Psalm 51 is the classic passage on David’s confession after being confronted by Nathan. The inspired introduction is clear:

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David When Nathan the Prophet Went to Him, After He Had Gone in to Bathsheba. (Psalm 51, introduction, NKJV)

The psalm is worth the read in its entirety, of course, and I encourage you do so: Psalm 51. I want to focus on what I’ve come to believe is an often misunderstood text:

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. (Psalm 51.5, NKJV)

The verse is most often thought of as a confirmation of Biblical teaching on original sin:

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5.12, NKJV)

But it’s possible, perhaps even more likely, that David is speaking of being a product of an adulterous relationship:

Pastor Ed Rowell presented evidence in a sermon back in 2013 that King David was likely the product of an affair. That would explain why his brothers didn’t like him and why he was relegated to tending sheep (a low-status position). Look it up: David had two sisters, Abigail and Zeruiah (1 Chronicles 2.13 – 17), whose father was Nahash (2 Samuel 17.25, 26). Ed believes that Jesse had an affair with Nahash’s wife, producing David. Later, Jesse must have married her, and she brought her two daughters into the mix. (You can’t make this stuff up!)

Ed believed that we wrongly tend to spiritualize Psalm 51.5. “Sure, we’re all born in sin, ever since the Fall.” But the language is plain, and David is saying something about himself.

And he’s saying something very important: it doesn’t matter what our background is. God can and does use any of us. For that, we can be thankful.

I first wrote about this back on May 11, 2020. I am the product of an out of wedlock relationship. My mother was a 40-year-old unmarried Army nurse, who gave me up for adoption. My pastor friend, Bob Kaylor, now serving a church in Pennsylvania, also adopted, was the product of an adulterous relationship between two officers, not in the US army, but in the Salvation Army!

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead… (Philippians 3.13, ESV)

So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose. For he knew all about us before we were born and he destined us from the beginning to share the likeness of his Son. This means the Son is the oldest among a vast family of brothers and sisters who will become just like him. (Romans 8.28, 29, Passion Translation)