John Calvin Commentary Psalms 51:3

"For I know my transgressions; And my sin is ever before me." — Psalms 51:3 (ASV)

For I know my sins. He now reveals his reason for imploring pardon with such vehemence: namely, the painful distress his sins caused him, which could only be relieved by his obtaining reconciliation with God. This proves that his prayer did not proceed from insincerity, as many will be found highly commending God's grace, although, in reality, they care little about it, having never felt the bitterness of being exposed to His displeasure.

David, on the contrary, declares that he experiences constant mental anguish because of his sin, and that it is this which gives such earnestness to his prayers. From his example we may learn who can truly be said to seek reconciliation with God in a proper manner.

They are those whose consciences have been wounded by a sense of sin, and who can find no rest until they have obtained assurance of His mercy. We will never seriously ask God for pardon until we have gained such a view of our sins as inspires us with fear.

The more content we are in our sins, the more we provoke God to punish them severely. If we really desire absolution from His hand, we must do more than confess our guilt in words; we must conduct a rigorous and thorough scrutiny into the nature of our transgressions.

David does not simply say that he will confess his sins to other people, but declares that he has a deep inward feeling of them, a feeling that filled him with the keenest anguish. His spirit was very different from that of the hypocrite, who displays complete indifference to this subject or, when it intrudes upon him, tries to bury the memory of it.

He speaks of his sins in the plural. His transgression, although it sprang from one root, was complicated, including adultery, as well as treachery and cruelty; nor had he betrayed only one man, but the whole army which had been summoned to the battlefield in defense of the Church of God. He accordingly recognizes many particular sins as wrapped up in it.