
Psalms 51:1-52:9
51:2 | When David confessed his sin with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11:1-12:15), something great and hopeful happened. The word cleanse is a technical term for the cleansing of a leper in the OT. David was saying, “Lord, take the leprosy from my soul and make me clean again” (Jer. 33:8; Heb. 9:14; 1 John 1:7-9).
51:7 | Purging with hyssop was an OT ritual – a cleansing prescribed in the law – and what an Israelite did after coming in contact with a dead body. David’s request is for God to take away his sin (86:5; Heb. 9:19).
51:11 | To be cast away from the presence of God means that a person is lost forever. In the OT, God removed His Spirit from Saul because of Saul’s sin (1 Sam. 16:14). David did not want that to happen to him.
52:1 | The goodness of God refers to His gracious and loyal love. The same word is translated “mercy” in verse 8 (33:5; 136:25; 145:14-16).
52:8 | The olive tree is one of the longest-living trees. The psalmist pictures himself as one in full sap, growing in a sacred courtyard in the house of God, where no one will tamper with or uproot it (53:5).