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.