Performance Notes:
This video and commentary come from Isaac Newberry, a student in one of my classes, “Introduction to Biblical Interpretation,” in the Spring 2024 semester.
A Model of Repentance
The structure of Psalm 51 offers a healthy model of repentance. David’s repentance in this psalm is centered around three major petitions (vv. 1–2, 7–15, 18–19) with a confession (vv. 3–6) and a declaration (vv. 16–17) separating them.
The passage begins with David humbly petitioning for God to extend him grace in 51:1–2. It is important to note that in this petition, David does not try to justify himself; instead, he solely bases his petition on God’s “unfailing love” and “great compassion,” setting the precedent of humility for the rest of the psalm. This is the posture God desires from sinners who come to him—not trying to justify their actions, but, instead, relying and calling on God’s faithfulness alone.
Next, the transition phrase “for I” in verse 3 interrupts the first petition and introduces David’s confession (vv. 3–6). He admits his sin and endorses God’s judgment toward him. Confession is the center of repentance. Without acknowledging sin, the sinner can not recognize their need for God and the forgiveness that God alone can offer.
After this confession, David returns to petition (vv. 7–15). He asks God to renew and restore him from his sin and guilt, which reveals that sin is not without damage. David would not be petitioning for renewal and restoration if his sin were without immediate, spiritual damage.
Next, the transition phrase “for You” in verse 16 interrupts the petition; however, this time it introduces a declaration about true repentance coming from the heart and not external actions (such as sacrifices).
Finally, the passage concludes in vv. 18–19 with one final petition, asking for blessing from God in the form of prosperity to Zion.
A Pure “Heart”
In 51:10, David writes his well-known line: “Create in me a pure heart, O God.” This single line has found its place in Christian songs, artwork, and even clothing; however, people often miss the significance of David’s request because of the misinterpretation of a single word in the verse—the Hebrew word “heart” (leb). The word carries a much different connotation now than it did in the culture of David. As Andreas Schuele explains, “Unlike Western cultures, which primarily associated the heart with feelings and emotions, Near Eastern culture emphasized its role in thinking, reasoning, and planning” (NIDB 2:764). In other psalms, for example, leb is frequently related to the mind and is often translated as thinking, thoughts, plans, or motives. Additionally, leb is translated multiple times as “moral,” showing that it relates to a person’s ethics.
When David ask for a clean “heart,” therefore, he is not asking for emotional purity, such as rest or peace. Instead, he is asking God to purify his morals and his thoughts. David recognizes that his whole self is lost in sin, even “from the time my mother conceived me” (51:5). Therefore, David, from a place of vulnerability, recognizes that he needs God to cut him to the “heart,” his impure thoughts, and purify his path.
The Psalmist’s Sacrifice
In 51:16 David claims that the Lord does not delight in sacrifices. At first glance, this line appears to contradict instructions about sacrifices throughout the OT. In the previous psalm, for example, God says, “I am God, your God. I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices” (50:7–8). However, in Psalm 51, David is not speaking about the sacrificial system as a whole; instead, he speaks about his specific condition and verdict.
As revealed in 51:14 (cf. 2 Samuel 12:9), David has committed premeditated murder. This was not something taken lightly in Israelite culture. When it came to murder, Ernest Lucas explains, “the Law did not provide any sacrifice as a means of atonement” (Exploring the Old Testment, 60). Instead, God commands that anyone who “schemes and kills someone deliberately . . . is to be taken from my altar and put to death” (Ex 21:14). David knows the law and recognizes that no sacrifice he can offer can save him now. Therefore, as James Limburg puts it, his “devotion will not express itself in offering sacrifices but offering himself to God” (Psalms, 173). Thus, David proclaims with vulnerability and longing, “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise” (51:17).