Psa. 3 title

This psalm was composed after David’s great sin in murdering Uriah and robbing him of his wife and after he was rebuked by the prophet Nathan (2 Sam. 11:1-27; 12:1-14).

Or, Have mercy on me. See note Psa. 49:1¹.

In vv. 3-5, 17 David repented and confessed his sins to God. The verbs used by David — blot out (vv. 1, 9), wash (vv. 2, 7), cleanse (v. 2), and purge (v. 7) — indicate that his repentance and confession were thorough and that his asking for forgiveness was genuine.

To confess, as David did here, that we were born in sin indicates that we have no trust in ourselves (cf. Rom. 7:18; Phil. 3:3). Realizing that we are sinful and God is holy, we trust only in Him. Also, we realize that we need Christ to be our Mediator and our sacrifice (see note Psa. 51:7^1a).

The inward parts are the parts of the human soul — the mind, the emotion, and the will. The hidden part is the human spirit, which is hidden within the soul. See note 1 Pet. 3:4¹.

Hyssop typifies Christ in His humble and humiliated human nature (1 Kings 4:33a; Exo. 12:22a; Phil. 2:5-8). Here it implies Christ as the Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5; 1 John 2:1) and the sacrifice (Heb. 10:5, 10).

Or, pure.

By sinning we become old; but after we are forgiven by God, we can be renewed (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 4:16; Eph. 4:23; Titus 3:5).

God’s presence is actually the Spirit of His holiness. If we lose God’s presence, we lose everything.

The title the Spirit of holiness used here and in Isa. 63:10-11 is not the same as the Holy Spirit used in the New Testament. The Spirit of holiness in the Old Testament is for God to make His people holy by separating them unto Himself. The Holy Spirit at the initiation of the New Testament age was for God’s incarnation, in which God in His divine nature was imparted into humanity and mingled with the human nature (without forming a third nature) to produce a God-man who was intrinsically holy (Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:35). See note Luke 1:15^2c, note Luke 1:35², and note Luke 1:35^3b.

Verses 18-19 signify the participation in the enjoyment of God in the local church as God’s house, God’s dwelling, and in the universal church as God’s city, God’s kingdom, through the all-inclusive Christ as the offerings. If we are those who repent, confess our sins, and ask God for His purging (1 John 1:9), we will have the enjoyment of God in Christ in His house, the local church, and in His city, the universal church. This enjoyment, as the “good” mentioned here, includes God’s building up the church, His filling the church with His glory, and His granting the church His rich presence with Himself as joy, peace, life, light, security, and every spiritual blessing (cf. Eph. 1:3).