Psalm 51 · Create in Me a Clean Heart
The great Psalm of repentance — David’s prayer after the prophet Nathan came to him: create in me a clean heart, O God.
KJV scripture foundation (selected verses)
Psalm 51:1-4, 7-12, 17 (KJV):
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.
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…
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
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.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit…
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
The Psalm is 19 verses; read the whole in the KJV.
Context
Psalm 51 is titled To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba. The setting is 2 Samuel 11-12 — David’s adultery with Bathsheba, the murder of Uriah, and Nathan’s confrontation: Thou art the man.
David does not defend himself. He confesses. The Psalm we have is the prayer of a man who has been found out and who runs, not away from God, but toward him.
Reflection
Notice the vocabulary of the Psalm: mercy, lovingkindness, tender mercies, blot out, wash, cleanse, purge, create, renew, restore. The whole vocabulary of grace is here.
Notice verse 4: Against thee, thee only, have I sinned. David has wronged Uriah, Bathsheba, and Israel — but he knows that all sin is finally against God.
Verse 10 is the great cry: Create in me a clean heart, O God. The verb create is the same verb of Genesis 1:1. Only God can make a clean heart. We cannot manufacture one.
Verse 17: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. God does not want burnt offerings from a whole-hearted sinner; he wants a broken heart from a whole-hearted returner.
Family application
Psalm 51 is the Christian household’s Psalm for the days when a family member has done wrong and knows it. When a child breaks trust. When a parent loses temper. When a household has drifted. This is the Psalm to pray together.
Do not skip it because it is hard. The Psalm makes confession possible.
Prayer
Have mercy upon us, O God, according to thy lovingkindness. Wash us throughly from our iniquity and cleanse us from our sin. Create in us clean hearts, and renew right spirits within us. Restore unto us the joy of thy salvation. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, in whom alone we find mercy. Amen.
Christian tradition
- The greatest of the seven Penitential Psalms (6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143) in Christian tradition.
- Prayed in every Ash Wednesday liturgy in Latin and English worship.
- Set to music by countless Christian composers — Allegri’s Miserere is the most famous.
- Verses 10-12 are inscribed on countless prayer books and confessionals.
Related Atlas pages
Room connections
Where this entry meets the household in the wider house of CrossAIHub.
- Pray (Chapel) — the household’s prayer for confession and cleansing.
- Family (Kitchen Table) — a household Psalm for when trust has been broken.
- Read — Psalms — read Psalm 51 within the seven penitentials.
- Wisdom Garden — the Fathers on repentance.
Further reading
Psalm 51 (KJV) — the whole Psalm.
2 Samuel 11-12 (KJV) — the story David is confessing.
1 John 1:5-10 (KJV) — if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us.
Augustine, Confessions — the classic Christian book of the broken and contrite heart.
Elsewhere in the Atlas
Continue Your Journey
Where else this page opens into the household library.