Have Mercy Upon Me: The Prayer of the Penitent in the Fifty-First Psalm Explained and Applied
Overview
Containing a month of daily meditations on the 51st Psalm, Murray’s exploration of Miserere is divided into five parts:
- The Great Petition
- The Confession
- The Prayer of Forgiveness
- The Prayer for Renewal
- The Sacrifice of Thanksgiving
- Views Psalm 51 through the lens of grace
- Expounds upon the grace and mercy of God
- Provides 31 passages of discussion for daily meditation
- Introduction
- A Psalm of David for the Chief Musician
- A Psalm of David: when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba
- I. The Great Petition
- Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy loving-kindness (ver. 1a)
- According to the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions (ver. 1b)
- Wash me throughly from mine iniquity (ver. 2a)
- And cleanse me from my sin (ver. 2b)
- II. The Confession
- For I acknowledge my transgressions (ver. 3a)
- And my sin is ever before me (ver. 3b)
- Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned (ver. 4a)
- And done that which is evil in Thy sight; that Thou mayest be justified when Thou speakest, and be clear when Thou judgest (ver. 4b)
- Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me (ver. 5)
- Behold, Thou desirest truth in the inward parts (ver. 6a)
- And in the hidden part Thou shalt make me to know wisdom (ver. 6b)
- III. The Prayer for Forgiveness
- Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean (ver. 7a)
- Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow (ver. 7b)
- Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice (ver. 8)
- Hide Thy face from my sins (ver. 9a)
- And blot out all mine iniquities (ver. 9b)
- IV. The Prayer for Renewal
- Create in me a clean heart, O God (ver. 10a)
- And renew a steadfast spirit within me (ver. 10b)
- Cast me not away from Thy presence (ver. 11a)
- And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me (ver. 11b)
- Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation (ver. 12a)
- And uphold me with a free Spirit (ver. 12b)
- V. The Sacrifice of Thanksgiving
- Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways (ver. 13a)
- And sinners shall be converted unto Thee (ver. 13b)
- Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, Thou God of my salvation (ver. 14a)
- And my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness (ver. 14b)
- O Lord, open Thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth Thy praise (ver. 15)
- For Thou delightest not in sacrifice, else would I give it; Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering (ver. 16)
- The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise (ver. 17)
- Do good in Thy good pleasure unto Zion: build Thou the walls of Jerusalem (ver. 18)
- Then shalt Thou delight in the sacrifices of righteousness in burnt-offering and whole burnt-offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon Thine altar (ver. 19)
Top Highlights
“that what you must have is a personal experience of this mercy as manifested towards you.” (Page 37)
“Until the soul knows that it is blotted out it can have no true peace.” (Page 41)
“‘Have mercy upon me, O God.’ The true suppliant believes that there is mercy with God. That with God there is mercy, is the greatest wonder of the divine being. The omniscience of God is a wonder. The omnipotence of God is a wonder. God’s spotless holiness is a wonder. None of these things can we understand. But the greatest wonder of all is the mercy of God.” (Page 34)
“The confession of this inborn corruption, then, and shame for it, is also an indispensable element of a true confession of sin.” (Page 78)
“Our transgressions must be blotted out by God Himself” (Page 40)
It is done so quietly, with such a mastery of all the motives which actuate men, and with such easy power, that it is only on reflection that we find out how rare is the gift of the author.
—Aberdeen Free Press
- Title: Have Mercy upon Me: The Prayer of the Penitent in the Fifty-First Psalm Explained and Applied
- Author: Andrew Murray
- Publisher: J. Nisbet & Co.
- Print Publication Date: 1896
- Logos Release Date: 2012
- Era: era:modern
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Bible. O.T. Psalms 51 › Commentaries; Repentance
- Resource ID: LLS:MERCYMURRAY
- Resource Type: Bible Commentary
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-02-12T04:33:44Z
Andrew Murray (May 9, 1828–January 18, 1917) was a South African pastor, teacher, and writer. He was educated in Aberdeen, Scotland, and at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. In 1848, Murray was ordained in the Dutch Reformed Church and returned to live and work in South Africa.
Murray was very focused on missions, considering it to be “the chief end of the church.” In 1889 he cofounded the South African General Mission with Martha Osborn and Spencer Walton. As their work spread throughout the continent, the mission’s name changed to Africa Evangelical Fellowship (AEF), and in 1998 AEF joined SIM which today has over 1,800 active missionaries in over 43 countries. Andrew Murray authored over 240 books, including Abide in Christ, The Holiest of All, The Spiritual Life, and The Mystery of the True Vine.