The Bible — World English Bible
Psalm 51
In brief
Psalm 51 is David's prayer of repentance after the prophet Nathan confronted him about his sin with Bathsheba. The title of the psalm gives this context. David minimizes nothing: he acknowledges his sin, asks God to wash him and to create a pure heart in him. He also asks for the joy of salvation to return, then promises to teach sinners. This psalm is the biblical model of confession and of returning to God.
According to its title, Psalm 51 is by David, and the title names the occasion: the coming of the prophet Nathan, after David had taken Bathsheba and had her husband Uriah killed (the story is in 2 Samuel 11 and 12). It is a penitential psalm, that is, a prayer of repentance, and the best known of the seven psalms that Christian tradition places in this category (along with Psalms 6, 32, 38, 102, 130 and 143). It is also called the Miserere, from its first word in Latin. In the Hebrew text and in some Bibles, the title counts as two verses, so the numbering is shifted by two: the prayer for a clean heart, verse 10 here, is numbered 12 there, and the broken spirit of verse 17 is numbered 19. Today Christians pray it to confess a sin, before communion, in a time of returning to God, or to walk alongside someone who carries heavy guilt.
The chapter in 4 parts
1Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.
2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin.
3For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me.
4Against you, and you only, I have sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight, so you may be proved right when you speak, and justified when you judge.
5Behold, I was born in iniquity. My mother conceived me in sin.
6Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts. You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
7Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8Let me hear joy and gladness, that the bones which you have broken may rejoice.
9Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all of my iniquities.
10Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.
11Don’t throw me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
12Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me with a willing spirit.
13Then I will teach transgressors your ways. Sinners will be converted to you.
14Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation. My tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
15Lord, open my lips. My mouth will declare your praise.
16For you don’t delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it. You have no pleasure in burnt offering.
17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. O God, you will not despise a broken and contrite heart.
18Do well in your good pleasure to Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem.
19Then you will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings. Then they will offer bulls on your altar.
Understanding Psalm 51 verse by verse
v. 1-2Have mercy on me: an appeal to mercy alone
The title sets the scene for the prayer: Nathan has just confronted David with his adultery and the murder of Uriah. David does not begin by defending himself, he begins with God: “Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness.” He offers no merit and no mitigating circumstance, only God's great mercy. He names his sin with three words, transgressions, iniquity and sin: rebellion against God, inner distortion and missing the mark. Then he asks for three actions. Blot out, as a debt is struck from a ledger. Wash, as a stained garment is washed through and through. Cleanse, as something defiled is declared clean. If you carry a sin that shames you, this is where everything begins: not with your efforts to make amends, but with who God is.
v. 3-6A confession without excuses, down to the depths of the heart
David minimizes nothing: “For I know my transgressions.” His sin never leaves him, it is constantly before him. In verse 4 he says he has sinned against God alone. Yet he had Uriah killed, abused his power over Bathsheba and betrayed his people. But he understands that every wrong against others is first an offense against God, who gave his law and who loves each of them. He also acknowledges that God's verdict is just. In verse 5 he goes further than his actions: he calls himself a sinner from birth. This is neither an excuse nor an accusation against his mother, but the admission that the evil in him is older than his sin. Verse 6 finally shows what God is looking for: truth deep inside, not a facade.
v. 7-9Wash me: whiter than snow
David asks to be purified with hyssop. In the law of Moses, this small plant was used to sprinkle blood or purifying water on someone healed of leprosy or on someone who had touched a dead body (Leviticus 14, Numbers 19). David feels unclean and shut out, and he needs God to declare him clean. He believes it is possible: “I will be whiter than snow.” Then he asks to hear joy again. The bones God has broken speak of the pain of being convicted of sin: hidden sin crushed him even in his body, as he tells it in Psalm 32. Finally, he prays that God will hide his face from his sins and blot out all his iniquities. For the one who believes in Jesus, this cleansing has a name: his blood, which cleanses from all sin (1 John 1:7).
v. 10-12Create in me a clean heart and give me back the joy
Here is the high point of the psalm: “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” The verb create is the one used in Genesis, and in the Old Testament its subject is always God. David is not asking for a touch-up: he knows he cannot remake himself, so he asks for a new heart. He also asks for a right spirit, a steady one that does not give way to the first temptation. In verse 11 he pleads with God not to take his Holy Spirit from him. He had seen the Spirit of the Lord leave Saul (1 Samuel 16:14). Jesus promised that the Spirit would remain with his own forever (John 14:16), so Christians read this verse in different ways, but all of them hear in it a healthy fear: losing fellowship with God. In verse 12, David does not ask to be saved again. He asks for the joy of salvation that his sin had stolen from him to be given back.
