Psalms 51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 717] According to the customs prevailing among Eastern rulers, crimes not to be tolerated in subjects were uncondemned in the king; the monarch was not under obligation to exercise the same self-restraint as the subject. All this tended to lessen David's sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin. Instead of relying in humility upon the power of Jehovah, he began to trust to his own wisdom and might.
As soon as Satan can separate the soul from God, the only Source of strength, he will seek to arouse the unholy desires of man's carnal nature. The work of the enemy is not abrupt. It is not, at the outset, sudden and startling; it is a secret undermining of the strongholds of principle. It begins in apparently small things—the neglect to be true to God and to rely upon Him wholly, the disposition to follow the customs and practices of the world.
We know the rest of the story, for according to the sacred record, the devil executed his diabolical plan flawlessly, and the rest is history. And since these things are written for our admonition or instruction, upon whom the end of the world is coming, we will do well to take heed lest we fall into the same traps as king David once did.
Psalms 51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou might be justified when You speak, and be clear when You judge. 5 Behold, I was shaped in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!