Entered according te Act of Congress, in the year 1850, by

JOSEPH ADDISON ALEXANDER,

In the Clerk's Office of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

C. W. BENEDICT,

Stereotyper,

201 William st.

THE PSALMS.

PSALM LI.

1, 2. To the Chief Musician. A Psalm. By David When Nathan the Prophet came unto him, as he (i. e. David) had come unto Bathsheba. The first inscription was particularly necessary here, to show that the psalm was designed for permanent and public use, since it might otherwise have been regarded as expressive of mere personal emotions. It has reference to the one great crime of David's life, noted as such in the inspired history itself (1 Kings xv. 5), and involving the guilt of both adultery and murder. See 2 Sam. xi and xii. The significant repetition of the phrase came unto in v. 2 is lost in the English and most other versions. As is not a mere particle of time, simply equivalent to when, but suggests the ideas of analogy, proportion, and retaliation. The psalm consists of two parts, a prayer and a vow. In the first, he prays to be forgiven and restored to the divine favour, vs. 3—14 (1—12.) In the second, he shows how he means to testify his gratitude, vs. 15-21 (13—19.)

3 (1.) Be gracious to me, (oh) God, according to thy mercy; according to the abundance of thy compassions, blot out my transgressions. In this verse and the next, he presents the petition which constitutes the theme or burden of the psalm. The appeal

to the divine grace, mercy, and compassion, involves a confession of his own guilt and the justice of his condemnation. According to, literally, like thy mercy, i. e. in accordance with it, in proportion to it. Here again there is a tacit admission of the greatness of his guilt, as requiring infinite mercy to forgive it. Abundance, increase, multitude. See above, on Ps. v. 8 (7.) Compassions, tender mercies, a term expressive of the warmest and tenderest affections. See above, on Ps. xviii. 2 (1.) Blot out, erase, from thy remembrance. The allusion is probably to a record or register of crimes, or to the cancelling of accounts, although the former seems to agree better with ancient and oriental usage. Compare Num. v. 23. Transgressions, or with closer adherence to the primary etymological import of the term, revolts, apostasies. See above, on Ps. xix. 14 (13.) xxxii. 1.

4 (2.) Thoroughly wash me from my iniquity, and from my sin cleanse me. The first word in Hebrew is the infinitive or imperative of a verb meaning to increase or multiply, but often used adverbially in the sense of plentifully, abundantly. The verb in the first clause properly denotes the act of washing the garments, as distinguished from that of bathing the body. See Num. xix. 19. The image here presented therefore is the same as in Jude v. 23, sin being represented as a stain, and the grace of God as purifying water.

5 (3.) For my transgressions I know, and my sin (is) before me always. His consciousness of guilt is urged, not only as a reason why he should ask forgiveness, but as a reason why God should grant it. As no one is forgiven unless convinced of sin, so this conviction constitutes a kind of claim to pardon, not as being meritorious or intrinsically efficacious, but as an indication of God's merciful intentions, since conviction and forgiveness are alike his gift. The same mutual connection of the two things is uniformly recognized in Scripture. See above, on Ps. xxxii. 5, and com

pare 2 Sam. xii. 13. Prov. xxviii. 13. 1 John i. 9. The future in the first clause is significant. I know it and shall know it; I can never henceforth lose the sense or knowledge of it.

6 (4.) To thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done the evil in thine eyes, to the intent that thou mayest be just in thy speaking, and be clear in thy judging. The particle at the beginning denotes general relation, as to, or respecting. The precise relation meant must be determined by the context. See above, on Ps. xxxv. 19, 24. xxxviii. 17 (16.) It does not therefore directly and explicitly substitute God for man as the injured party, which is the only sense that can be put upon the English phrase against thee. This idea, however, is undoubtedly implied, as well as perfectly consistent with the usage of the Scriptures in describing all sin as committed against God. Even murder, the highest crime that can be committed against man, is condemned and punished as the violation of God's image (Gen. ix. 6.) It is also possible to understand thee, thee only, as opposed not to other objects, but to the sinner himself, as one of two contending parties. As if he had said, thou hast not sinned against me, but I have sinned against thee, thee only. The evil, not this evil, which restricts the acknowledgment too much, but that which is evil, meaning sin in general. To the intent that may have reference to the divine purpose in permitting David's sin to take this aggravated form, so that there could be neither doubt nor transfer nor participation of his guilt, and so that when God spoke in condemnation of it, he might not only be, but appear to be, entirely just. There is no need therefore of adopting the weaker meaning, so that, denoting a mere consequence but not a purpose, or of supposing the intention indicated to be merely that of the confession, 'I acknowledge this, that thou mayest be just,' etc. Speaking, i. e. speaking as a judge, deciding, or more definitely still, condemning. It is therefore substantially equivalent to the parallel term judging.