Psalm 51:1-10

A Prayer for Restoration

For the choir director. A Davidic psalm, when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had gone to Bathsheba.

1 Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithful love; according to Your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion.

2 Wash away my guilt, and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me.

4 Against You-You alone-I have sinned and done this evil in Your sight. So You are right when You pass sentence; You are blameless when You judge.^[a]

5 Indeed, I was guilty [when I] was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

6 Surely You desire integrity in the inner self, and You teach me wisdom deep within.

7 Purify me with hyssop,^[b] 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 Turn Your face away^[c] from my sins and blot out all my guilt.

10 God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Psalm 51:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. The occasion of this psalm was the sin of David with Bathsheba, signified by "going in to her"; an euphemism for "lying with her"; which sin was a very aggravated one, she being another man's wife, and the wife of a servant and soldier of his, who was at the same time exposing his life for his king and country's good; and David besides had many wives, and was also king of Israel, and should have set a better example to his subjects; and it was followed with other sins, as the murder of Uriah, and the death of several others; with scandal to religion, and with security and impenitence in him for a long time, until Nathan the prophet was sent to him of God, to awaken him to a sense of his sin; which he immediately acknowledged, and showed true repentance for it: upon which, either while Nathan was present, or after he was gone, he penned this psalm; that it might remain on record, as a testification of his repentance, and for the instruction of such as should fall into sin, how to behave, where to apply, and for their comfort. The history of all this may be seen in the eleventh and twelfth chapters of the second book of Samuel.

Footnotes

• [a] Rm 3:4
• [b] Lv 14:4,49; Nm 19:18
• [c] Lit Hide Your face
• [d] Or right