4. The Joy of Obedience (vv. 8-11). God speaks to David in verses 8-9, assuring him that the joy of salvation would be restored to him (51:12) if he obeyed the Lord and walked in His way. David’s wrong thinking got him into serious trouble, but the Lord would instruct him, guide him, and keep His loving eye on him (see 33:18; 34:15). David’s faith (vv. 5-6) must now issue in obedience, for faith and works must go together. God doesn’t forgive us so that we can go back and sin! “But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared” (130:4 nkjv).

When he gazed at Bathsheba, lusted after her, and then committed adultery, and when he plotted to kill her husband, David saw himself acting like a free man; but God saw him acting like an animal! We are made in God’s image, but when we choose to knowingly rebel against God’s law, we descend into what the older translations call acting “brutish” (see 92:6; 94:8; Jer. 10:8, 14, 21) and modern translations “senseless.” Like the horse, David rushed ahead impetuously, and like the mule, he was stubborn and tried to cover his sins. The only way to control animals is to break them and harness them, but God didn’t want to do that to His beloved servant David. Instead, He would teach him His Word and keep His eye upon him, surrounding him with mercy (see 23:6).

When he joined the assembly at the sanctuary of God (vv. 1-2), David began his song with the joyful announcement that God had forgiven him. Now he closed the psalm by exhorting the other worshippers to join him in celebrating the joy of the Lord. “Be glad! Rejoice! Shout for joy!” Years later, his son Solomon would write, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Prov. 28:13 nkjv).