Psalm 51
Posted: August 12, 2011 Filed under: Psalm 5 Comments »Don’t forget when you leave a comment to not include your name. Instead choose student# or parent#
A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Savior,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
18 May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
For me this is a power prayer of forgiveness and brokenness. Seems more real than my asking God to generically forgive me for when I have failed him. I feel passion in the words as though I am sitting right next to him as he prays this prayer.
This prayer is very intense. It covers specific ideas instead of my vagueness I pray about. Automatically, one can tell that he is truly sorry for his sin, yet realizes that he, along with other humans, will always sin for it is our nature. He knows God will always forgive him if he asks. I love how I can picture him kneeling down before the all-powerful god. As parent23 said, “I feel passion in the words as though I am sitting right next to him as he prays this prayer”
All this person wants is a second chance, and the only way to get that is to ask for forgiveness. It is very direct no vagueness at all, unlike my prayers. He is accepting of his sinful ways but is faithful knowing that God will not judge. And as he offered himself up to God so should we. We all have broken spirits at times, and only God can mend them completely, if asked for help.
God wants to take our broken hearts and replace it with a new heart. When we come to God with a contrite heart and genuinely repent for our sins, God will forgive us and wash us clean; and God loves us all the same even though we sin and let him down.
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