David starts this section of scripture by writing that “he was shapen in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me”.
It is common for this scripture to be interpreted to mean that all of mankind is inherently born into sin, continuing to carry in us the corrupting sin nature passed on from Adam.
It is generally believed that this scripture does not mean in a literal sense that David’s mother conceived him in a sinful act.
Yet if we examine Jewish tradition surrounding the story of David’s conception, which is not in the Bible, the story goes that indeed David was conceived in what would have been considered a sinful act. Allegedly, that sinful act of conceiving David set him in the path to being made a shepherd and being treated as the lowest among his brothers and family, to the point that they wished he would be dead and hoped in every way he would not be successful in stature or their culture.
This explanation actually can explain so much of the sad statements David makes about himself in the Psalms. Statements that indicate how hard his life was, despite being the son of one of the most revered figures in Israel at that time.
The scriptures then go on to say, “I desire truth in the inward parts”. This refers to the deepest part of our being or the center core of our life.
We hear the term, “being hidden with Christ” or “keep Christ hidden in your heart”. I want to touch on that thought before moving on.
Colossians 3:3 says “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”
There are other scriptures that talk about God’s Word or law being in our heart as well.
I read once that we keep Christ hidden because He represents our true identity that everything else in the world is trying to replace with a false identity. It is critical that we not forget who we are and that our identity can only truly be found in Christ alone and what God says about us. The world cannot tell you who you are. All of the false identities that that world places on you lead away from God and His best for your life.
Keeping Christ hidden in our hearts doesn’t mean we don’t share Him with others or share what God has done for us. On the contrary, because we allow God’s Word to become a part of us and we stay focused on Him, He can never be taken from us, and we can always draw on that source of living waters to remind us of who we are.
David writes that he desires truth in the inward parts, and in that, he is saying that he wants God’s truth to be real in the deepest part of who he is. He goes onto say that “in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.”
Again, he’s referencing the “secret places” or the “inmost parts”. He says he wants God to make him to know wisdom. Referring at times in scripture to the “deepest knowledge” of someone which is true intimacy, the word “know” here is not just a knowledge, but knowledge of wisdom which is gained through experience. David is not asking God to just give him wisdom, but he wants to gain it through experience. How often do we ask God for wisdom and we want Him to just zap us with instant knowledge? Wisdom doesn’t work that way. God gave Israel knowledge to do many things by His command, and yet they missed the symbolism and types and shadows in that knowledge that pointed to the Messiah. So knowledge that isn’t gained through experience doesn’t equal the reflection and deeper understanding of that knowledge that contributes to wisdom.
David knew that he couldn’t just skip over experience to get wisdom. When we consider that he humbled himself under God’s authority to lead him through circumstances, whether good or bad to gain that wisdom, he still had the courage to ask for it.
David mentions Hyssop to purge him and make him clean. While scholars believe that the Hyssop of the Bible was not actually what we call Hyssop today, this was a plant used in many rituals of that day, especially those concerning purification and atonement. It would have been used to apply the blood on the doorposts in Egypt to protect the children of Israel from the plague of death.
Denoting the sacrifice of blood as a sin offering, David asks God to purge him and cleanse him.
The term “whiter than snow” appears several places in scripture. It means to be purified to the fullest extent possible, so that no stain or blemish remains. Jesus is truly the one who cleanses us and makes us “whiter than snow.”
Mark talks about this when Jesus was transfigured on the mount.
Mark‬ ‭9‬:‭3‬ says, “And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.”
There Jesus was, standing between Elijah and Moses; between the prophets and the Mosaic Law, transfigured before the apostles, and He is described as being so white that nothing on Earth can be as white. That truly speaks to the depth that He has paid for our sins and can cleanse us from them. He has fulfilled both the prophetic words and the Mosaic Law, bringing everything together in Himself to be able to make us clean.
David then says, lMake me to hear joy and gladness; That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.”
This isn’t literally saying that God broke David’s bones, but the crushing of bones terminology here signifies the sin being judged and dealt with. Ashamed of his sins, David asks God to hide His face from looking on the transgressions and erase any record of them.
Christians often quote in-part or on-whole the next part of this scripture which says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;”.
They quote it with humility, but ignorance. This is an Old Covenant prayer from a man that didn’t have what we have through Christ.
In fact, this whole section of scripture is written by a man who more than anything wants to be clean and pure before God; a man that longs for the salvation Jesus gave us, and the power of the Holy Spirit that some Christians take for granted or reject entirely out of ignorance.
Jesus has created in us a clean heart, and not just a renewed spirit, but a brand new spirit.
We are a new creation! He has promised never to leave us or forsake us and the Holy Spirit never departs from us because God’s gifts are never taken back.
It goes on to say, “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness”. If you read the Psalms and any other writings about David, you will see that like any of us, he struggled with guilt. Here he is expressing guilt specifically over blood on his hands for the people he has killed. Yet Jesus not only took our sins, but also the guilt of those sins. We don’t have to live in a state of guilt over sins that God has forgiven and forgotten.
We are to be awakened to righteousness and no longer sin-conscious.
As we look at this example, let us remember the better covenant we have through Jesus and what He accomplished for us and in us.
Let’s make sure we don’t pray David’s prayer; acting as though we are the unsaved, unregenerated and alone. We not only have what he was praying for, but we have so much more. We can read this and other scriptures in the light of their fulfillment in Christ Jesus and still find valuable insights into the journey over centuries that faith has taken to find us.