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 51:4)

Dear Lord, I am a great rationalizer. You know that. I can use my reason to excuse all measure of sins, or at least I try. After all, surely my deeds aren't as bad as some. I haven't murdered, or committed adultery, or chased after other gods – at least not literally. And as to coveting, well, how bad is it really?

But before You I am plainly seen. My rationalizations fail, utterly. I have done what is evil in Your sight – not little wrongs, or peccadilloes, or miscues, or honest mistakes – but evil, that which is an affront to Your holiness. I hate calling my sin evil, Lord, because it makes what I do sound so bad. Yet by minimizing the wrongness of my sin, I give myself permission to ignore it, to excuse it, to pretend as if it really isn't so bad after all. Help me, Gracious God, to see that which is evil in my life, and to call it by its true name, so that I might hate it and turn from it.

Postscript

"You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

"You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.

"It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

"Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

"You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

"You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

                     Matthew 5:21-48

Share Your Comments, Prayers, or Questions on Psalm 51

If you would like to add a comment, prayer, or question concerning this psalm, click here. Note: whatever you write is public, and may be read by others or used on this website in the future. To go to the main Comments page, click here.

Send Today's Daily Psalm to a Friend

Click here to e-mail a link to this page to a friend.

Copyright Information

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