Create in Me a Clean Heart

Psalm 51:1-19

Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of repentance, written, its heading says, when the prophet Nathan came to him after his adultery with Bathsheba.

God of mercy, have mercy on me according to Your loving devotion. I know my sin, and it is always before me; against You I have sinned. Wash me, and I will 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. I bring You a broken and contrite heart. Amen.

The Scripture

“For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him after his adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You may be proved right when You speak and blameless when You judge. Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. Surely You desire truth in the inmost being; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will return to You. Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise. For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. In Your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices, in whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on Your altar.”

— Psalm 51:1-19

Prayer points from Psalm 51:1-19

Ask God for mercy, trusting His loving devotion and not your own record (v. 1).

Name your sin to Him plainly, without excuses (vv. 3–4).

Ask Him to wash you and make you whiter than snow (v. 7).

Pray for a clean heart and a right spirit within you (v. 10).

Ask Him to restore to you the joy of His salvation (v. 12).

Offer Him a broken and contrite heart, and thank Him that He will not despise it (v. 17).

About this verse

The heading ties this psalm to the lowest point of David’s life. He took Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, and arranged for Uriah to be killed in battle; then the prophet Nathan confronted him (2 Samuel 11–12). Psalm 51 is what David prayed. He makes no excuses. He asks for mercy, not because he deserves it but “according to Your great compassion,” and he asks God to do what he cannot do for himself: wash him, blot out his sin, and “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” He knows that rituals alone cannot fix it: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.” Then he looks ahead to restored joy, and to sinners returning to God because of what God has done for him. Many churches pray this psalm on Ash Wednesday and in Lent. This prayer is for anyone who carries a sin they cannot undo and wants to come back to God honestly, in confession, repentance or a fresh start.

Create in Me a Clean Heart

The Scripture

Prayer points from Psalm 51:1-19

About this verse

When to pray this prayer

More prayers for forgiveness & grace

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