Psalm 51:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

NIV: For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

NASB: For I know my wrongdoings, And my sin is constantly before me.

CSB: For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me.

NLT: For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.

KJV: For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

NKJV: For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.

David made no excuses for his sins. He did not perceive of sin as merely a mistake. He writes here that he is fully aware of what he has done. He viewed his sins as offenses against God. Furthermore, he could not rid his mind of the sins he had committed. David writes, "and my sin is ever before me." This part of David's confession shows that his heart was still inclined toward God. He felt strongly convicted about his wrongdoing, and the conviction tore at him night and day.

It is never right to blame others for the offenses we commit against God. Nor is it appropriate to deny what we have done. A person with a seared conscience cannot obtain forgiveness, but whoever acknowledges his sin, as David did, finds that God accepts confession that rises from a broken heart. When the prodigal son returned home he made no excuses for his waywardness. He confessed that he had sinned against heaven and before his father and was no longer worthy to be called his father's son (Luke 15:21). The father lovingly responded by receiving his son and celebrating his return. David would find a similar response to his confession.

Psalm 51:1–7 is David's plea for mercy and cleansing. He admits he has sinned against God. His approach to confession is to take God's attitude toward sin. He sees his sins as transgressions, iniquity, evil, and the result of his lifelong offensive nature. First John 1:9–10 corresponds to this passage by teaching believers to confess their sins—to agree with God's stance about those sins—with the promise of God's forgiveness and cleansing.

This psalm opens with David's plea to God to show him mercy. He asks God to blot out his transgressions, wash his iniquities, and cleanse him from sin. He admits his sinning was against God. He also confesses his human sin nature. David asks God to make him as white as snow by purging him with hyssop. He longs for joy to return to him, but knows he was suffering because God had turned away from him. He pleads with God for a clean heart and a right spirit. He does not want God to cast him aside and remove His Holy Spirit. David longs for a renewal of the joy of his salvation. If cleansing from sin occurred and joy returned to him, David would teach transgressors God's ways, and sinners would be converted. He promises near the end of the psalm to declare God's praise if God would forgive him. He knew it would be futile to offer a sacrifice to God, because God delights in a broken and contrite heart and not in sacrifices offered with an unrepentant heart. David closes the psalm with a prayer for God to bless Jerusalem.

Second Samuel 11—12 provides the sad background for Psalm 51. Instead of being out on the battlefield and leading his troops, David was walking on the roof of his palace. A woman named Bathsheba was taking a bath on a neighboring roof. David lusted for her and had her brought to the palace, where he committed adultery with her. Learning later that she was pregnant, David summoned Uriah, her soldier-husband and one of David's mighty men, to come home from the battlefield. He expected Uriah to have relations with Bathsheba so it would appear that Uriah was the baby's father. But Uriah did not touch Bathsheba, so David launched an alternate plan. He arranged for Uriah to be put on the frontline of battle and be killed. The plan worked, but the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to confront David with his sin. Overcome with guilt, David poured out his heart to the Lord in confession. Psalm 51 records his confession, and Psalm 32 reports the forgiveness he received from the Lord. Even though he was forgiven, David's sins still carried life-ruining consequences.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.