Psalm 51

0 To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
1  Have mercy on me, O God,
  according to your steadfast love;
 according to your abundant mercy
  blot out my transgressions.
2  Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
  and cleanse me from my sin.
3  For I know my transgressions,
  and my sin is ever before me.
4  Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
  and done what is evil in your sight,
 so that you are justified in your sentence
  and blameless when you pass judgment.
5  Indeed, I was born guilty,
  a sinner when my mother conceived me.
6  You desire truth in the inward being;
  therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
  wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8  Let me hear joy and gladness;
  let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9  Hide your face from my sins,
  and blot out all my iniquities.
10  Create in me a clean heart, O God,
  and put a new and right spirit within me.
11  Do not cast me away from your presence,
  and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12  Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
  and sustain in me a willing spirit.
13  Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
  and sinners will return to you.
14  Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,
  O God of my salvation,
  and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
15  O Lord, open my lips,
  and my mouth will declare your praise.
16  For you have no delight in sacrifice;
  if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
17  The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
  a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18  Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
  rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
19  then you will delight in right sacrifices,
  in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
  then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Daily Prayer (based on Psalm 51:17)

How many times, Gracious God, have I come before You to offer this kind of sacrifice? A hundred? A thousand? Ten thousand? How merciful You are to receive my repentance as an offering.

Postscript

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of Lent. Traditionally, Ash Wednesday is a time when we Christians confront our mortality, our sinfulness, our "deathliness." We remember what God once said to the man after he had sinned: "You are dust, and to dust you shall return." I have Christian friends who avoid Ash Wednesday like the plague because they believe it's too "heavy" and insufficiently joyful. But I have found recognition of Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent to be a time of reflection and recognition that prepares me for a fuller celebration of Good Friday and Easter. If you'd like more information on Ash Wednesday and Lent, you might check out these series on my other website: Ash Wednesday: Practice and Meaning and How Lent Can Make a Difference in Your Relationship with God. The gray and black colors of the website are the traditional colors for Ash Wednesday.

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Except for the Scripture text, all material of The Daily Psalm Copyright © 2006 by Mark D. Roberts

Note: You may download the contents of The Daily Psalm at no cost, for personal use or for use in a Christian ministry, as long as you are not publishing them for sale. All I ask is that you give credit where credit is due. For all other uses, please contact me at mark@markdroberts.com. Thank you.

The Scripture text used in The Daily Psalm is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved