"Be gracious to me, God,
according to your faithful love;
according to your abundant compassion,
blot out my rebellion.
Completely wash away my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I am conscious of my rebellion,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you — you alone — I have sinned
and done this evil in your sight.
So you are right when you pass sentence;
you are blameless when you judge.
Indeed, I was guilty when I was born;
I was sinful when my mother conceived me."
Psalm 51:1-5
The first 5 verses of this Psalm serve as a summary of what is expounded on in the remainder of this song of repentance. As we look at this Psalm we may notice that David's plea is made by revisiting three divisions with a fourth being present as the plea progresses through the Psalm:
The Request
The Reason
The Basis (can be seen as an overarching theme stated in verse 1)
The Outcome (delayed from being given in the later half of the Psalm)
The Request:
Let's begin with defining two judicial terms.
Commutation : reduces a sentence, either totally or partially, that is then being served, but it does not change the fact of conviction, imply innocence, or remove civil disabilities that apply to the convicted person as a result of the criminal conviction. (source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Pardon: an expression of the President's forgiveness and ordinarily is granted in recognition of the applicant's acceptance of responsibility for the crime and established good conduct for a significant period of time after the conviction or completion of sentence. It does not signify innocence. It does, however, remove civil disabilities. (source: U.S. Department of Justice)
In this Psalm David asks for neither a commutation or a pardon; his request is for something far more outrageous than either of those - David's request is to be viewed as if he had never done anything wrong. He asks God to blot out his rebellion, to completely wash away his guilt and cleanse him from his sin so it is as if he was never guilty. David has committed adultery, committed deceit in attempting to cover it up, and then committed murder of a man who had proven to be most loyal to David and was one of his most trusted men. These are things David is asking to have completely removed from his account. Blot them out. Completely wash it away. Cleanse me from it. This is his request.
The Reason:
David's request was given because he was acutely aware of his sin. It was always on his mind. He couldn't escape his guilt and realized while his sin affected others, it was solely against God that he rebelled (later on in the Psalm David describes the angst he endured at the ever present reality of his rebellion). Not only had David committed rebellious acts, but he rightly admits that he is sinful through and through. His very nature he inherited from birth is sinful and he was guilty from birth. David knows he is unable to stand before the Judge of all the earth. He knows condemnation is the only thing he merits. This makes his request all the more outrageous as David is not only requesting to be separated from guilt of any crime against God, he is asking to be made something contrary to how he was born and who he is. He is asking to not just be seen as free of guilt, but to actually be made free of guilt!
The Basis:
The Basis for this unbelievably bold request is the most beautifully powerful part of this passage. When we are found out, when we are caught in our sin, it's typical that we find ourselves attempting to justify our actions by minimizing them, blaming someone else as the reason why we acted wrongly, or expressing some sort of sorrow (which is typically sorrow for getting caught, or sorrow that things ended up as they did). We are sorry for the consequences of our sin; but truth be told, had there been no consequences then we would have had no sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10). When we do have this sorrow, we like to use it as the fulcrum for why we should be forgiven - "I said I was sorry, what more do you want?" Or we take a slightly more humble approach by expecting the sincerity of our apology merits the granting of our request for some level of pardon.
But David doesn't do this. David runs to the very One he has sinned against and bases the justification for his request on the very nature of God. Like the prodigal son, David throws himself on the mercies of his Father. The very truth of God that is the doom of the unrepentant, is the deliverance of the repentant - God cannot deny Himself. 2 Timothy 2:13. He pleads for God to be faithful, not because of any leverage David has or can offer to God of himself, but because of God's faithful love and overflowing compassion. The Hebrew word translated "faithful love" here connotes unfailing, steadfast, loyal love. It is often used to describe the love God has for His covenant people. This unfailing love is based in the very character of God. Hebrews 6 describes this for us succinctly as we are told, "For people swear by something greater than themselves, and for them a confirming oath ends every dispute. Because God wanted to show his unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us." There is nothing greater than God, nothing more sure and steadfast than Himself. Therefore there is nothing and no one that we can run to for justice, mercy, and grace than Himself. And this is exactly what David does. He throws himself upon the steadfast, boundless love of God.
The primary point of the first 5 verses can be seen as stated in the first verse. Moreover the entire Psalm can be summarized and interpreted in the light of verse 1. To the heart that is beyond heavy with the weight of its own wickedness; to this repentant heart there is no possible hope in all of creation to be restored to the God that it has rebelled against other than God Himself - and there can be no surer and greater hope than God Himself! He truly is our all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28). Jesus is the eternal "Yes" of the covenant keeping God (2 Corinthians 1:20). Jesus is the God-Who-Is-Love incarnate (I John 4:8; Hebrews 1:3). It is through Jesus that God Himself blots out rebellion, completely washes away guilt, and cleanses all those who are in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). Through Jesus, The Son of God, The Father is both just AND the justifier of all who believe on Jesus (Romans 3:26). It is because of Him we cry out with the sure hope of our request being granted -
Be gracious to me, God, according to your faithful love; according to your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion.
Psalms 51:1 CSB
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