Psalm 51 Overview
Create a clean heart for me, God!
Psalm 51
Welcome to the Overview of Psalm 51
This page will introduce and provide orientation to Psalm 51 as a whole. It includes the following sections:
Introduction to Psalm 51
Author:
Purpose:
- The psalmist pleads for God to cleanse him of his sin and restore him.
Content:
- I have sinned against you, therefore wash me thoroughly and create a clean heart for me so that I will praise you. I intended to teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you, and so that you will delight in right sacrifices because you do good to Zion!
Message:
- God cleanses the contrite from sin and gives them new hearts to offer worship that is pleasing to God in Zion.
Psalm 51 At-a-Glance
These sections divide the content of the psalm into digestible pieces , and are determined based on information from many of our layers, including Semantics, Poetics, and Discourse. The columns, left to right, contain: the verse numbers; the main title of the section; a brief summary of the content of that section (quote marks indicate the text is taken directly from the English text of the psalm (as per our Close-but-Clear translation); and an icon to visually represent and remember the content.
Background Orientation for Psalm 51
Following are the common-ground assumptionsCommon-ground assumptions include information shared by the speaker and hearers. In our analysis, we mainly use this category for Biblical/Ancient Near Eastern background. which are the most helpful for making sense of the psalm.
- 2 Sam 11-12 recounts David's affair with Bathsheba (the wife of Uriah), who became pregnant with David's child. David then ordered Uriah's death and married Bathsheba to cover up the affair. The prophet Nathan confronted David for his sin and prophesied the death of his child with Bathsheba and continuous strife within his household. In response to Nathan's rebuke, David confessed his sin (2 Sam 12:13). David and Bathsheba's son became very ill, and David desperately pleaded for his son's life. Nevertheless, the child died as Nathan had prophesied, and David then went and worshipped in the house of YHWH.
- In 2 Sam 7, YHWH made a covenant with David to raise up a son in his place and to ensure an everlasting Davidic dynasty. Though David was not permitted to build a temple to YHWH in Jerusalem, he was permitted to aid the preparations for the building task that would be completed by his son Solomon (1 Chr 22).
- Since the king is the representative of the people and is responsible for their well-being, David's individual restoration can lead to collective restoration.
Background Situation for Psalm 51
The background situation is the series of events leading up to the time in which the psalm is spoken. These are taken from the story triangle – whatever lies to the left of the star icon.
Participants in Psalm 51
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