Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 51:11
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
11. The upright “behold God’s face” (Psa 11:7): He admits them to His presence for ever (Psa 41:12). The spirit of Jehovah came upon David, as it departed from Saul (1Sa 16:13-14). Did David fear that he might share the fate of Saul, banished from God’s presence and deprived of His favour, deserted by that Spirit which is the source of all right desire and action?
It is pointed out by the advocates of the national interpretation of the Psalm that the phrase of the first line is always used of the rejection of the nation and its banishment from the holy land (2Ki 13:23; 2Ki 17:20 ; 2Ki 24:20; Jer 7:15): and that the phrase ‘God’s holy spirit’ is found elsewhere in the O.T. only in Isa 63:10-11, where it is mentioned (along with ‘the angel of His presence’ Psa 51:9) as the mediator of His presence in the midst of the nation of Israel. But both phrases are equally applicable to the individual.
Although the doctrine of the personality of the Holy Spirit is not taught in the O.T., passages like these, which imply that in the spirit Jehovah personally acts, prepare the way for the N.T. revelation concerning Him, and can be used in the fullest Christian sense. See Oehler’s O.T. Theol., 65.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Cast me not away from thy presence – That is, Do not reject me, or cast me off entirely; do not abandon me; do not leave me in my sin and sorrow. The language is derived from the idea that true happiness is to be found in the presence of God, and that to be exiled from him is misery. Compare Psa 16:11, note; Psa 31:20, note. See also Psa 140:13.
And take not thy holy Spirit from me – It is not certain that David understood by the phrase thy Holy Spirit precisely what is now denoted by it as referring to the third person of the Trinity. The language, as used by him, would denote some influence coming from God producing holiness, as if God breathed his own spirit, or his own self, into the soul. The language, however, is appropriate to be used in the higher and more definite sense in which it is now employed, as denoting that sacred Spirit – the Holy Spirit – by whom the heart is renewed, and by whom comfort is imparted to the soul. It is not necessary to suppose that the inspired writers of the Old Testament had a full and complete comprehension of the meaning of the words which they employed, or that they appreciated all that their words might properly convey, or the fullness of signification in which they might be properly used in the times of the Gospel. Compare the notes at 1Pe 1:10-12. The language used here by David – take not – implies that he had been formerly in possession of that which he now sought. There was still in his heart that which might be regarded as the work of the Spirit of God; and he earnestly prayed that that might not be wholly taken away on account of his sin, or that he might not be entirely abandoned to despair.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 51:11
Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.
A most needful prayer concerning the Holy Spirit
This psalm is, beyond all others, a photograph of penitent David. You may have seen that interesting slab of stone which bears on its surface indications of the fall of raindrops in a primeval shower; this psalm preserves the mark of Davids tear-drops, for the inspection and instruction of succeeding generations. Take our text–
I. As the cry of a penitent child of God. This is its largest, widest and most primitive sense. It is certainly fit language for any child of God who has fallen into gross sin. Backslider, you may yet return; there are pardons for sins of deepest dye. But more, probably, will equally need this prayer on account of gradual backsliding. One great sin startles the soul into repentance, but a continuation of sin will be found to be oven more dangerous. White ants will devour a carcase as surely and as speedily as a lion. Many threads of silk twisted together may hold a man as fast as one band of iron. But the soul that can thus pray has still true spiritual life struggling within. An ungodly man would not care at all, but here is life which sighs after God. How many are the reasons for such a prayer as this! Gods presence is our comfort amid affliction. It was the Holy Spirit who regenerated us, and into His name we were baptized. And He is the Spirit of adoption. Let anything come between us and our distinct recognition of our sonship towards God, and we are undone. Further, it is by the Holy Spirit that we have access to God. Praying in the Holy Spirit is the only true praying. And He is our great instructor; He leads us into all truth. And we need His aid as our Comforter and Sanctifier, and as our power for practical service. And remember, too, that when a man has sinned as David had, he cannot always pray in language which would be precisely suitable for a well-assured saint. When assurance is gone, and faith is weak, it is a great comfort that we may pray a sinners prayer.
