Psalms 51
51
PSALM 51
Common Meter: 8,6,8,6
To the chief Musician,
A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone into Bathsheba.
1After thy loving-kindness, Lord,
have mercy upon me:
For thy compassions great, blot out
all mine iniquity.
2Me cleanse from sin, and throughly wash
from mine iniquity:
3For my transgressions I confess;
my sin I ever see.
4'Gainst thee, thee only, have I sinn'd,
in thy sight done this ill;
That when thou speak'st thou may'st be just,
and clear in judging still.
5Behold, I in iniquity
was form'd the womb within;
My mother also me conceiv'd
in guiltiness and sin.
6Behold, thou in the inward parts
with truth delighted art;
And wisdom thou shalt make me know
within the hidden part.
7Do thou with hyssop sprinkle me,
I shall be cleansed so;
Yea, wash thou me, and then I shall
be whiter than the snow.
8Of gladness and of joyfulness
make me to hear the voice;
That so these very bones which thou
hast broken may rejoice.
9All mine iniquities blot out,
thy face hide from my sin.
10Create a clean heart, Lord, renew
a right sp'rit me within.
11Cast me not from thy sight, nor take
thy Holy Sp'rit away.
12Restore me thy salvation's joy;
with thy free Sp'rit me stay.
13Then will I teach thy ways unto
those that transgressors be;
And those that sinners are shall then
be turned unto thee.
14O God, of my salvation God,
me from blood-guiltiness
Set free; then shall my tongue aloud
sing of thy righteousness.
15My closed lips, O Lord, by thee
let them be opened;
Then shall thy praises by my mouth
abroad be published.
16For thou desir'st not sacrifice,
else would I give it thee;
Nor wilt thou with burnt-offering
at all delighted be.
17A broken spirit is to God
a pleasing sacrifice:
A broken and a contrite heart,
Lord, thou wilt not despise.
18Shew kindness, and do good, O Lord,
to Sion, thine own hill:
The walls of thy Jerusalem
build up of thy good will.
19Then righteous off 'rings shall thee please,
and off 'rings burnt, which they
With whole burnt-off 'rings,
and with calves, shall on thine altar lay.
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Psalms 51
51
1-3Generous in love—God, give grace!
Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
Scrub away my guilt,
soak out my sins in your laundry.
I know how bad I’ve been;
my sins are staring me down.
4-6You’re the One I’ve violated, and you’ve seen
it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before you;
whatever you decide about me is fair.
I’ve been out of step with you for a long time,
in the wrong since before I was born.
What you’re after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.
7-15Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,
scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don’t look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I’ll let loose with your praise.
16-17Going through the motions doesn’t please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.
18-19Make Zion the place you delight in,
repair Jerusalem’s broken-down walls.
Then you’ll get real worship from us,
acts of worship small and large,
Including all the bulls
they can heave onto your altar!
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.