender, and pliable to
God's
Word. Oh that there were such a
Heart in every one of us!
God is
graciously pleased to accept this; it is instead of all
burnt-
Offering and
Sacrifice. The broken
Heart is acceptable to
God only through
Jesus Christ; there is
No true
Repentance
without
Faith in him. Men despise that which is broken, but
God
will not. He will not overlook it, he will not refuse or reject
it; though it makes
God No satisfaction for the wrong done to
him
By Sin. Those who have been in spiritual troubles, know how
to pity and pray for others afflicted in like manner.
David was
afraid lest his
Sin should bring judgements upon the
City and
kingdom.
No personal fears or troubles of
Conscience can make
the soul, which has received
Grace, careless about the interests
of the
Church of
God. And let this be the continued joy of all
the redeemed, that they have
Redemption through the
Blood of
Christ, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his
Grace.