Meaning, commentary and cross references
Psalms 51:1
“Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.”In other translations
KJV · King James Version
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
NIV · New International Version
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
WEB · World English Bible
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.
What does Psalms 51:1 mean?
John Gill · Exposition of the Entire Bible, on Psalms 51:1
Have mercy upon me, O God,.... David, under a sense of sin, does not run away from God, but applies unto him, and casts himself at his feet, and upon his mercy; which shows the view he had of his miserable condition, and that he saw there was mercy in God, which gave him hope; and upon his bended knees, and in the exercise of faith, he asks for it; according to thy lovingkindness; not according to his merits, nor according to the general mercy of God, which carnal men rely upon; but according to his everlasting and unchangeable love in Christ; from which as the source, and through whom as the medium, special mercy comes to the children of men. The acts of special mercy are according to the…
John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63). Public domain. Digital text: Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org).
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible, on Psalms 51:1–6
Blot out my transgressions, as a debt is blotted or crossed out of the book, when either the debtor has paid it or the creditor has remitted it. "Wipe out my transgressions, that they may not appear to demand judgment against me, nor stare me in the face to my confusion and terror." The blood of Christ, sprinkled upon the conscience, to purify and pacify that, blots out the transgression, and, having reconciled us to God, reconciles up to ourselves, Psa 51:2. "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity; wash my soul from the guilt and stain of my sin by thy mercy and grace, for it is only from a ceremonial pollution that the water of separation will avail to cleanse me.
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706–21; Romans–Revelation completed by Nonconformist ministers). Public domain. Digital text: Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org).
John Calvin · Commentaries, on Psalms 51:1–2
1. Have mercy upon me. David begins, as I have already remarked, by praying for pardon; and his sin having been of an aggravated description, he prays with unwonted earnestness. He does not satisfy himself with one petition.
John Calvin, Commentaries (Calvin Translation Society English text). Public domain. Digital text: Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org).
Context: Psalms 51:1–4 (WEB)
1For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. 2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin. 3For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me. 4Against you, and you only, I have sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight, so you may be proved right when you speak, and justified when you judge.
Cross references
- Acts 3:19
“Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord,
- Isaiah 44:22
I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.
- Isaiah 43:25
I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins.
- Psalms 51:9
- Colossians 2:14
wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us. He has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross.
- Psalms 69:16
- 2 Samuel 11:2–13
At evening, David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. From the roof, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to look at.
- Ephesians 1:6–8
to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved.
Key words
In the Baptist Catechism
- Q116. What do we pray for in the fifth petition?
In the fifth petition, which is, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” we pray that God, for Christ’s sake, would freely pardon all our sins; which we are the rather encouraged to ask, because by His grace we are enabled from the heart to forgive others.