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After David committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband, Uriah, murdered as a cover-up (see2 Samuel 11), his sin made God seem distant. It took a confrontation by Nathan the prophet(2 Samuel 12:1-25to shake David out of his grim denial. Now truly sorry for his sin, David wrote this psalm, appealing to God for mercy, forgiveness, cleansing from the "stain of guilt," and restoration of the "joy of [His] salvation." It is a case study in that "honesty from the heart" (v. 6) that made David, although flawed, a man after God's own heart.

Psalm 51:1-12

1. You began life as a loveable little guy, but were you free from sin (v. 5)?
2. What did David say (vv. 3, 8-9, 11) were the effects for him of unresolved sin?
3. What essential element of confession is voiced in verse 4?
4. Since David had wronged others, how could he say that his sin was against God?
5. What was David confident that God had done (vv. 1-2, 7, 9) when he repented?
6. What were the results of repenting (vv. 8, 10, 12) in David's life?

Ask God to help you keep short accounts with Him, recognizing and confessing your sins as soon as you are made aware of them.

1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. 2 Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. 3 For I recognize my shameful deeds—they haunt me day and night.

4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. 5 For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. 6 But you desire honesty from the heart, so you can teach me to be wise in my inmost being.

7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me—now let me rejoice. 9 Don't keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from your presence, and don't take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

Copyright © 2006 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Help me, Lord, to identify and confess my sins so You can offer forgiveness and bring healing.

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