The Prayer of David, Part 2

“And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.”

2 Samuel 12:13

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness; according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.”

Psalm 51:1

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Nineteen Verses; Seven Long Days

For the setting of David’s prayer in Psalm 51, refer to The Prayer of David, Part One. We will cautiously develop the words of this Psalm against that light.

There are two ways in my mind that this Psalm was written. The first is that, all at once, at the height of emotional and spiritual pressure, these words were all vented out. There have been many instances of passionate, effectual truth written this way. Eugene Bartlett wrote “Victory in Jesus” while debilitated after a stroke. Ron Hamilton penned “Rejoice in The Lord” fresh from the surgeon’s scalpel and the loss of one eye to cancer. The pent up grief served to push the words onto the page.

But there is another way that Psalm 51 could have materialized. This second way is not all at once, but a continual, repetitive revisit to the pen and paper to pray and to write. David prayed day by day, each of the seven days that Bathsheba’s sick child hung on for dear life. This is the case and the cause whereby this Psalm was born.

First, there is an obvious outline of seven sections of the nineteen verses.

I. Invocation for Mercy (vv. 1-2)

"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 
Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin."

II. Confession of Guilt (vv. 3-4)

"For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest."

III. Marvel of the Unseen, Unclean Man (vv. 5-6)

"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom."

IV. Healing of the Inner, Iniquitous Man (vv. 7-13)

"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 
Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 
Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 
Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee."

V. Let Me Sing Again (vv. 14-15)

"Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 
O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise."

VI. Let Me Sacrifice Again (vv. 16-17)

"For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."

VII. You Are Still Good (vv. 18-19)

"Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 
Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar."

The seven headings help me see what may have been David’s meditation throughout each day of that week. The divisions of the verses, however, are easily set apart into each of the sections without a heading.

The second reason I don’t believe the prayer was given all at once is how David prayed in Psalm 51. (I will not reprint the whole of Psalm 51 again, but I would encourage you to make reference above to the Scriptures copied, or use your King James Bible to check my words.)

Review the Heading

According to the heading, Psalm 51 was written “after Nathan the prophet came unto him.” In 2 Samuel 12:13, it is recorded that as soon as Nathan rebuked and judged David (from verses 7 to 12) that David confessed and repented, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Then there is an immediate removal of the sin and a merciful promise: “The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.”

That last part has me puzzled. Instantly, David was pardoned from the full force of the Mosaic Law. He was not pardoned by God’s indirect grace or goodness, turning a blind eye, or ‘passing over’ the transgression. He was given this pardon by the direct word of God. David knew that. This led me to ask some questions of the Scripture:

• Did God pardon David? If so, then why would David plead, “Have mercy upon me, O God”?
• Did not David already know the future reparations he would pay for his sin (“fourfold”)? Then why did he request, “that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest”? Was not Nathan abundantly clear already?
• Why did David bring up his birth? Did God ever make an issue of David’s father or mother?
• Why did David attempt to convince God that he understood? Why did he try to prove that he ‘got it’; that he realized what his sin had done? God had told him what his sin would do!

Was David still afraid of paying for his sin, although the LORD had pardoned him?

That is the big question that hung over the whole Psalm. The Bible had a message in the historical application that was far bigger than a caught sinner saying ‘sorry’ for what he’d done. David knew God better than that.

David had heard the voice of the LORD in nature (Psalm 29), in the law (Psalm 8), and in his meditations (Psalm 1). He knew God’s words when he heard them. He had received the blessing of God from Jonathan (1 Samuel 20:12-16), from Abigail (1 Samuel 25:25-31), and from Nathan (2 Samuel 7:4-17) that his house would be established for ever. He knew too much truth to be mindlessly begging for mercy for himself AFTER God had put his sin away.

But its not AFTER… it’s DURING

Placed during those seven days, Psalm 51 becomes something else. Not only a repentant prayer, but an intercessory one. David prayed a prayer of intercession so deep that he identified himself with the one being judged. He prayed in essence, ‘God, if you can pardon me, you can pardon him.’

• David is not afraid of judgment on himself, he pleads for the son who cannot plead for himself.

“Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.”

Proverb 31:8

• David is not defending HIS birth, but comparing his son’s birth to his own. “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

• David wasn’t deaf because of his sin, but he wanted to hear a little boy’s voice again. “Make me to hear joy and gladness…”

• David had full confidence that he was pardoned- what more could he want to start his praise? Perhaps he wanted to be able to sing for his son. “My tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O LORD, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.”

• God did not ask for a sacrifice- yet David hinted at one he was willing to make. “Thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it.” Later, after the tragic loss of another son, David would cry it outright, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!” (2 Samuel 18:33)

This attitude, willing to offer himself in his son’s place is an awe-inspiring thought to me. The Scriptures record that was exactly what he prayed in those seven days. “And he [David] said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?” (2 Samuel 12:22) And since Psalm 51 was DURING those days- then it is also that prayer.

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Viewing this Psalm through the lense of DURING the baby’s death as opposed to AFTER caused me see it as an intercessory prayer as well as a penitential prayer. This placement historically made me empathize with David and understand some of his words better. Doctrinally, it shewed the stark insufficiency of a sinful man to take the place of another sinful man. MOST men are not even willing to do this. FEW men are as righteous as David was. Yet his vicarious offer was rejected, and the baby died, just as all sinners must.

But glory to God in the highest; the Lord became a perfect, acceptable substitute in Jesus Christ! He rejected King David’s prayer, so that one day He could accept this one:

“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

Luke 23:34

“Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;”

Hebrews 5:7-9

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