Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
David prays this after his sin with Bathsheba, and he asks God for two things he cannot do himself. What is hyssop, why that plant, and how can a guilty man end up whiter than snow?
David brings no sacrifice with his prayer. Under the law his sin had no offering attached to it.
When you come to Psalm 51 you find the sin of presumption. There is no question that David knew the awful character of the sin he was committing... Then he felt the weight of that sin, after God touched his conscience through the prophet Nathan. He could not plead ignorance, so he does not presume to bring an offering. The law provided trespass offerings and sin offerings, and offerings for the sin of a ruler too. But he could not bring one. He says God does not desire sacrifice, or he would give it. How could he bring a sacrifice for a sin that God said had no sacrifice?
Notice what the verse does not name. It names the little brush, not the blood.
Here the psalmist mentions nothing that had real power to cleanse, even in the ritual of Moses! The hyssop, of course, was only the tool for the sprinkling that really cleansed. It was used to sprinkle the Passover blood on the doorposts (Ex. 12:22). With cedar and scarlet, it was dipped with the living bird in the blood of its fellow bird. That blood was then sprinkled on the leper to cleanse him (Lev. 14:6-7). It was used in the case of someone defiled by contact with the dead, to sprinkle the water of purification on him (Num. 19:18). There is no other use of hyssop given us in the Old Testament, and it must refer to one of these.
Commentators differ over which of those three ceremonies stands behind the prayer. One writer narrows it to the ordinance of the red heifer, the rite for someone defiled by touching a dead body:
In the ordinance of the red heifer (Num. 19) the hyssop again stands out clearly as the means of sprinkling the blood. And unlike the Passover, here the blood is sprinkled on the person, to cleanse him. So the reference in the psalm would naturally be to this.
Another reads it of the leper's cleansing, and draws out the two halves of the verse — blood first, then water:
He speaks of hyssop, the plant that sprinkled blood on the leper, and then he refers to washing with water. Under the law each sin called for a fresh sprinkling of blood. For us the sacrifice has been offered once for all. But beyond this the believer's soul needs the constant washing of water by the Word. Our High Priest applies it to the defilement we pick up as we walk.
Hyssop sits at the bottom of the plant world, and that is the point of choosing it.
Solomon spoke of all things, "from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, to the hyssop that springs out of the wall." Hyssop is a little thing. It does not even take root in a decent way, but springs out from between two stones! The cedar and the hyssop are the two extremes in nature, the highest and the lowest. You must take the blood up with a bunch of hyssop. That is, you must go and shelter under that precious blood. And you must go knowing full well that you are a lost soul, without a particle of worth or goodness of your own.
David asks God to do the washing, and rests the outcome on Him. One writer also warns against reading more into the words than they say.
All the psalmist can say is that if God washes him, he will be whiter than snow. In that passage it is not a question of washing with the blood of Christ. What I insist on is this: do not put into a passage what you cannot get out of it.
David names a standard higher than anything in nature.
"Wash me," he prayed, "and I shall be whiter than snow," because the purity needed for God's presence is far greater than earth's cleanest, purest, whitest covering. And he did not pray in vain. God heard his cry and answered him in grace, as he lay in the dust of self-abhorrence.
- No offering. David's sin was deliberate, and the law had no sacrifice for it — so he comes with a prayer instead of a lamb.
- Hyssop, not merit. The little plant never cleansed anything; it only applied the blood that did.
- Lowest first. Hyssop is the opposite of the cedar, so the hand that reaches for the blood is a hand that owns it has nothing of its own.
- God's verbs. "Purge me… wash me" — he asks God to do it, and the whole result rests on God.
- Whiter than snow. David does not ask to look decent. He asks to be fit for God's presence, which is cleaner than the whitest thing on earth.
Make me to hear gladness and joy; [that] the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
David's prayer names who broke the bones: God Himself. That raises two questions the commentators press — what are the broken bones, and why must a forgiven man ask to hear joy?
The verse does not blame David's enemies or his circumstances for the pain. One writer traces the breaking to God's faithful dealing with sin found in a believer's life, and reads the bones as the strength a man trusts in apart from God:
Unrepented sin in a believer gives occasion for God to deal faithfully with him, judging that sin where He finds it in the lives of His saints. This is how He breaks the bones and sinews of self-confidence. The soul learns to judge itself rightly, in the light of God's holiness and the power of His immediate presence. That prepares it for deeper lessons of divine wisdom and knowledge.
