Psalm 51
April 3, 2022
have mercy oh God with unfailing love
with great compassion blot out my transgression
against you alone, have i surely sinned
truly you are right, in your accusation
do not cast me away
do not take your spirit from me
do not cast me away
your presence is my only worth
if you asked for a sacrifice i’d bring it
if you needed an offering i’d burn it
somehow the things that you love
are the things I am now
broken spirit and heart
how can it be you would take delight?
(Poor Bishop Hooper)
Psalm 51 stands as one of the best defenses of the Law, even as it reveals the central problem. Psalm 51 is David’s psalm of repentance after he is called out by the prophet, Nathan, for his sin against Bathsheba and Uriah. Being made aware of his sin, his terrible sin, his outrageous sin, David is heartbroken. He pleads with God for forgiveness, and he gets it. It doesn’t take some great sacrifice or great deed of penitence. David prays for forgiveness, and God grants it. Sometimes we think the Law doesn’t really deal with sin; Psalm 51 calls us to think otherwise.
All that aside, the sin still happened. David does these terrible deeds, even though he’s “the man after God’s own heart.” How can someone who knows God so well still sin so egregiously? I think Paul would say it’s a limitation of the Law. The Law doesn’t give the Spirit; we only receive it in Christ.
The Law can deal with our sin problem, but it didn’t work the transformation God truly desires. That is to say, our souls could be saved under the Law, but that’s not all God’s interested in. God is interested in us being people who live the way Jesus lived, by nature. That means we have to be transformed from people who constantly do the works of the flesh, into people who walk by the Spirit. We still stumble (at least, I do). Then I go back to Psalm 51, and am reminded of this beautifully confusing sentiment—“somehow the things that you love, are the things I am now—broken spirit and heart, how can it be you would take delight?”
—John Coffey
