Psalms 51:2
2. Wash me—Purity as well as pardon is desired by true penitents.
Psalms 51:7
7-12. A series of prayers for forgiveness and purifying.
Purge . . . hyssop—The use of this plant in the ritual (Ex 12:22; Nu 19:6, 18) suggests the idea of atonement as prominent here; "purge" refers to vicarious satisfaction (Nu 19:17-20). Psalms 51:10
10. Create—a work of almighty power.
in me—literally, "to me," or, "for me"; bestow as a gift, a heart free from taint of sin (Ps 24:4; 73:1). renew—implies that he had possessed it; the essential principle of a new nature had not been lost, but its influence interrupted (Lu 22:32); for Ps 51:11 shows that he had not lost God's presence and Spirit (1Sa 16:13), though he had lost the "joy of his salvation" (Ps 51:12), for whose return he prays. right spirit—literally, "constant," "firm," not yielding to temptation.
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