The ear that had been listening to temptation is the ear that must hear joy. And bones are not one limb — they hold the whole body up:
David also asks God to replace his hearing of temptation with the hearing of joy and gladness (v. 8): "let the bones that you have broken rejoice." The bones are the framework of the body. So the person, not his actions, is judged as a whole.
David is not working up gladness. He asks God to do everything, from clearing his conscience to reopening his ear. The prophet Nathan had already confronted him over his sin:
God must do it all. He must purge his conscience, open his ear again to the notes of joy and gladness, and open his mouth to tell transgressors of His ways of love and mercy. He must create a clean heart within him, restore to him the joy of His salvation, uphold him by His free Spirit, and deliver him from bloodguiltiness. In short, Nathan's words fell on David's heart with divine power. He cast the crushing weight of his burden on infinite grace, which works through the precious blood of atonement. So he was brought humbly to rejoice, because the question his sin had raised between his conscience and God was now perfectly settled.
What David asks to hear has a name: good news. One commentator notes that at this point David has only asked for it:
This is gospel, and he knows it as gospel: "Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice." So far it is only a prayer, but it is a prayer God Himself taught him. We too, if the gospel is "good news," should have the joy of the gospel. It is healthy and healing, even for crushed bones. "The joy of the Lord is your strength."
The joy David asks for is measured at the cross. There it is both purified and lifted higher:
The cross is the truth which sets and keeps the tone of all true spiritual feeling. Sin judged there is hated completely. Joyful and happy emotions, on the other hand, are cleared of everything fleshly. They are made sober, and at the same time raised to a still higher level of pure blessedness. This comes by looking at that wonderful truth in which the God of grace and holiness comes nearest to the soul.
God breaks, and God makes the broken rejoice. So this is a state to pray for, not to dread. One writer prays it for a whole company of believers:
May the Lord grant us broken bones, which He makes rejoice; a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart — the sacrifices of God, which He will not despise. (Ps. 51)
- Broken by God — no enemy or accident snapped these bones. Unrepented sin in a believer draws God's faithful dealing, and what breaks is "the bones and sinews of self-confidence."
- Broken whole — bones are the body's framework. The breaking reaches past the deed to the man. God judges the person, not just his actions.
- Given, not worked up — David cannot restore his own gladness. He asks God to do it all, even to reopen the ear that had been listening to temptation.
- Healed by good news — the joy he asks to hear is gospel. It works like medicine even on crushed bones, for the joy of the Lord is strength.
- Higher than before — the cross clears joy of everything fleshly and lifts it higher. That is why broken bones that rejoice are worth praying for.
Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
Earlier in this psalm David asked God to wash him whiter than snow. Here he asks God to look away from his sin and wipe the record clean — which raises two questions: why would a man want God to look away, and who can blot anything out?
Sin feels different once a person remembers who is watching. One writer puts that in the first person:
As I look at that sin I am aware that Your eye is on it too, and that is what makes it so terrible to me. Blot it out from Your sight, according to Your loving-kindness and Your many tender mercies. Then, and only then, will it be blotted out of mine.
Note the order. David's own peace follows God's act of blotting out; it never comes first.
The verse names two things — "my sins" and "all my iniquities" — and asks two things for them: hiding and blotting out. One writer notes where this ask falls in the psalm — after David has judged himself:
After the judgment of the person comes the reference to his actions — sins and iniquities. David wanted them hidden and blotted out, and only God in pure grace can do that (v. 9). For this section brings us into the sanctuary, the presence of God, a place that requires complete sanctification.
A person can ask for the guilt to be lifted while still holding on to the sin. One writer calls that prayer wasted:
Take care that you do not pray with a reservation: be sure you give up what you want God to forgive... The one who does not want to be purged from the filth of sin prays in vain to be relieved of the guilt. If we love the work of sin, we must take the wages. A false heart could be willing to have his sin covered, but the sincere man wants his heart to be cleansed. David begged for a clean heart as well as a quiet conscience.
