Psalm 51:12 (KJV)

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Bible Commentary

Psalm 51:12 is a Bible verse in the Psalms where King David is distraught and pouring his heart out to God.

If you read the entire 51^st Psalm, you can see that King David is praying to God and repenting. Nathan the prophet had just come to him by God’s leading and opened up his eyes to the sin he had committed with Bathsheba.

King David was home at a time of war, which was unusual, and he let his gaze linger too long upon a woman who was bathing on a rooftop. Being a man of prominence, wealth and power, he was quite accustomed to getting what he wanted, and he wanted her.

Bathsheba was married, and her husband was on the battlefield, fighting a war for his king and country. 2 Samuel 11:27 says, “…the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.” 2 Samuel 11 in the NASB version is entitled, “Bathsheba, David’s Great Sin.” Not only did he take another man’s wife, but when he found out she was pregnant by him, he had her husband positioned on the front lines on the battleground so he would be killed. He tried to cover up his sin.

This was King David’s great downfall. When he recognized the truth of his sin, he immediately fell down before the Lord and asked for His mercy. Psalm 51 is a result of the outpouring of his broken heart.

Unlocking the Truth – Jesus was Enough

Have you ever felt the sting of the consequences of your own downfall, your own mistakes and sin that have cost you and the people around you?

We all have. The effects of our sin ripple upward to our ancestors and downward to our descendants.

We are all in this together, and everything we do (or don’t do) has a lasting effect upon others. That’s why it is so important to follow the Lord in His ways and in His righteousness, so that the ripple effect is positive and not negative.

It is apparent in the first few words of Psalm 51:12 that David’s joy is gone. He is grieving because he has done evil in the sight of God and his heart is broken. He has caused pain to God, to Bathsheba, to himself and to the baby they bore together, who died soon after he was born.

Even though David’s sin was great… click to continue reading