Psalms 51:14 - Meaning and Application

David prays against the guilt of sin and asks for God’s grace, and he grounds both requests in God’s glory, which he promises to praise. He first asks to be delivered from the guilt of sin, and then says he will praise God for it in Psalm 51:14. The sin he has in mind is bloodguilt, because he had caused Uriah’s death by the sword of the Ammonites. At first, he may have quieted his conscience with the weak excuse that he did not kill Uriah with his own hand, but now he sees that he was the real murderer. Hearing that blood calls out to God for justice, he now cries to God for mercy.

We should all pray earnestly against bloodguilt. David looks to God as the God of salvation. Those who know God as the God of salvation will also find deliverance from guilt, because the salvation he gives is salvation from sin. We can plead this with him: “Lord, you are the God of my salvation, so deliver me from the rule of sin.” David also promises that if God delivers him, his tongue will sing loudly of God’s righteousness. In this setting, God’s righteousness often means his grace, especially in justification, which is God’s act of counting sinners right with him, and sanctification, which is his work of making them holy. David says he will take comfort in that grace and tell others about it with joy.

David also asks for grace and promises to use it for God’s honor in Psalm 51:15: “Lord, open my lips.” He means more than teaching sinners, though even the best preacher cannot do that well unless God gives him the words and the right spirit. He also means that his mouth may openly praise God, with both thankful words and a heart ready to worship. Guilt had shut his lips and nearly stopped his prayers. He felt too ashamed and afraid to come near the God he had offended, and his heart condemned him, so he had little confidence before God. That same guilt especially dimmed his praise. When he lost the joy of salvation, it was as though his harp was hung on the willow trees. So he asks God to open his lips and tune his heart for praise again. To those who are speechless because of guilt, the assurance of forgiveness says, “Be opened.” Once the lips are opened, they should speak God’s praise, as Zechariah did (Luke 1:64).

David then offers God the sacrifice of a penitent heart, knowing that this is what God is pleased with. He knows that animal sacrifices, by themselves, mean nothing to God in Psalm 51:16. If sacrifice alone could bring pardon and peace, he would gladly offer it. A truly convicted sinner would spare no cost to gain forgiveness and avoid judgment (Micah 6:6-7). But God does not value sacrifices for any worth they have in themselves. He did require them as acts of obedience and as pictures pointing to Christ, but they could not make payment for sin. God does not take delight in them apart from the love and duty they express toward him.

David also knows how acceptable true repentance is to God in Psalm 51:17. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.” This broken spirit is the inward work God seeks in every true penitent. It is a broken and contrite heart, a heart God has worked on and humbles before him. It is not despair, but the sorrow and humility that sin requires. It is a heart that breaks away from sin, yields to God’s word, and stays patient under God’s discipline. It is tender, like Josiah’s heart, and it trembles at God’s word. O that we would have such a heart.

This brokenness is called “the sacrifices of God,” because it stands in place of all the burnt offerings and sacrifices. Christ’s broken body is the only sacrifice that can take away sin, because only that sacrifice can make atonement. But our broken hearts are sacrifices of acknowledgment, offered up to God because he requires them and prepares them. He is the one who provides the lamb for a burnt offering, and he will accept the heart that comes to him this way. God is not pleased with the feeding of a beast, but with its being given up in sacrifice. In the same way, he is not pleased with pampering our flesh, but with putting sin to death. The sacrifice was bound, bled, and burned, and so the penitent heart is bound by conviction, bleeds in sorrow, and burns with holy zeal against sin and for God. The sacrifice was offered on the altar that made the gift holy, so the broken heart is acceptable only through Jesus Christ. There is no true repentance without faith in him. This is the sacrifice God will not despise.

People may despise what is broken, but God will not despise a broken and contrite heart. He did not value broken beasts offered in sacrifice, but he does not reject a heart torn by conviction and sorrow. He will not overlook it, refuse it, or cast it away. It cannot make up for the wrong done by sin, yet God does not despise it. The proud Pharisee looked down on the broken-hearted tax collector, and the tax collector thought very poorly of himself. But God did not despise him. More is meant here than is said plainly. The great God, who fills heaven and earth, looks with favor on a broken and contrite heart (Isaiah 66:1-2; Isaiah 57:15).

David then pleads for Zion and Jerusalem with God’s honor in view. He cares deeply for the good of God’s church in Psalm 51:18. He asks, “Do good in your good pleasure to Zion.” This may mean, first, all the worshipers in Zion, all who love and fear God’s name. He asks God to keep them from falling into shocking and harmful sins like his own, and to protect all who fear his name. Those who have known spiritual trouble themselves are best able to pity and pray for others in the same condition. Or he may mean the public good of Israel.

David knew how much harm his sin had done to Judah and Jerusalem. It had weakened the hands and saddened the hearts of good people, and it had also given their enemies reason to speak against them. He was also afraid that, since he was a public person, his sin might bring judgment on the city and the whole kingdom. So he asks God to protect and advance those public interests that he had damaged and put in danger.

He asks God to keep back the national judgments his sin had deserved. He asks Him to keep giving the blessings already in place and to carry on the good work that his sin had threatened to slow down or stop. He does not only ask God to do good to Zion, that is, Jerusalem, as He does to other places through His providence, but to do it in His special favor. This is the place God had chosen for His name to dwell there, and David wants the walls of Jerusalem, which may have been under repair, to be built up and the work finished.

This teaches us two things. First, when we have many serious needs of our own before God, we still must not forget to pray for the church of God. In fact, our Lord taught us to begin our daily prayers that way, with "Hallowed be your name" and "Your kingdom come." Second, when we think about the harm our sins have done to the public good, that should move us to serve that good as much as we can, especially by prayer.

If God would show that He was at peace with David and with His people, as David had asked, then they would go on with the public worship of God’s house. They would do it gladly, because God’s goodness to them would widen their hearts in praise and obedience. They would come to His tabernacle with burnt offerings, that is, sacrifices meant entirely for God’s honor, and they would offer bullocks, the most costly sacrifices, on His altar.

They would also do it in a way that was pleasing to God. David means, “You will be pleased with them,” or, “We will have good reason to believe you are pleased, once we see the sin removed that seemed likely to hinder our worship.” It is a great comfort to a godly person to think about the fellowship between God and His people in their public gatherings, how He is honored by their humble worship, and how they are made happy by His gracious acceptance.