abundant mercy

Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

blot out my transgressions.

Psalm 51:1

Psalm 51 is David’s journal of confession and repentance. It was written after sin with Bathsheba and confrontation by Nathan the prophet, in which Nathan delivered God’s verdict of judgment. The enormity of David’s sin (adultery, lies, murder, conspiracy, and cover-up) demanded firm justice from God. All the painful details are found in 2 Samuel 11 and 12. Suffice it to say, under the penalties of the Law, every detail of David’s sins deserved the death penalty. The king knew this too well.

This is why David’s opening poetic prayer in this psalm became a model for clear confession. He knew only God’s mercy could save him from death. He knew only God could remove consequences by a permanent blot out, an expunging of the record of his sins. The very first verse is a sandwich of cries for mercy: “Have mercy on me!…Blot out my transgressions!” You can hear the tears of terror begging to be saved from a deserved destruction.

David knows only an undeserved mercy could eliminate the true charges against him. And so he asks his judge for that mercy. He appeals to God’s own character in between his pleas. He knows that God is gracious. “Steadfast love” is the way the Old Testament Law repeatedly describes what the New Testament calls “grace”. David’s first appeal is to the grace of God. He knows that he does not deserve God’s favor. Yet only grace can release mercy to forgive every one of David’s awful sins.

The second appeal is to God’s abundant mercy. David knows that God possesses not just a little grace and mercy. God has it abundantly. He is rich in mercy. The call then to God is to be generous with forgiveness. The God of grace and mercy is not miserly with His mercy. This is an appeal to what David already knew about God. God had chosen him, least of his family, to be king. God made a covenant with David to bless the world through his kingly line. And wildly enough, in a display of overarching grace and abundant mercy, David’s sinful beginning with Bathsheba would be ultimately redeemed as God leads to her inclusion in the genealogy of Jesus. Our Savior descended from these kinds of sinners! Abundant mercy indeed! God forgave David, and ultimately all who believe the gospel, in Jesus, Son of David!