A clean heart takes more than washing. One writer explains why, and adds that believers today should not pray this verse as David did:
But a clean heart needs more than our own purification: "Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities" (v. 9). God Himself must remember them no more. This was not yet a settled fact for believers in Old Testament times. We believers today should not express ourselves in the same way verse 9 does. But once our hearts are cleansed from all iniquities, we can come before God knowing that He remembers them no more.
David is not asking only for relief. He expects to look into God's face, and that sets the standard for this prayer:
"Hide Your face from my sins," he says; "and blot out all my iniquities." He must have no cloud on that glorious Face, into which he expects to look... But this would be impossible if in that holy Presence a single stain of sin could be found. Here the thought is expressed only negatively and as a prayer... The Christian finds it realised in positive "acceptance in the Beloved" — all the value of Christ is counted to him. Not even the thought of a "Face hidden" is worthy of this.
The prayer was not left hanging. God had already given His verdict on this sin through the prophet Nathan. One writer traces the line from there to the believer's own assurance:
"The Lord has put away your sin," the prophet declared. God, who alone could do it, had done it. David could not put it away; Nathan could not either. God could, and did. Then it could never be charged to David... We know, therefore, that sinners can be assured that no guilt rests on them for what they have done. "The Lord has put away your sin" was the word for David. "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more" is God's word for us (Heb. 10:17).
- Seen. Sin is unbearable because God's eye is on it. David asks Him to blot it out of His sight.
- Owned. David faces himself first, and only then names his acts — the man is judged before the sins.
- Blotted. Only God can hide sin and blot it out, and He does it in grace. David could not erase his own record. No one can.
- Cleansed. A prayer that wants guilt lifted while keeping the sin is empty. The honest heart asks for a clean heart as well as a quiet conscience.
- Settled. David asks that no cloud remain on God's face. Writers point the Christian to "acceptance in the Beloved," with sins remembered no more.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not the spirit of thy holiness from me.
David wrote this prayer after the prophet Nathan confronted him about his sin with Bathsheba. It is the cry of a man afraid of losing two things he cannot live without: God's presence and God's Spirit. Can a believer today pray the same words?
David had watched what happened to the king before him, and that memory shaped this prayer.
The danger of losing the presence, help and power of the Holy Spirit was a very real one. King Saul, Israel's first king, had known the power of the Spirit in his life, but because of his failures the Spirit of God left him (1 Samuel 10:6, 10; 1 Samuel 11:6; 1 Samuel 16:14). Remembering this is what made David pray as he did. Note too that the Spirit of God worked with great power in Samson, a judge of Israel... Then Samson betrayed his Nazirite vow — his vow of separation to God — to the cunning Delilah, and lost his strength. After that, there are no more references to the Spirit working in him.
For David, the Spirit was the very thing that made him feel his sin. And he knew he had no claim left on Him.
Do not take from me the One who presses on my heart and conscience the sense of evil before God; the struggles of a troubled soul; the working of the heart before Him... But David feels that he has forfeited everything — every right, title and claim. God's mercies and steadfast love are the only ground on which God keeps everything He had given him.
David asks first not to be cast away. He does not yet rest in settled assurance of God's favour, but he cannot live outside God's presence.
The soul taught in this way cannot do without the presence of God. Its one dread is to be cast out of it. It does not yet understand grace and the certainty of God's favour, but it cannot do without His presence. To be shut out of that presence would be everlasting misery — and so it truly would be. The more clearly the soul sees Him, the more it feels this.
If the Spirit could be taken from David, what was He doing in believers before Christ came at all?
He prays that this Spirit might not be taken from him, and that he might not lose the sense of his God's presence. The prophet Haggai says this same Spirit stayed with the people after all their failures, and in spite of the exile in Babylon. Some have found this verse difficult; I see no difficulty in it. The Old Testament saints could not have done any good without the Holy Spirit. Take Him from them, and all their joy and comfort ceased and gave way to darkness. This is what David prays will not happen. There cannot be a moment's doubt that the Spirit worked in the Old Testament saints. The question is whether He was present in the same way, living in them, on the ground of Christ's work and glory, joining them to a risen Head in heaven. That, of course, could not be. The work was not yet done, and the man Jesus had not yet entered into the glory.
One writer sets David's prayer beside what Paul writes to Christians about the Spirit.
