Psalm 51 is David's prayer of repentance after his sin with Bathsheba, when the prophet Nathan confronted him (2 Samuel 12). It begins, "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness," and asks God to wash him and blot out his sins. Its best-known line is verse 10: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." The psalm teaches that God does not want empty sacrifices but "a broken and a contrite heart," which He will not despise.
Psalm 51 is the prayer the church reaches for when it needs to say sorry to God. It is read on Ash Wednesday at the start of Lent, prayed in confession services and whispered by people who have done something they cannot undo. Its heading in the King James Version explains why it is so honest: it is a psalm of David, written when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had taken Bathsheba and arranged the death of her husband, Uriah (2 Samuel 11 and 12). David was the king, and he could have hidden behind his power. Instead he wrote a prayer that names his sin without excuses and throws himself on God's mercy. The psalm moves from confession to cleansing, from cleansing to renewal, and from renewal to praise and service. Below is the full text of Psalm 51 in the King James Version, all 19 verses in twelve short readings, with the meaning of each. In 2027, Ash Wednesday is February 10. For more, see Bible verses about repentance, Bible verses about forgiveness and Bible verses about Lent.
Psalm 51:1-6 (KJV): have mercy upon me, O God
1. Psalms 51:1-2
"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin."
David begins not with his sin but with God's character: Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies. His only hope is who God is. Then three requests: blot out my transgressions, as a debt is erased from a record; Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, as a stained garment is scrubbed; and cleanse me from my sin, as a leper is declared clean. Throughly is old English for thoroughly.
2. Psalms 51:3-4
"For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest."
For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. David stops hiding. Then he says something surprising: Against thee, thee only, have I sinned. He had sinned terribly against Bathsheba and Uriah. But he sees that every sin is first an offence against God, whose law he broke. He accepts God's verdict: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Paul quotes this line in Romans 3:4.
3. Psalms 51:5-6
"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom."
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. David is not blaming his mother. He is confessing that his sin is not a one-time slip but comes from a heart bent toward sin from the very beginning of his life. Then he names what God wants: thou desirest truth in the inward parts. God wants honesty all the way down. And He promises to give what He asks: in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
Psalm 51:7-13 (KJV): create in me a clean heart
4. Psalms 51:7
"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Hyssop was a small, bushy plant used to sprinkle blood on doorposts at the first Passover (Exodus 12:22) and to sprinkle water in cleansing rituals (Numbers 19:18). David asks God Himself to do the cleansing. Isaiah later used the same picture: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).
5. Psalms 51:8-9
"Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities."
Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Guilt had crushed David like broken bones. In Psalm 32, which many think he wrote about the same events, he says his bones waxed old through his roaring all the day long (Psalm 32:3). He asks God to turn away from his sins, not from him: Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Forgiveness brings back the joy that guilt had taken.
6. Psalms 51:10
"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."
This is the most famous verse in the psalm: Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Create is the same Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:1. Only God can create something new from nothing, and David knows he cannot clean his own heart. He needs a new one. A right spirit is a steady, faithful spirit. Ezekiel later records God's promise to do exactly this: a new heart also will I give you (Ezekiel 36:26).
7. Psalms 51:11
"Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me."
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. David had seen what happened to King Saul, from whom the Spirit of the LORD departed (1 Samuel 16:14). His deepest fear was not punishment but losing God Himself. This is one of only a few places in the King James Old Testament where the words holy spirit appear. For Christians, Jesus promised that the Spirit, once given, abides with you for ever (John 14:16). See Bible verses about the Holy Spirit.
8. Psalms 51:12-13
"Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee."
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. David does not ask for a new salvation but for the joy of it to return. A free spirit here means a willing, generous spirit. Then he looks outward: Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. A forgiven sinner becomes the best teacher of grace. David's failure, confessed and forgiven, has been teaching people about God's mercy for three thousand years.
Psalm 51:14-19 (KJV): a broken and a contrite heart
9. Psalms 51:14-15
"Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise."
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation. David names the worst part of what he did: he was guilty of Uriah's blood. He does not soften it. Yet he calls God thou God of my salvation and promises, my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. Then a line many churches use to open morning prayer: O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. Guilt silences; forgiveness gives a song.
10. Psalms 51:16
"For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering."
For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. Under the law there was no sacrifice for deliberate sins like murder and adultery. David could not buy his way out. More than that, he understood that God never wanted animals for their own sake. He wanted what the offerings stood for, a heart turned back to Him. The prophets would say the same thing (Hosea 6:6; Micah 6:6-8).
11. Psalms 51:17
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Contrite means crushed. This is what God accepts: a heart that has stopped making excuses. The promise is tender. However shameful the sin, God will not despise the person who comes to Him broken. Jesus told of a tax collector who could only say, God be merciful to me a sinner, and went home justified (Luke 18:13-14). See Bible verses about a broken heart.
12. Psalms 51:18-19
"Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar."
The psalm ends by praying for the whole people: Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. A king's sin harms a nation, and a king's repentance blesses it. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness. Once the heart is right, worship becomes acceptable again, and the offerings on the altar mean what they were meant to mean. Repentance does not end in shame. It ends in restored worship.
A short prayer
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness. I acknowledge my sin; I will not hide it from You. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and open my lips to praise You. Here is my broken and contrite heart. Thank You that You will not despise it. Amen.
Go deeper: a SOAP study prompt
Pick one verse above and write: - Scripture: copy the verse by hand. - Observation: what does it say? Who is speaking, to whom? - Application: what does it mean for you today? - Prayer: turn it into a two-line prayer.
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Frequently asked questions
Why did David write Psalm 51?
The KJV heading says it was written when Nathan the prophet came to David after his sin with Bath-sheba. David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged the death of her husband, Uriah (2 Samuel 11). When Nathan confronted him with a parable, David confessed, "I have sinned against the LORD" (2 Samuel 12:13). Psalm 51 is his prayer of repentance.
What does create in me a clean heart mean?
In Psalm 51:10 David asks God to do what only God can do: create a new, pure heart in him. The Hebrew word for create (bara) is the same word used in Genesis 1:1. David recognized that he could not fix his own heart by trying harder. He needed God to make him new. Christians see this prayer answered in the new birth and the gift of the Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
Why is Psalm 51 read on Ash Wednesday?
Ash Wednesday begins Lent, a season of repentance before Easter, and Psalm 51 is the Bible's best-known prayer of repentance. Many churches read or sing it at Ash Wednesday services, when worshippers receive ashes as a sign of mortality and sorrow for sin. In 2027, Ash Wednesday is February 10. See Bible verses about Lent.
Can God forgive any sin?
Psalm 51 shows God forgiving a man guilty of adultery and murder. Nathan told David, "The LORD also hath put away thy sin" (2 Samuel 12:13), though the consequences of his sin still followed. The Bible promises, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins" (1 John 1:9). No sin is too great for the mercy of God to a person who turns to Him in honest repentance through Christ.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: Repentance · Forgiveness · Lent · Sin · Mercy · Restoration · Shame · Psalm 103 KJV · What is Ash Wednesday
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