II. As the voice of an anxious Church. Remember, there have been Churches from which God has removed His Spirit. The Churches of Asia, and many more recent instances. Therefore remember that the power of a Church does not consist in her organizations; nor her gifts; nor her wealth; nor her doctrines. I know not that Laodicea held false doctrines, yet she was nauseous to the Lord. Nor is a Churchs strength her numbers. What is a large Church without the Lords presence, but a mass of chaff to be scattered by the wind! And the fall of such Church may be sudden. Therefore how needful for all Churches is this prayer. Take it–
III. As the cry of an awakened sinner. Not accurately, but still instinctively we may thus use it. Oh, unconverted man! if thou art anxious about thy soul, pray this prayer. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Deprecation of Gods judgments
The people of God they understand the nature of spiritual judgments, that they are the greatest and saddest of any; which they are in a twofold respect; first, as considered in themselves, and that mischief which is contained in them; and, secondly, in regard of their influence and extent. First, as for themselves, they are the greatest, as depriving of the greatest good, and carrying the greatest smart with them. Every one prizes any loss according as he is any way sensible of the gain which is lost by it. What is the reason that worldly men make so much of worldly losses, of friends, and honours, and estates, and such things as these? It is because they understand what they mean. Why now thus it is also in spirituals: Gods children, because they know what it is to enjoy Gods presence, therefore they are so afraid of being deprived of it. And then in regard of their influence; they know that such judgments as these have other judgments attending upon them; and so they have: first, as to temporal judgments, they are oftentimes forerunners of them: as the Gospel comes not alone, so it goes not alone, nor the comforts which belong unto it. When God afflicts men with spiritual judgments, which it may be they do not regard, He has other judgments for them, following Of them, which they are more sensible of; when David was cast out of Gods presence, he was in danger of somewhat else with it; and so are others with him. And then especially as to judgment to come. Spiritual judgments, where they are not prevented, end in eternal judgments, and in their own nature tend unto them. Temporary casting out of Gods presence tends to final and absolute rejection: and the loss of Gods Spirit for a time tends to the loss of it for ever: this it does in its own nature, however through the goodness of God it does not always take effect; as the firing but of one room in a house speaks the firing of the whole building; and the firing of but one house in particular the destruction of the whole city, though God does graciously come between.:Now the children of God they consider things in themselves, and the nature and tendency of them, as it becomes wise men to do, and accordingly judge of them; and hence are so much afraid of spiritual judgments. (Thomas Horton, D. D.)
And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.—
The withdrawal of Gods Spirit deprecated as the worst of evils
1. The best of saints may fall into the worst of sins.
2. As the best of saints cannot keep themselves from falling, so neither can they raise themselves up again when they are fallen (Psa 23:3).
3. Where repentance is sincere, a believer matters not what shame he takes, provided by his confession glory may redound to God.
I. What it is for God to take away His Holy Spirit. For God to take away His Holy Spirit is for Him to withdraw His sensible gracious influences from the soul.
II. For what reasons, or on what accounts it is, that God acts thus towards His own people.
1. Pride and self-confidence in the performance of any duty. The apostle seems to be most afraid of that little boasting pronoun I (1Co 15:1). Grace prepared him for service, grace assisted him in it, grace gave success to it, grace therefore has all the praise.
2. Another reason why God withdraws His Spirit is negligence and sloth in the discharge of duty (Son 5:2). Oh! those formal, lukewarm frames of spirit, our beloved loathes them. Give Christ your whole heart, or give Him nothing.
3. Unimproved mercies is another cause of the removal of Gods Spirit (1Ki 11:9).
4. Present sins are another cause of Gods withdrawing of His Spirit: Samson and David both failed here.
III. Why gracious souls cannot bear the loss of Gods spirit without putting in their plea against it.
1. Because He is the Spirit of truth, and without His gracious teachings all the knowledge that we have of God and of Christ will do us no real good. Light in the head will be of little efficacy if there be not life and heat in the heart.
2. He is the Spirit of grace and of supplication, and without His aid we shall be indifferent to duty, and lifeless in it (Zec 12:10).
3. The Spirit is a Spirit of holiness, and without His presence all our endeavours after sanctification in heart and life are fruitless, and in vain.
4. The Spirit is the author of all consolation and joy, and without His gracious influences the believer will be ever sorrowing and cast down (Joh 16:7).
Uses.
1. If the loss of Gods presence here be so dreadful, how sad is it ever to be separated from it in the other world? (Psa 90:11).
2. God has other ways to punish His own people for sin, than casting them into hell for it (Psa 99:8).
3. Have a care how you grieve the Spirit (Eph 4:30). Do not that which is contrary to His nature and will. Embrace His counsels; submit to His government; walk in all the ways of His appointment. (J. Hill.)
Withdrawal of the Holy Spirit from the soul
There came upon Davids soul, like a veritable horror, the consciousness that it was possible to go from bad to worse; that, unless God interposed, this might last for ever–this momentary withdrawal of the spiritual power might be permanent. So he seems to say with an awful pathos in his voice, Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. As I thought of this I wondered whether there rose before the eyes of David the memory of what he himself had seen in the years that were gone. There was his predecessor on the throne–Saul–a man on whom the Spirit of God rested for a while, but who was bereft of the Spirit. When the Spirit had left him, what an awful condition he got into 1 David seems to say within himself, O God, have mercy upon me. Do not let me become a Saul, lest I forget Thy judgments and disobey Thy statutes; lest in my hot anger I raise my hand against a just man, and seek to pin him to the wall with my javelin, as Saul did even unto me. (Thomas Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 11. Cast me not away from thy presence] Banish me not from thy house and ordinances.