v. 13-15The forgiven sinner becomes a witness and a worshiper
Forgiveness does not stop with David. He promises: “Then I will teach transgressors your ways.” Someone who has received grace is well placed to speak of it to others, not as a judge but as a witness. In verse 14 he asks to be delivered from the guilt of bloodshed, that is, the guilt of Uriah's murder, which he no longer hides, and he calls God the God of his salvation. Then comes a simple prayer: “Lord, open my lips.” Shame closes the mouth, and forgiveness opens it again for praise. If you feel that your sin disqualifies you from serving God, this passage says something else: mercy received becomes a message to pass on.
v. 16-17The sacrifice God wants: a broken heart
David was a king, he could have offered whole herds. But the law of Moses provided no sacrifice to cover adultery or deliberate murder, and a rite without repentance is worth nothing. Verse 17 gives the key: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.” A broken spirit is not a soul crushed by self-contempt, it is pride that has stopped defending itself. And the promise is strong: God will not despise a broken and contrite heart, he does not turn it away. What God is looking for in you is neither a religious performance nor a penance to pay off your debt, but your sincere return. That debt, Jesus paid on the cross.
v. 18-19A prayer for Jerusalem and worship that is finally true
The end of the psalm widens the prayer: David asks God to show his favor to Zion and to build the walls of Jerusalem. A king's sin touches all his people, and so does his restoration. Many readers think these two verses were added later, when Jerusalem lay in ruins after the exile; others see in them David's prayer for his city. The text does not allow us to decide. The message, though, is clear: when the heart has come back to God, worship regains its meaning. The sacrifices of righteousness do not stand against the broken heart, they flow from it. For you, this means that your praise, your service and your generosity become a joy again when they spring from a forgiven heart.
How to pray Psalm 51
When to pray this psalm
- After a sin you can no longer hide, from others or from yourself.
- When your conscience convicts you after a hurtful word, a lie or a betrayal.
- Before taking communion, to take an honest look at your life before God.
- When a friend, like Nathan with David, has confronted you with a hard truth about yourself.
- When the shame of a sin you have already confessed keeps accusing you.
- When your life with God has grown cold and you have lost the joy of your faith.
A prayer inspired by Psalm 51
O God, have mercy on me in your kindness. I do not come with excuses or with merits, I come only with your great mercy. You know what I have done, and I no longer want to hide it or play it down: I have sinned against you, I have done what is evil in your sight. My sin is before me, and I am ashamed. Wash me thoroughly, cleanse me from my sin. You alone can make me whiter than snow, through the blood of Jesus shed for me. I am not asking you only to erase the past: create in me a clean heart, renew a right spirit within me. Do not throw me out of your presence. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, the joy my sin has stolen. Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. I have nothing else to offer you but a broken heart, and I believe you do not despise it. Make my life a witness to your grace for those who fall in their turn. Amen.
Key verses
Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.
The title places the psalm after Nathan's visit. David relies on God's goodness and mercy, not on his own merits, to ask for his sin to be wiped away.
Against you, and you only, I have sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight, so you may be proved right when you speak, and justified when you judge.
David sinned against Uriah and Bathsheba, yet he says he sinned against God alone. He recognizes that every sin first offends God and that God's judgment is right.
Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.
David does not ask only for forgiveness, but for a transformation: a pure heart and a renewed spirit. Forgiveness and change go together.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me with a willing spirit.
His sin took the joy of salvation from him. In asking to have it back, David asks God to restore the relationship, not only to remove the guilt.
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Frequently asked questions about Psalm 51
What does Psalm 51 mean?
Psalm 51 is a prayer of confession. David acknowledges his sin, asks God to wash him and to create a pure heart in him, then promises to praise God and teach others. It shows that we can return to God after a serious sin, counting on his mercy and not on our own efforts.
In what circumstances did David write Psalm 51?
The title says it: David wrote it after the prophet Nathan came to him, following his sin with Bathsheba. The story is in 2 Samuel 11 and 12: adultery, then the murder of Uriah to cover it up, then Nathan's confrontation and repentance.
What does a broken spirit mean in verse 19?
The verse says that the sacrifices pleasing to God are a broken spirit and a contrite heart. It describes a sincere humility before God, admitting one's sin without excuses. God does not look for rites performed out of habit, but for a heart that returns to him.
How can I pray Psalm 51 to ask for forgiveness?
Read it slowly and name what you need to confess, without excusing it. Say verses 1 to 4 again in your own words, then ask for the pure heart of verse 10. Finish with the promise to praise God in verse 15. This psalm is often reread before communion or at a moment of returning to God.
Articles quoting Psalm 51
World English Bible translation — public domain.