Psalms 51:1

Psalms 51:1. Have mercy upon me, O God, -

He breaks the silence at last, and he does so by crying to God for mercy. Ere he says anything else, he appeals to this attribute of mercy, which is so glorious a trait in the character of Jehovah; and he casts himself, all guilty as he is, upon the absolute mercy of God: "Have mercy upon me, O God," -

Psalms 51:1. According to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

David talks as if the Lord had said to him, "What is the measure of the mercy that you want?" and he knows of nothing by which he can measure it except the boundless and infinite lovingkindness of the Lord. "O God!" he seems to say, "deal out mercy to me according to the measure of thine own boundless nature. Let thy mercy be the only judge of the mercy that I need."