Notice also how different this is from the language of Psalm 51: "take not your Holy Spirit from me." Paul, even when he presses that we should not grieve the Holy Spirit, never hints that He may be taken away. On the contrary, in the same breath he assures us that He has sealed us for the day of redemption... Where does this difference come from? Not, I hardly need to say, from a higher inspiration in Paul the apostle than in David the king. It comes from the necessary change in the Spirit's relation to the believer, a change God has revealed, since Jesus died and rose and went to heaven.
Cleansing is not where this prayer ends.
Now fit for God's presence, and filled with the Spirit, he would be led back into the joy of salvation. A "willing spirit" would hold him up, in contrast to his past sin in defiance of God. The repentant sinner, now restored, could teach others the ways of God, so that sinners would be turned to God.
- Fear — David prayed with Saul in view: a king who had known the Spirit's power and lost it, as Samson also did.
- Forfeit — He claims nothing. He knows he has lost all right and title, and rests only on God's mercy.
- Presence — What he dreads most is not punishment. It is losing the face of God.
- Change — Jesus died, rose and ascended. Now the Spirit seals the believer for the day of redemption. The warning is no longer that He may leave, but that He may be grieved.
- Purpose — Restoration ends in usefulness. Cleansed, filled and glad again, the forgiven man teaches others God's ways.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and let a willing spirit sustain me.
David prays this after the prophet Nathan confronted him over Bathsheba and the death of her husband Uriah. He does not ask for salvation back, but for lost joy and for a willing spirit that God alone can give.
The verse asks for two things. One is joy that had drained away. The other is a willingness inside that would keep him steady. One writer draws the line:
David asks God to restore to him the joy of God's salvation. He does not ask for salvation itself, for he had not lost that, despite his shameful failure. But a person away from God cannot enjoy God's salvation, so this joy had to be restored. He also asks to be upheld by a willing spirit. That seems to be the right translation of the last phrase of this verse. It means that God would work in him a spirit of willingness to obey Him. How much better is this than a selfish spirit of wanting our own way!
Why does joy leave while salvation stays? One writer answers with a picture of a father and a disobedient child sent to stand in the corner:
But soon he comes out of the corner with broken will and broken heart. He confesses the whole thing from first to last, so that you see he hates the disobedience and naughtiness as much as you do. Then you take him in your arms and cover him with kisses. His joy is restored because communion is restored.
The prayer asks God to change the tone of the inner voice. Restoration is not merely being told again that you are safe:
A soul is restored when it enjoys the favour of God, not simply as certainty of salvation, but when the Spirit, instead of accusing, causes it to rejoice in the goodness of God. Restoration is not complete until there is enjoyment of communion with fellow believers.
David has no record to appeal to, and he knows it. One writer marks a difference between David's case and the Christian's:
As Christians we could not say, "Take not Your Holy Spirit from me," for, thank God, the Holy Spirit stays with us to the end. But David felt that he had forfeited everything — every right, every title, every claim. God's mercies and loving-kindnesses are the only ground on which God maintains everything He had given him. So he says, "Take not Your Holy Spirit from me"; "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation"; "uphold me with a willing spirit."
This prayer stands late in the psalm, after the confession and the crushing. One writer traces the order: first anguish, then this plea, then worship:
There was no restored communion here — only anguish and sorrow… Now his real state has been reached, not just the state he felt. He can say, "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit." Now he can wash his face and anoint himself. He can enter the house of the Lord and worship. A man now who knows his own heart better, and has learned a deeper lesson of the heart of God!
Another writer notes that joy does not usually come back in a rush of feeling:
Restoration does not usually come as a sudden burst of ecstasy, or anything like that. It comes as our thoughts turn away from ourselves to Christ. The Holy Spirit directs our hearts to His love. As we are occupied with Him, the blessedness we longed for is ours once more.
Restored joy does not stop with the one restored:
Others may see and admire the outward results of restoration, but the Lord finds in the restored soul something that delights Him. David confesses his sin and says, "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation." Then he says, "I will teach transgressors Your ways." And as he closes this psalm of repentance, he adds, "then will You delight in right sacrifices." Restored David becomes a blessing to others, but a pleasure to the Lord.
