8 Thou causest me to hear joy and gladness, Thou makest joyful bones Thou hast bruised.
Lo, the happiness of mortal man, God doth reprove him: And the chastisement of the Mighty despise not, For He doth pain, and He bindeth up, He smiteth, and His hands heal.
Favour me, O Jehovah, for I `am' weak, Heal me, O Jehovah, For troubled have been my bones, And my soul hath been troubled greatly, And Thou, O Jehovah, till when?
Thou hast turned my mourning to dancing for me, Thou hast loosed my sackcloth, And girdest me `with' joy.
All my bones say, `Jehovah, who is like Thee, Delivering the poor from the stronger than he, And the poor and needy from his plunderer.'
`Kaph.' Consumed for Thy salvation hath been my soul, For Thy word I have hoped. Consumed have been mine eyes for Thy word, Saying, `When doth it comfort me?'
Those sowing in tears, with singing do reap, Whoso goeth on and weepeth, Bearing the basket of seed, Surely cometh in with singing, bearing his sheaves!
For thus said the high and exalted One, Inhabiting eternity, and holy `is' His name: `In the high and holy place I dwell, And with the bruised and humble of spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of bruised ones,' For, not to the age do I strive, nor for ever am I wroth, For the spirit from before Me is feeble, And the souls I have made. For the iniquity of his dishonest gain, I have been wroth, and I smite him, Hiding -- and am wroth, And he goeth on turning back in the way of his heart. His ways I have seen, and I heal him, yea, I lead him, And recompense comforts to him and to his mourning ones.
`Come, and we turn back unto Jehovah, For He hath torn, and He doth heal us, He doth smite, and He bindeth us up. He doth revive us after two days, In the third day He doth raise us up, And we live before Him.
`The Spirit of the Lord `is' upon me, Because He did anoint me; To proclaim good news to the poor, Sent me to heal the broken of heart, To proclaim to captives deliverance, And to blind receiving of sight, To send away the bruised with deliverance,
And having heard, they were pricked to the heart; they say also to Peter, and to the rest of the apostles, `What shall we do, men, brethren?' and Peter said unto them, `Reform, and be baptized each of you on the name of Jesus Christ, to remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, for to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all those afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call.' Also with many more other words he was testifying and exhorting, saying, `Be saved from this perverse generation;' then those, indeed, who did gladly receive his word were baptized, and there were added on that day, as it were, three thousand souls,
And, having asked for a light, he sprang in, and trembling he fell down before Paul and Silas, and having brought them forth, said, `Sirs, what must I do -- that I may be saved?' and they said, `Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved -- thou and thy house;' and they spake to him the word of the Lord, and to all those in his household; and having taken them, in that hour of the night, he did bathe `them' from the blows, and was baptized, himself and all his presently, having brought them also into his house, he set food before `them', and was glad with all the household, he having believed in God.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 51
Commentary on Psalms 51 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 51
Ps 51:1-19. On the occasion, compare 2Sa 11:12. The Psalm illustrates true repentance, in which are comprised conviction, confession, sorrow, prayer for mercy, and purposes of amendment, and it is accompanied by a lively faith.
1-4. A plea for mercy is a confession of guilt.
blot out—as from a register.
transgressions—literally, "rebellions" (Ps 19:13; 32:1).
2. Wash me—Purity as well as pardon is desired by true penitents.
3. For … before me—Conviction precedes forgiveness; and, as a gift of God, is a plea for it (2Sa 12:13; Ps 32:5; 1Jo 1:9).
4. Against thee—chiefly, and as sins against others are violations of God's law, in one sense only.
that … judgest—that is, all palliation of his crime is excluded; it is the design in making this confession to recognize God's justice, however severe the sentence.
5, 6. His guilt was aggravated by his essential, native sinfulness, which is as contrary to God's requisitions of inward purity as are outward sins to those for right conduct.
6. thou shalt make, &c.—may be taken to express God's gracious purpose in view of His strict requisition; a purpose of which David might have availed himself as a check to his native love for sin, and, in not doing so, aggravated his guilt.
truth … and …wisdom—are terms often used for piety (compare Job 28:28; Ps 119:30).
7-12. A series of prayers for forgiveness and purifying.
Purge … hyssop—The use of this plant in the ritual (Ex 12:22; Nu 19:6, 18) suggests the idea of atonement as prominent here; "purge" refers to vicarious satisfaction (Nu 19:17-20).
8. Make … joy—by forgiving me, which will change distress to joy.
9. Hide, &c.—Turn from beholding.
10. Create—a work of almighty power.
in me—literally, "to me," or, "for me"; bestow as a gift, a heart free from taint of sin (Ps 24:4; 73:1).
renew—implies that he had possessed it; the essential principle of a new nature had not been lost, but its influence interrupted (Lu 22:32); for Ps 51:11 shows that he had not lost God's presence and Spirit (1Sa 16:13), though he had lost the "joy of his salvation" (Ps 51:12), for whose return he prays.
right spirit—literally, "constant," "firm," not yielding to temptation.
12. free spirit—"thy" ought not to be supplied, for the word "free" is, literally, "willing," and "spirit" is that of David. "Let a willing spirit uphold me," that is, with a soul willingly conformed to God's law, he would be preserved in a right course of conduct.
13. Then—Such will be the effect of this gracious work.
ways—of providence and human duty (Ps 18:21, 30; 32:8; Lu 22:32).
14. Deliver—or, "Free me" (Ps 39:8) from the guilt of murder (2Sa 12:9, 10; Ps 5:6).
righteousness—as in Ps 7:17; 31:1.
15. open … lips—by removing my sense of guilt.
16. Praise is better than sacrifice (Ps 50:14), and implying faith, penitence, and love, glorifies God. In true penitents the joys of pardon mingle with sorrow for sin.
18. Do good, &c.—Visit not my sin on Thy Church.
build … walls—is to show favor; compare Ps 89:40, for opposite form and idea.
19. God reconciled, material sacrifices will be acceptable (Ps 4:5; compare Isa 1:11-17).