Take not thy Holy Spirit from me.] I know I have sufficiently grieved it to justify its departure for ever, in consequence of which I should be consigned to the blackness of darkness, – either to utter despair, or to a hard heart and seared conscience; and so work iniquity with greediness, till I fell into the pit of perdition. While the Spirit stays, painfully convincing of sin, righteousness, and judgment, there is hope of salvation; when it departs, then the hope of redemption is gone. But while there his any godly sorrow, any feeling of regret for having sinned against God, any desire to seek mercy, then the case is not hopeless; for these things prove that the light of the Spirit is not withdrawn.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
From thy presence, i.e. from thy favour, and care, and gracious communion with thee.
Thy Holy Spirit; thy sanctifying Spirit, by which alone I can have acquaintance and fellowship with thee.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7-12. A series of prayers forforgiveness and purifying.
Purge . . . hyssopTheuse of this plant in the ritual (Exo 12:22;Num 19:6; Num 19:18)suggests the idea of atonement as prominent here; “purge”refers to vicarious satisfaction (Nu19:17-20).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Cast me not away from thy presence,…. As abominable; as a vessel in which he had no pleasure; with indignation and wrath; as one that is angry with another, cannot bear him in his sight, but bids him be gone from him. Nothing is more desirable to a child of God than the presence of God; and nothing gives him more sensible pain than his absence; and even to be deprived of or denied the means of enjoying his presence the word and ordinances, makes them very uneasy: to be utterly, and for ever deprived of it, is the case of the damned in hell, and is the punishment of loss they sustain; and, on the other hand, the happiness of the saints in heaven is to enjoy it without interruption. The people of God are never cast away from his favour, or out of his heart’s love; but they may for a while be without his gracious presence, or not see his face, nor have the light of his countenance, nor sensible communion with him, which is here deprecated. David might call to mind the case of Cain, Ge 4:14; or rather the more recent one of Saul, whom the Lord rejected, and from whom he departed upon his sinning, and which he might fear would be his case,
1Sa 28:15;
and take not thy Holy Spirit from me; or “the Spirit of thine holiness”; the third Person in the Trinity; so called, not because this epithet of “holy” is peculiar to him; for it is used also of the Father, and of the Son, Joh 17:11; but because he is equally holy with them, and is the author of holiness in his people, which is therefore called the sanctification of the Spirit, 1Pe 1:2; and without whom David knew that purity and holiness of heart and spirit he had desired could not be renewed and increased in him; and therefore deprecates the taking of him away; which shows that he was not as yet removed from him, not with standing he had fallen into great sins; and his sense of sin, and confession of it, and his fervent application for pardoning grace, and purity of heart, abundantly prove it. The Spirit of God is a gift of his, which is without repentance, and where he once is as a spirit of regeneration and sanctification, he ever abides: his external gifts may be taken away; but internal grace is an incorruptible seed, and always continues. By sin the Spirit of God may be grieved, so as to withdraw his gracious influences, and his powerful operations may not be felt; and this is what is here deprecated. The Targum interprets this of the spirit of prophecy which David had, by which he composed psalms and songs prophetic of Christ, and of Gospel times, and which was not taken away from him; see 2Sa 23:1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(11) Cast me not away.This phrase is used of the formal rejection of Israel by the God of the covenant (2Ki. 13:23; 2Ki. 17:20; 2Ki. 24:20; Jer. 7:15). Its use here not only confirms the explanation of the notes above, but makes in favour of understanding the whole psalm of the community.
Take not thy holy spirit.Commentators have discussed whether this means the spirit of office given to the king on his anointing (1Sa. 16:13), or of grace, and Calvinists and Lutherans have made the text a battle-ground of controversy. Plainly, as the parallelism shows, the petition is equivalent to a prayer against rejection from the Divine favour, and is not to be pressed into any doctrinal discussion.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
11. Take not thy Holy Spirit from me That Spirit which came upon David at his anointing as king, (1Sa 16:13,) and by which he had achieved all his victories, he had now forfeited, and he deprecates the justice which would take back the forfeiture. With the divine rejection, as with Saul, would follow that by the people of Israel. 1Sa 16:14; 2 Kings 24:24. The order follows in moral sequence no less than in judicial judgment loss of the favour of God, loss of providential rank and honour, loss of the soul. “They that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” 1Sa 2:30
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 51:11. Cast me not away from thy presence From before thy face. Heb. The coming to God’s presence, was the approaching the tabernacle of the ark, and its courts, where the sacrifices were offered, and the visible tokens of God’s majesty appeared in the cloud and glory: and therefore, to be cast out of his presence, was to be debarred the privilege of appearing in his house, and joining in the solemnities of his worship. This was what David dreaded, as the consequence of his offences, and what he grievously lamented, when driven from Jerusalem by the rebellion of Absalom, as appears from what he said to Zadok, 2Sa 15:25. And he therefore prays that this might not be one part of his punishment. The next petition for God’s holy Spirit, and the continuance of it, must mean the Spirit of God, which was necessary to effect this great change in the temper and habit of his mind, and to confirm and establish it. He had forfeited this great blessing by his presumptuous crimes, and therefore earnestly deprecates his being deprived of it, that he might not be involved again in the same guilty practices, the recollection of which now gave him the deepest distress. Chandler.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Ver. 11. Cast me not away from thy presence ] Deprive me not of communion with thee and comfort from thee; for that is a piece of hell torments, 2Th 1:9 . Cain’s punishment, which possibly David might here mind, as being guilty of murder; and Saul’s loss of the kingly spirit, 1Sa 15:15 , might make him pray on.
