Psalm 51 The Beginning

The reason for Psalm 51 comes in the first five verses. Listen to verse 1:
Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.

King James uses "Have mercy on me," and both "gracious" and "have mercy" help. Grace is being treated in a manner that we do not deserve. Mercy is not being treated in the manner which we do deserve. Both ideas are relevant here.

The "back story" is that Nathan the prophet has come to David and pronounced, "You are the man!" He had told David about a rich man who took a neighbor's family pet lamb for his dinner guests. The King was so incensed that he proclaimed that "that man" should die for his effrontery, selfishness, and arrogance, not realizing that the story was about David, himself.

Once confronted, David broke down in confession and repentance. It is clear by the context that David was not cruising along with impunity. We will get to that later. The monstrosity of what he had done was bothering him and Nathan broke the dam by revealing that God was not pleased either.

David does not stonewall or offer excuses and rationalizations. The story is in 2 Samuel 11 and 12.It is not clear exactly when David wrote this Psalm of repentance, but it would make sense that it was right around this time. Since the baby has already been born, we know that at least nine months elapsed since the events in question.

The realization that the Lord was "displeased" with him seems to be the catalyst for David's confession and admitting that he was wrong. His sin was not secret. His appeal was to God's loving kindness. (One word) It is more than just being kind to a poor dumb animal. It is a combination of extreme love coupled with care and compassion. "Lovingkindness" can at times allow us to suffer. A child who burns his finger on a hot stove can be comforted and consoled, but the pain will have to dissipate over time. The memory of "hot" will not dissipate.

An, "I told you it was hot," will be more loving, in the long run, than, "Oh you poor baby. Let Mommy kiss it and make it all better. Here's a treat." Taking their mind off the pain will ultimately serve to, in some instances, entice them to try again. There was no soothing word for David.

In fact, the baby died. Before I had kids, I did not understand that. Now I do. David went through that several times. "Would that I had died, instead of you...." (2 Samuel 18:33) He understood grief and this was tearing him apart.

Notice the appeal is not to his previous "good behavior" or merit. It is based solely on, "Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion...." There is no other source of forgiveness that is sufficient. We will find out why later, but for now the two deaths, the destruction of a reputation or two, deceit and conspiracy, theft, adultery, lust, and probably a few others makes the list of infractions pretty daunting.

"...blot out my transgressions." Notice the foundation for the request. It is not based on David's past history or even his penitence. But according to "Your tender compassion" or "mercies." Note again, not a deserved benefit, but one given in lieu of what we do deserve.

David knew what he "deserved," and appealed to the Lord on the basis of Sovereign character. He also implies that a change has occurred. It would be presumptive to assume that he, or we, can just "confess" and then keep going right on down the same path. Inherent in the plea for forgiveness is the admission of guilt and, AND a change of direction.

The theological word is "repent" which means essentially to turn around and go the other direction. David was going the wrong way. He needed help. And that is the basis for the Psalm. In fact, David realized that this was not a one time only event. Read it again:
Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.

"Trans-gress-ionS." (Emphasis added.) There were more than one. The litany of the Ten that he broke here is almost overwhelming. And he was acknowledging and confessing each and every one. He was also in the "forsaking" business.

Let our prayer tonight begin, "Be gracious to me, O God...."