- Kept. Salvation was never in question. David asks only for the joy of it back. Sin costs a believer the enjoyment, not the relationship.
- Lost. Joy goes when communion goes — the child in the corner is still a child, but the kisses wait until the will is broken.
- Asked. He has forfeited every claim, so he pleads on mercy alone. He asks for a willing spirit to hold him up — God working obedience in him, instead of his own way.
- Given. Restoration is not a sudden thrill. The Spirit turns the heart from self to Christ, and the gladness we longed for returns.
- Spent. Restored joy overflows into teaching others. The restored man is a blessing to people and a pleasure to the Lord.
I will teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall return unto thee.
In Psalm 51 David prays as a man who has confessed his sin. Verse 13 is the first place where he turns to think of other people, and everything in it hangs on one word: "then."
The verse does not stand alone. It follows David's plea for restored joy, and the order matters. One writer links David's lost influence to his cold heart:
When David wandered from the Lord, he stopped having any influence for good over others. In Psalm 51 we see him repentant. Listen to his words: "Restore to me the joy of your salvation... then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners shall be converted to you." While David's heart was cold, conversions were few.
The same writer turns this on us: "His restored joy would bring blessing to others besides himself. Sinners would be converted. We would not have to mourn how few are converted, if only our hearts were warmer and more open to God's mighty love."
David does not offer his own story as the lesson. One word — "your" — decides what he will teach:
Now he says, "I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners shall be converted to you." See what a wonderful and blessed place he has reached. He does not teach transgressors his ways — sad and sorrowful they had been. He teaches "your ways": your ways of grace, of loving-kindness and tender mercy. He does not say "the righteous," but "sinners." There is no need to tell the righteous of such ways as these. It is sinners who will appreciate them and turn to Him. So I will declare them to sinners. Those who are full of pride and satisfaction with themselves will not care to hear. But those who, like me, know what it is to transgress will hear, and turn to you.
The same writer also notes what David does not teach: "He does not say, 'I will teach the law,' but 'I will teach transgressors your ways, because I have learned them for myself, and in them I have learned you'."
It seems strange that a man who has just confessed his sin should offer to teach others. Yet the failure itself, once God has dealt with it, becomes part of his equipment:
Only when this is true can we rightly teach transgressors God's ways (v. 13). Some have been guilty of transgression, and the grace of God has truly recovered them. This is what equips them to do effective work with others who are caught in sin and transgression. God uses them, sometimes in amazing ways, in the conversion of sinners.
The second half of the verse says that sinners will return to God. Older translations read "converted" here, and one dictionary explains that word:
This is from epistrephō, "to turn to." In Scripture it is the real effect that goes with the new birth: a turning to God. It is beautifully shown in the Thessalonians, who "turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God" (1 Thessalonians 1:9)... In the Old Testament the Hebrew words mean the same: "to be turned," "to turn back." Psalm 51:13.
Blessing to sinners is not the highest result of the verse. The close of the psalm names a second one:
So too with a restored soul. Others may see and admire the outward results of restoration. But the Lord finds in the restored soul something that is a delight to Him. David confesses his sin and says, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation." Then he says, "I will teach transgressors your ways." And as he closes this psalm of repentance he adds, "Then you will be pleased." Restored David becomes a blessing to others, but a pleasure to the Lord.
Some writers also read this psalm as words a repentant Israel will one day use. On that reading, verse 13 points to a future work among the nations:
This psalm is the future confession of Israel for their sin. It will be the time of their deep sorrow, national repentance and weeping. Then they will become the teachers of the Gentiles. They will teach transgressors His ways, so that sinners may be converted to Him. They will sing aloud of His righteousness, when the Lord has taken away their sins.
- Restored first. David teaches transgressors only after he asks for restored joy. While his heart was cold, conversions were few.
- His ways, not mine. He does not teach his own sad story. He teaches God's ways of grace, loving-kindness and tender mercy.
- Sinners, not the righteous. The self-satisfied will not care to hear it; those who know what transgression is will hear, and turn.
- A real turn. To be converted is to turn to God. The Thessalonians turned from idols to serve the living and true God.
- God pleased, not just others helped. The restored soul becomes a blessing to others and a pleasure to the Lord, who is pleased at the psalm's close.