Psalm 51:3

3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin [is] ever before me.

Psalm 51:3 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 51:3

For I acknowledge my transgressions
Before God and man. Acknowledgment of sin is what the Lord requires, and promises forgiveness upon, and therefore is used here as a plea for it; and moreover the psalmist had done so before, and had succeeded in this way, which must encourage him to take the same course again; see ( Psalms 32:5 ) ;

and my sin [is] ever before me;
staring him in the face; gnawing upon his conscience, and filling him with remorse and distress; so that his life was a burden to him: for though God had put away sin out of his own sight, so that he would not condemn him for it, and he should not die; notwithstanding as yet it was not caused to pass from David, or the guilt of it removed from his conscience.

Psalm 51:3 In-Context

1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness: according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin [is] ever before me.

4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done [this] evil in thy sight: that thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, [and] be clear when thou judgest.

5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.