Sin that resides in Christians lead's to unhappiness, and not being at peace with God in Jesus Christ.

Psalm 51

A Prayer of Repentance

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David When Nathan the Prophet Went to Him, After He Had Gone in to Bathsheba.

1 Have mercy upon me, O God,

According to Your lovingkindness;

According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,

Blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

And cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I acknowledge my transgressions,

And my sin is always before me.

4 Against You, You only, have I sinned,

And done this evil in Your sight-

That You may be found just when You speak,

And blameless when You judge.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

And in sin my mother conceived me.

6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,

And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8 Make me hear joy and gladness,

That the bones You have broken may rejoice.

9 Hide Your face from my sins,

And blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me away from Your presence,

And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,

And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,

And sinners shall be converted to You.

14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,

The God of my salvation,

And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.

15 O Lord, open my lips,

And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.

16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;

You do not delight in burnt offering.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,

A broken and a contrite heart-

These, O God, You will not despise.

18 Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion;

Build the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness,

With burnt offering and whole burnt offering;

Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.

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Word for Today study Bible NKJV, used by Pastor Chuck Smith of the Calvary Chapel Churches:

Psalm 51 is associated with one of the hardest experiences of David's life, the aftermath of his affair with Bathsheba. This is one of several psalms of David in which the title specifies the incident that inspired the poem. For the account of David's sin and Nathan's rebuke, see 2 Sam. 11; 12:1. David's response to Nathan was immediate: "I have sinned against the Lord" (2 Sam. 12:13). Sometime later, he wrote this memorable, penitential psalm. The structure of the poem is as follows: (1) a plea for God's mercy in the context of David's confession (vv. 1, 2); (2) an acknowledgment that David's sin was against the Lord (vv. 3, 4); (3) a confession that sin pervades David's being (vv. 5, 6); (4) a series of pleas for forgiveness (vv. 7); (5) a vow of praise by the forgiven sinner (vv. 14, 15); (6) a statement on the meaning of true worship (vv. 16, 17); (7) a plea for God to restore the fortunes of the people (vv. 18, 19).

51:1, 2 David 's call for mercy is the only appropriate request for a confessing sinner. No sinner should ask for justice, for that would mean judgment and ruin. Mercy and forgiveness is God's gift to the confessing sinner. Even when the Lord forgives, He does not tarnish His just character: confessed sins are covered by the sacrifice of His perfect Son on the cross (see 2 Cor. 5:21). The phrase according to Your lovingkindness expresses God's loyal or covenantal love to His people (13:5).

51:3, 4 The months of agony that David suffered because of his guilt are expressed in the striking words-my sin is always before me. See the development of these ideas in Ps. 32. Against You: David had sinned against Bathsheba, Uriah, and the nation he was called to rule. But none of these indictments were as serious as David's offense against God. The first few verses use several different words to describe sin-"transgression," "iniquity," and "sin." The words for forgiveness are all pictorial words: "blot out" (v. 1), "wash," and "cleanse" (v. 2). All these words express the seriousness of sin and the great lengths God goes to in removing our sin. be found just: The Lord deals with sin in two ways: The wicked receive God's just condemnation; the righteous receive His undeserved mercy.