Bethany Lutheran Church

Psalm 51

¹Have mercy on me, O God, according to your ^| steadfast love;
in your great compassion blot out ^| my offenses.

²Wash me through and through ^| from my wickedness,
and cleanse me ^| from my sin.

³For I know ^| my offenses,
and my sin is ev- ^| er before me.

⁴Against you only have I sinned and done what is evil ^| in your sight;
so you are justified when you speak and right ^| in your judgment.

⁵Indeed, I was born ^| steeped in wickedness,
a sinner from my ^| mother’s womb.

⁶Indeed, you delight in truth ^| deep within me,
and would have me know wisdom ^| deep within.

⁷Remove my sins with hyssop, and I ^| shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be pur- ^| er than snow.

⁸Let me hear ^| joy and gladness;
that the body you have broken ^| may rejoice.

⁹Hide your face ^| from my sins,
and blot out ^| all my wickedness.

¹⁰Create in me a clean ^| heart, O God,
and renew a right spir- ^| it within me.

¹¹Cast me not away ^| from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spir- ^| it from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of ^| your salvation
and sustain me with your boun- ^| tiful Spirit.

¹³Let me teach your ways ^| to offenders,
and sinners shall be re- ^| stored to you.

¹⁴Rescue me from bloodshed, O God of ^| my salvation,
and my tongue shall sing ^| of your righteousness.

¹⁵O Lord, o- ^| pen my lips,
and my mouth shall pro- ^| claim your praise.

¹⁶For you take no delight in sacrifice, or ^| I would give it.
You are not pleased ^| with burnt offering.

¹⁷The sacrifice of God is a ^| troubled spirit;
a troubled and broken heart, O God, you will ^| not despise.

¹⁸Favor Zion with ^| your good pleasure;
build up the walls ^| of Jerusalem.

¹⁹Then you will delight in the appointed sacrifices, in burnt ^| and whole offerings;
then young bulls shall be offered up- ^| on your altar.

Permalink to this post: http://www.bethany-denver2.org/2010/02/psalm-51/?postTabs=1

¹Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.

²Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.

³For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.

⁴Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.

⁵Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.

⁶You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

⁷Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

⁸Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.

⁹Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.

¹¹Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.

¹³Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.

¹⁴Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

¹⁵O LORD, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

¹⁶For you have no delight in sacrifice;
if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.

¹⁷The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

¹⁸Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,

¹⁹then you will delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Permalink to this post: http://www.bethany-denver2.org/2010/02/psalm-51/?postTabs=2

^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.

^4-6 You’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.

^7-15 Soak 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.

^16-17 Going 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.

^18-19 Make 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!

Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Learn more about The Message.