Psalm 51:1-4 - "Have Mercy on Me, O God"
MAY 02, 2023
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Today we begin looking at Psalm 51. This is the fourth of the Penitential Psalms. Psalm
6 is the first of seven "penitential psalms" in which the writers are
being disciplined by God and experiencing suffering. The other psalms are Psalms
32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143. All of these psalms are helpful to us when we
need to confess our sins and draw closer to the Lord. This is also the first of
fifteen consecutive psalms in Book II that are attributed to David.


The title, which many scholars believe to be as inspired as the verses themselves,
tells us both who the writer is and also the occasion of it. It will help us to
remember the story behind this Psalm to grasp the fullest meaning and
understanding of it. In 1 Samuel 15:22-29, after King Saul refused to take
responsibility for his sin of disobedience, God was preparing a young shepherd
boy named David to take his place.


In the Apostle Paul’s first recorded message in the book of Act, while in the city
of Antioch of Pisidia on his first missionary journey with Barnabas, he was
telling the story of the history of Israel and he said this about David: “And
afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man
of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when He had removed him, He
raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, 'I
have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My
will.'”  (Acts 13:21-22).


God sent Samuel the Prophet to anoint David, the youngest of the eight sons of
Jesse to become the next king of Israel (1 Samuel 16). Shortly after this,
David kills the Philistine giant Goliath and becomes a national hero. But King
Saul becomes jealous and for next seven years seeks to kill him. Through all
this David learns to trust the Lord and writes many of his psalms. Finally, Saul
is killed in a battle with Philistines and David is anointed king at Hebron over
the southern tribe of Judah (2 Samuel 2:11). Seven years later he is anointed king
over all of Israel (2 Samuel 5:3-5).


For the next number of years David establishes his kingdom and conquers the
surrounding nations. But one day, when he should have been fighting with his
army, he stayed at home in his palace. 2 Samuel 11:1-5 tells us exactly what happened
next: “It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out
to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and
they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at
Jerusalem. Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and
walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman
bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. So David sent and inquired
about the woman. And someone said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of
Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Then David sent messengers, and
took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from
her impurity; and she returned to her house. And the woman conceived; so she
sent and told David, and said, "I am with child."


For the next year David tried to cover up his sin with Bathsheba. First by scheming
with Joab to have her husband Uriah killed in battle. So now David has broken two
of the ten commandments, adultery and murder.


And God begins His chastisement on David during this time. The baby born to Bathsheba
dies. David gets very sick. He is also emotionally and mentally affected.  It is then that God sends Nathan the prophet
to confront David with his sins (Psalm 32; 2 Samuel 12). Psalm 51 is the result
of that confrontation and David’s prayer of confession and repentance.


I’m looking forward to the next several days as we look at this Psalm because there
are so many lessons and applications we can make from it in our own lives. Even
today, as God’s own special people, we can still sin and need to know that we
can confess, repent and find forgiveness with the Lord (1 John 1:9-10).


God bless!

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