A few days ago, I read Psalm 51 in my morning reading. This is the famous passage where David begs God to “create in me a clean heart.” That phrase is the title of a church song that I always liked to sing. Growing up, I felt strongly for this song and psalm because I felt it confessed to God what I wanted to say but did not have the right words to utter to the Creator. I too didn’t want to be a sinner, I didn’t want God to forsake me when I willfully sinned again and again. I wanted a clean heart because I need it was inclined toward impurities. This psalm captured my sentiments exactly.
However, perhaps because I’m older and wiser, almost have completed a master’s degree studying the Bible, or just because I’m in a different place in my life, reading the Psalm again just hit different. I noticed things I had no noticed before. In fact, I realized that maybe this isn’t a passage I want to speak to God. For the first time in my life, I got the feeling that David was not entirely genuine with his confession and plea to God.
Passing on the Punishment
The “director’s notes” specially situation this Psalm for us. At the beginning, the text records the following notation: “A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.” I had always known this context, but I now have realized it is very interesting that David’s confession only comes after Nathan “catches him” in the lie. David only confesses once the ruse is up. Certainly people can have genuine remorse after being caught, but there are other reasons to believe David is not entirely remorseful.
One noticeable theme is apparent in the psalm is a plea for mercy. David’s first concern is that God “blots out” his transgressions. Using a variety of language, David is wanting the sin purged from him. Fair enough. I mean, to be honest, there are some great lines that work naturally as prayers for renewal. But a few things strike me about this repeated theme: David appears scared of the consequences of sin. In 11 and 12 he writes, “Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” Apparently, he fears that God is going to give up on him, going to take away God’s power and joy from him. That’s not an unfounded idea: I mean, David saw how God rejected Saul when Saul sinned. But it’s striking that the middle of the text is centered on this idea—David doesn’t want punishment!
Sinning Against God
But it gets worse. What really jumped out to me is David’s declaration in verse 4. He writes, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.” Time out! David sinned only against God? What about Bathsheba who he raped (Reminder: even if Bathsheba verbally consented to sex—which is doubtful–David’s position of great power over her life makes it dubious enough to fall into the rape category)? Also, what about Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, who David had killed? What about these real people he sinned against?
In 2 Samuel 12, the chapter where Nathan confronts David, Nathan begins with a story. He tells of a rich man with tons of sheep who took a poor man’s one and only sheep to be slaughtered for a guest. David rightfully said that the rich guy is terrible and he pronounced that the rich guy deserves to die. First, though, the rich guy should restore fourfold the sheep that he took “because he did this thing, and because he had no pity” (12:6). Nathan turned it around and said David was totally like the rich guy when David stole Bathsheba. Boom! Roasted. David just admitted he harmed others and deserved punishment.
So the Samuel text has already acknowledged that David has sinned against people. Funny enough, David’s takeaway in this passage is similar to Psalm 51. He replies to Nathan’s denunciation with “I have sinned against the Lord” (12:13). Despite his lack of recognition of the others he hurt, he harmed people and should be trying to fix the damage he had done. Yet, in this psalm, David boldly claims that he sinned against God AND THAT’S IT! It strikes me that maybe David didn’t fully understand the problem with the scenario.
Playing to God’s Soft Side
Briefly in the third section of the text, I think David attempts to play to God’s vanity. He is bargaining with God. The Psalm says, that IF God “restores” him, “Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise” (51:13-15). Essentially, David suggests that if God forgives him, THEN he’ll tell others about God, THEN others will know God is awesome.
Bargaining with God is not foreign to Scripture. David isn’t the only one to ever try this out. But after you sin big time, it comes across to me as a bit suspicious that you play to God’s emotions in this way. Since David already seems to be avoiding the consequences of his action, David appears to be giving God a reason why he should receive a “get out jail free” card and not need to go through consequences like normal people. As someone who has used the bargaining tactic with God before in my own personal life, I can’t help but see this as an ingenuine ploy.
The Application
Maybe this psalm is not an honest confessional cry. Perhaps it is an example of how we tend to confess to God in order to get out of punishment. Sometimes our “sorrow” is in getting caught and not in what we did—this is human nature, but it is a nature we need to be careful about adopting in our relationship with God. We must be better than David.
Additionally, I think it is safe to say that it is easier to apologize to God then to apologize to those we hurt. Even more, it is easier to express sorrow to God then it is to try and fix the mess we created with those we hurt! But God, especially through Jesus’ life, calls us to actively care about how we treat others. It is not enough to say sorry to God—we should always try to fix our mistakes with others, when appropriate, to the best of our abilities. This process often means accepting the consequences of our actions, unlike what David seemed to desire in this Psalm.
Maybe David is truly penitent. It could be. Let us not forget that he is a complex figure, one shrouded in controversy about if he’s really a good guy or if he is not one to emulate. Many people are now noticing his personality flaws. Regarding Psalm 51, I think we need to read it slowly and trace the lines of thought so we can see that this isn’t the “perfect” reaction after you sin. There are still masterful phrases in this text, still enduring concepts. But taken as a whole, I have to wonder about its genuineness as a confession; though I don’t doubt it represents a genuine expression of human nature.
