Dublin, OH
Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
51:6-13 I Seek Restoration and Renewal. The proper posture of the penitent is to crave a fresh sense of God's presence (vv. 8-9, 11), a deeper purification of the moral life (vv. 6, 10, 12), and a credible witness to the unfaithful (v. 13). The focus is on the inmost self, from which obedient actions flow: inward being, secret heart (v. 6); clean heart, right spirit (v. 10). The goal of this confession is not self-abasement but a renewal of the joy and gladness (v. 8) that the faithful have in God's presence.
51:7 hyssop. A plant with hairy leaves and branches; bunches of the branches are good for sprinkling. For its use in a cleansing ceremony, cf. Lev. 14:6; Num. 19:6. As with Ps. 51:2 (see note on vv. 1-2), the psalm highlights the inner condition to which the ceremonies point.
51:8 bones. The feeling of God's displeasure, and of his favor, penetrates into the whole person; cf. 32:3.
51:9 Usually when God is said to hide his face from someone, it means that he will no longer look upon that person with favor (cf. 13:1; 22:24; 27:9; 88:14; 102:2; 143:7; Deut. 31:17; 32:20; Isa. 8:17; 54:8; 59:2; 64:7). Here the singer asks God no longer to look upon his sins. To blot out (cf. Ps. 51:1) is to remove completely from the record book; cf. Ex. 32:32.
51:11 take not your Holy Spirit from me. Some have taken this to imply that the Holy Spirit can be taken from someone, at least in the OT; others have suggested that the Holy Spirit is viewed here in his role of empowering David for his kingly duties, and that this is a prayer that God not take the kingship and the divine anointing for kingship from David as he did from Saul (see note on 1 Sam. 16:14; cf. 1 Sam. 16:13). To evaluate these views, one should observe that the OT rarely discusses the Holy Spirit's role in cleansing the inner life (besides here, Ezek. 36:27 is the main OT text on the subject), and certainly does not enter into technical questions of the Spirit's permanent indwelling. Further, the fact that this is a psalm for the whole congregation argues against the idea that this is David's personal prayer about his kingship. The whole tenor of this psalm is that, if strict justice were God's only consideration, he would have the right to bring dire judgment on those who sin (which includes all of his own people), and that the only possible appeal is to his mercy. The function of the psalm, as a song sung by the entire congregation, is to shape their hearts so that they feel this at the deepest level, lest they ever presume upon God's grace.
51:13 As usual in the Psalms, the transgressors and sinners are members of the covenant people who do not faithfully embrace the provisions of God's covenant; the faithful call them to embrace God's grace, from the perspective of those who themselves deserve to be cast out.
