Psalm 51: Confession of Sins and the Grace of Forgiveness

READING THE BOOK OF PSALMS

PART XXXIX

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Psalm 51

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Psalm 51, attributed to David after the events of 2 Samuel 11 and 12, most probably dates to centuries later.  The reference to rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem in verse 20 (Jewish versification) is a major clue.  Alternatively, the final two verses constitute an addition.  Regardless, an elaborate confession of sins is typical in later psalms, not earlier ones.  So, Davidic authorship is highly unlikely.

My associations with Psalm 51 are musical and liturgical.  I recall Miserere Mei, Deus, the masterpiece by Gregorio Allegri (1582-1652).  The alternating pattern between Gregorian Chant and glorious Renaissance polyphony is astounding.  I also pray Psalm 51 as a member of my Episcopal congregation every Ash Wednesday.

Look, in transgression was I conceived,

and in offenses my mother spawned me.

–Psalm 51:7, Robert Alter

Original sin is a Western Christian–not a Jewish or Eastern Christian–doctrine.  Given that Psalm 51 is a Jewish text, Psalm 51:7 cannot be, in Jewish terms, a proof text for original sin.  The Jewish Study Bible, Second Edition (2014) suggests that the psalmist’s words were expressions of extreme guilt that caused him to think of himself as inherently sinful.  Robert Alter notes that yaham, the verb attached to the mother, indicates lust and usually refers to animals in heat.  Verse 7 refers to an individual case, not all of humanity.

The psalmist, aware of the severity of his sins, feels the weight of them.  He understands that he deserves harsh punishment from God.  Yet the psalmist perceives correctly that truth must precede reconciliation.  So, he, remorseful, confesses his sinful state and repents.

I seek to be clear.  Remorse precedes confession and repentance.  To repent is to change one’s mind and to turn one’s back to sins.  Repentance is a change of attitudes and a matter of actions.  As we think, we are.

One timeless pattern playing out yet again as I write this blog post is that a politician, caught being a scuzbucket, a confidence man, and a shameless, serial liar, seeks forgiveness without expressing genuine remorse.  We all do stupid things, he says.  Yes, we do, but we all do not lie to use the Holocaust for our political gain.  To seek forgiveness without expressing genuine remorse is to seek cheap grace, which costs nothing and is worth as much.  Grace is free yet not cheap; it requires faithful response from the recipient.

So, O reader, what does grace require of you?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 13, 2023 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT HILARY OF POITIERS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF POITIERS, “ATHANASIUS OF THE WEST,” AND HYMN WRITER; AND HIS PROTÉGÉ, SAINT MARTIN OF TOURS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF TOURS

THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN KEIMANN, GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF EDGAR J. GOODSPEED, U.S. BAPTIST BIBLICAL SCHOLAR AND TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF GEORGE FOX, FOUNDER OF THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS

THE FEAST OF MARY SLESSOR, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARY IN WEST AFRICA

THE FEAST OF SAMUEL PREISWERK, SWISS REFORMED MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Advertisement