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Christianity

Psalms 51Create in Me a Clean Heart

Summary

Psalm 51 is the most famous prayer of repentance in the Bible. Its heading sets it after the prophet Nathan confronted David over his adultery with Bathsheba. The psalmist pleads for mercy, confesses that his sin is ever before him and asks to be washed whiter than snow. He asks God to create a clean heart and renew a right spirit, declaring that a broken and contrite heart is the sacrifice God will not despise.

Key verse

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”

Psalms 51:10

Themes

  • Repentance
  • Mercy
  • Inner Renewal
  • Contrite Heart

Text

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 throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

3

For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

4

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

5

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

6

Behold, thou desirest 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.

8

Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

9

Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

10

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

11

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

12

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

13

Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

14

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

15

O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

16

For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

17

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

18

Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

19

Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

Text: King James Version (1611/1769), public domain.

Across traditions

  • Islam

    Surah Saad (38): David Sought Forgiveness

    Quran 38:21 to 25 tells of two litigants whose dispute over ewes leads David to realize he has been tested. He seeks forgiveness, falls prostrate and repents, and God forgives him. The Quran does not mention Bathsheba, and Muslim scholars differ on the nature of David's lapse.

  • Christianity

    2 Samuel 12: Thou Art the Man

    Nathan's parable of the poor man's ewe lamb and his rebuke, Thou art the man, form the story behind Psalm 51's heading.

  • Judaism

    Tehillim 51 in the JPS 1917 Tanakh

    The verse O Lord, open Thou my lips (verse 17 in JPS numbering) introduces every recitation of the Amidah, the central Jewish prayer.

Questions about Psalms 51

What is the story behind Psalm 51?

The heading links it to Nathan's rebuke of David after David's adultery with Bathsheba and the death of her husband Uriah, told in 2 Samuel 11 and 12.

Why is Psalm 51 called the Miserere?

Its Latin opening words are Miserere mei, Deus, have mercy on me, O God. It is prayed on Ash Wednesday and in Lent, and has been set to music, most famously by Gregorio Allegri.

Where is O Lord, open thou my lips used in prayer?

Psalm 51:15 opens the Jewish Amidah and the first daily office in many Christian traditions.