Inside Job
Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. Psalm 51:6 NASB
Innermost being/ hidden part – Psalm 51 is infamous for its most controversial verse, number 5. You probably know it from memory (“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me”). Unfortunately, the theological doctrine attributed to this verse colors the rest of typical Christian interpretation. Notice what Ralph Alexander writes:
This noun (found twice in the ot) describes an object covered over, hidden, or concealed. Ps 51:6 [H 8] clearly communicates the sense of “inward being”—inner man covered by the body. ṭūḥôt is parallel to sātm, a “closed up place,” and to the seat of the sin nature (v. 5), denoting the residence of truth or faithfulness, referred to elsewhere as “heart” (Ps 15:2; cf. I Sam 12:24). There is no agreement concerning the etymology of this term in Job 38:36, and the meaning of the word poetically parallel to it is debated. [1]
Did you catch his reference to “sin nature”? What this means is that verse 5 dictates the meaning of verse 6. But if “sin nature” is not correct, if David isn’t being a theologian but a poet, then we’ll have to revise our understanding of “innermost being” and “hidden part,” won’t we? And since it is abundantly clear that the idea of “sin nature” originates with Augustine, not with the Bible, it is incumbent upon us to read David’s poetry differently.[2]
David Lambert’s suggestion that Psalm 51 is an example of divine drama is a good start, but now let’s concentrate on the two parallel Hebrew terms, ṭūḥôt and sātum. David likes to use unusual words (as do most poets). ṭūḥôt certainly fits, used only twice. sātam is also rare. It’s about stopping up or shutting up something. It might be translated “hidden” but it’s more than simply covered over. Whatever is hidden here is also prevented from being released. This helps us fill in David’s picture. God desires truth where it can’t be seen (ṭūḥôt), where it’s concealed from the public eye, and precisely because it is concealed from the public, it reflects the real character of a man. It isn’t subject to external affirmation. It isn’t modified in order to look good. This is the real “you,” the “you” only you and God know. In David’s poem, truth is a private matter.
That idea is repeated in the choice of sātam. But now it’s carefully enhanced. Private truth, being real before God, means, according to David, that God will make wisdom known in this inner place. In other words, we will experience divine wisdom in secret. Once more David emphasizes turning away from seeking the approval of others. These matters are entirely between you and God. The public has nothing to do with it. And David lives this. What did he do after pleading with God about his first son with Bathsheba? When the child died, he did exactly the opposite of public expectation. His inner world wasn’t concerned with public opinion.
What do we learn? A man’s character is determined by what he does when the lights are turned off. Do you seek divine wisdom? Then make sure you are completely open to God, that there’s no secret hidden from Him. Oh, I don’t mean that He doesn’t know it anyway. I mean that you make no effort to hide it from Him. Don’t be Adam trying to cover up. Spiritual health was always intended to be naked and unashamed.
Topical Index: ṭūḥôt, sātum, innermost, hidden, Psalm 51:6
[1] Alexander, R. H. (1999). 795 תּוַּח. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 347). Chicago: Moody Press.
[2] I’ve done a bit of this in these articles: https://skipmoen.com/tag/psalm-515/
