Psalm 51

Read verses 1 & 9. David is recklessly honest before God, confessing his need for God's mercy. Mercy is undeserved favor, especially when judgment is due.
Lev. 20:10 Having sex with your neighbor's wife was punishable by death. Therefore, David should have been put to death.
"blot out" - David is asking that the record of his wrongdoing be covered over as with ink. This might be similar to a financial debt being crossed out once it has been paid or when it has been forgiven by the lender.

Read verses 2 & 7. What do you do when you feel dirty? (Take a shower!) Verse 7 hints at the cleansing process ordered in Leviticus 14 for someone who has recovered from an infectious skin disease. The priest would kill a bird and then dip hyssop in the blood and sprinkle the person 7 times. Then the person must wash his clothes, shave off all of his hair, and take a bath all on the first day and then again seven days later.
"whiter than snow" - White represents purity; it is the hardest color to keep clean! Think of new white shoes, white cars, white socks, etc.

Read verse 3. Evidence of David's sin was all around him. Bathsheba was living with him, Uriah was dead, and Bathsheba was having a baby. There was also the letter written to Joab, carried by Uriah himself.

Read verse 4. It is hard to understand this verse in light of David's crimes: adultery and murder. Perhaps the sins David committed were culturally acceptable for the king at that time (though quite underhanded), but they were in no way acceptable to God.

Read verse 10. Is David asking God to instantly create a clean, pure heart within him, or is this a lifelong process? Either way, David asks for strength to stand against temptation. Steadfast means unwavering, unshakable, unfaltering.

Read verse 11. David was afraid that God would take away His anointing of the Holy Spirit like He did with king Saul. In Old Testament times, God would send the Holy Spirit to be with someone for a specific task, such as ruling as king. When Samson finally did get his hair cut by Delilah, it says that the Lord left him. Before that, Judges 14:19 says, "Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power." After Christ's resurrection, God has been sending His Holy Spirit to indwell believers as a seal or promise of salvation.

Read verses 8, 12, & 14. David might have written this psalm after his baby died, thus the phrase "the bones you have crushed," meaning that David was devastated by this loss. David wanted joy back after such sorrow and guilt. The salvation David meant is probably not the salvation we have through Christ. David was a warrior for most of his life. He is probably talking about literal salvation from death. He asks to be saved from bloodguilt, a term which also appears in Leviticus 20 (mentioned above). It means that David would be guilty of his own death (the punishment) because of his sin.

Read verses 16 & 17. What emotion would you associate a broken heart with? (Probably sadness.) So a sorrowful and remorseful person will not be turned away by God. The offerings were necessary because God required the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins.

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