And take not thine holy Spirit from me
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
take not. Not a proper prayer for those now “in Christ”: for, see Joh 14:16.
Holy Spirit. See the only other O.T. occurrences of the expression (Isa 63:10, Isa 63:11). Hebrew. ruach. App-9.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the Sacrifices God Accepts
Psa 51:11-19
It is not enough to be forgiven; the true penitent longs to be kept from breaking out into the old sins. He desires a clean heart that abhors the least taint of sin; a right or steadfast (r.v., margin) spirit, influenced by Gods holy Spirit, and therefore a willing spirit as well. Then shall follow the joy of salvation, success in soul-winning, humility of soul, the blessing of Zion, and the upbuilding of the Church. What glorious results are these-like the fair colors extracted from coal-tar!
There are no sacrifices so dear to God as broken hearts; no offerings so precious as contrite spirits. It would be impossible to compute all the walls that have been built; all the Jerusalems, that have been blessed, all the congregations that have been moved, all the revivals that have resulted because sinful men and women have been loved back from the pit of corruption and reinstated into the clear shining of Gods forgiveness and favor. Do not be content with forgiveness; seek restoration to the old place and then strive for a better.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Take not
No believer of this dispensation, aware of the promise of His abiding Joh 14:16 should pray, “Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.” Eph 4:30 but while Christian position is not found here, Christian experience in essence is.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Cast: Psa 43:2, Psa 71:9, Psa 71:18, Gen 4:14, 2Ki 13:23, 2Ki 17:18-23, 2Ki 23:27, 2Th 1:9
take: Gen 6:3, Jdg 13:25, Jdg 15:14, Jdg 16:20, 1Sa 10:10, 1Sa 16:14, 2Sa 7:15, Isa 63:10, Isa 63:11
holy: Luk 11:13, Joh 14:26, Rom 1:4, Rom 8:9, Eph 4:30
Reciprocal: Lev 22:3 – from my Jdg 3:10 – the Spirit Jdg 6:34 – the Spirit 1Sa 18:12 – departed 1Sa 28:15 – God 2Ch 32:31 – left him Psa 27:9 – put Psa 66:20 – General Psa 119:8 – O forsake Jer 14:21 – not abhor Jer 23:39 – cast Hag 2:5 – so 1Th 5:19 – the Spirit
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 51:11-12. Cast me not away from thy presence That is, from thy favour and care. Take not thy Holy Spirit from me Thy sanctifying Spirit, by which alone I can have acquaintance and fellowship with thee. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation The comfortable sense of thy saving grace, promised and vouchsafed to me, both for my present and everlasting salvation. And uphold me A weak and frail creature, not able to stand against temptation and the corruption of my nature, without thy powerful and gracious succours; with thy free Spirit Or ingenuous, liberal, or princely, which he seems to oppose to this own base, illiberal, disingenuous, and servile spirit, which he had discovered in his wicked and unworthy practices. And he now desires a better spirit of God, which might free him from the bondage of sin, and incline and enable him freely, cheerfully, and constantly to run the way of Gods precepts.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Casting away from God’s presence implies a rejection as God’s servant. Saul had suffered such a fate for his continuing rebellion against Yahweh. In Old Testament times God gave His Holy Spirit selectively (to empower only some believers) and temporarily (primarily to empower them for special acts of service). Since the Day of Pentecost all believers enjoy the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Church Age (Joh 14:17; Rom 8:9). Consequently the possibility of God withdrawing His Spirit from David was a real one for him, but it is not for us. [Note: For further study of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in Old Testament times, see Walvoord, pp. 71-73; L. S. Chafer, Systematic Theology, 6:66-79; or Leon Wood, The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.] It is possible that a Christian may lose his or her opportunities to serve the Lord, however (1Co 9:27). For example, a Christian who gets involved in gross sin will not lose his or her salvation (Joh 10:28-29), but he or she may lose the opportunity to serve God in a leadership capacity (cf. 1Co 9:27).