O Lord, have mercy on me According, to your unfailing love According, to Your great compassion
Blot out, my transgressions
Wash away, my iniquity, cleanse me from my sin

(2x) Against You, You only have I sinned My sin is, always before me Surely I was, sinful from my birth I know, You desire truth Wash away, my iniquity, cleanse me from my sin

(2x) Cleanse me and, I will be clean Wash me and, I will be white as snow Let me feel, Your joy and gladness Let what, You have crushed rejoice

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 that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts [1] ; you teach [2] me wisdom in the inmost 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, and sinners will turn back to you. 14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, 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 The sacrifices of God are [3] a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Info on Psalm 51

This psalm was written by David when Nathan had come to him after committing adultery with Bathsheba and murdering her husband Uriah (cf. 2 Sam 11:1- 12:15). It is an outstanding example of a "penitential psalm" (cf. also Psa 6, 38, 130) in which David confesses his sin and prays for forgiveness. We do well to learn from it "the art of confessing our sins" to help us when we have sins to confess to God (cf. 1 Jn 1:9).
David begins with his plea for God to forgive him, appealing to His loving kindness and tender mercy. Note that he does not ask God to forgive him based upon any good he may have done in the past. He acknowledges his sin against God (in very figurative terms), and how it is contrary to God's desire for him. He prays not only for God to cleanse him, but also to renew and restore to him the joy of salvation (1-12).
David's plea is followed by his promise to teach other sinners, that they too might be converted to God. He promises also to sing aloud of God's righteousness, for he knows that God delights in such when it comes from a broken and contrite spirit (13-17).
The psalm ends with his prayer for God to do good for Zion and Jerusalem, that He might be pleased by the burnt offerings offered on the altar. Note that David has not forgotten to pray for God's interest, while praying for his own (18-19).

Studying Psalm 51 alone, with your Family,
and with your Community
To help the entire church mature as a worshipping community, we are providing prepared opportunities to study the book in addition to the sermon: by themselves, as a family, or as a group. Following are study and discussion questions intended to help you and your children (if you are a parent) grow as worshippers of Jesus. My suggestions are pretty simple. Parents, try to spend some time during the week reading the passage and talking with your child about its meaning. Don’t spend more than 10 - 15 minutes, because if the discussions are too long and arduous your children may grow to resent them. Everyone, spend some time discussing the passage when you get together for lunch or dinner. Spend some time alone meditating on Psalm 51 and ask God how he wants you to respond (e.g. Silence, doing something, prayer, art, confession, repentance, etc.)

For the Week of Nov 17 - 29, 2003

Memorize: Psalm 51: 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.

Day 1 Psalm 51:1-2, 18-19. Prayer for God's mercy on David (v1,2) and on the Nation (v18-19).

What reasons does David give for why God should show him mercy?

Day 2 Psalm 51:2-6. David's confession.

When did David commence being sinful? What does this mean about the nature of sin?

Day 3 Psalm 51:7-12. David's prayer for renewal.

Apart from forgiveness, what does David pray for?

Day 4 Psalm 51:13-17. David's promised response.

What does David promise to do in response to God's forgiveness and renewal? (v13,14,15)

Day 5 Related passages.

Psalm 51 is the most famous of the 7 "penitential" psalms (ie Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143). Read Psalm 32, which recounts what happened when David was reluctant to confess his sin, and perhaps gives the background to Ps 51:8. Jesus' parable of The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) echoes the content and even the language of Psalm 51.
STUDY PASSAGE Psalm 51
To Discuss:

1. This psalm is King David's prayer of confession concerning his adultery with Bathsheeba. Briefly recount that event (2 Sam 11). Why did "the thing which David had done displease the Lord"? (2 Sam 11:27)

2. What are some potential physical, emotional and spiritual consequences if we refuse to confess our sins? (Ps 32:3-4; Ps 51:3,8). Describe your experience of this.

3. Discuss the pros and cons of the view that in God's eyes we are 'basically good' but that we sometimes do 'wrong things'? Consider especially v5 and v10. Do you accept or reject the view? What is the essence of sin (v4)?

4. In v7-12, David makes a series of requests for God to deal with his sins and his sinful nature. What are these requests and what do they mean? What is your experience of these blessings?

5. Psalm 51 stresses God's actions in forgiving and renewing us. But what does he require of us? (v17). What does "a broken and contrite heart" mean? Is it something we 'do', independently of God, or is it part of the renewal which only God can grant (v10-12)?

Children’s Section:
Read the song to your child(ren) and help them understand the different terms ( mercy, transgressions, sin, truth, etc). Ask them what they think the song means. Help them express the idea of confession of sin and the cleansing of sin by God.

Explain to your children what you think the passage means, and then have them draw or paint their own visual interpretation to be displayed next Sunday during service.