Psalm 51–53

Psalm 51

For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Nathan the prophet came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

¹Have mercy on me, O God,

because of your unfailing love.

Because of your great compassion,

blot out the stain of my sins.

²Wash me clean from my guilt.

Purify me from my sin.

³For I recognize my rebellion;

it haunts me day and night.

⁴Against 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.

⁵For I was born a sinner—

yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

⁶But you desire honesty from the womb,

teaching me wisdom even there.

⁷Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

⁸Oh, give me back my joy again;

you have broken me—

now let me rejoice.

⁹Don’t keep looking at my sins.

Remove the stain of my guilt.

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God.

Renew a loyal spirit within me.

¹¹Do not banish me from your presence,

and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and make me willing to obey you.

¹³Then I will teach your ways to rebels,

and they will return to you.

¹⁴Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;

then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.

¹⁵Unseal my lips, O Lord,

that my mouth may praise you.

¹⁶You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.

You do not want a burnt offering.

¹⁷The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.

You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

¹⁸Look with favor on Zion and help her;

rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit—

with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings.

Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.

Psalm 52

For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Doeg the Edomite said to Saul, “David has gone to see Ahimelech.”

¹Why do you boast about your crimes, great warrior?

Don’t you realize God’s justice continues forever?

²All day long you plot destruction.

Your tongue cuts like a sharp razor;

you’re an expert at telling lies.

³You love evil more than good

and lies more than truth.

Interlude

⁴You love to destroy others with your words,

you liar!

⁵But God will strike you down once and for all.

He will pull you from your home

and uproot you from the land of the living.

Interlude

⁶The righteous will see it and be amazed.

They will laugh and say,

⁷“Look what happens to mighty warriors

who do not trust in God.

They trust their wealth instead

and grow more and more bold in their wickedness.”

⁸But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God.

I will always trust in God’s unfailing love.

⁹I will praise you forever, O God,

for what you have done.

I will trust in your good name

in the presence of your faithful people.

Psalm 53

For the choir director: A meditation; a psalm of David.

¹Only fools say in their hearts,

“There is no God.”

They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;

not one of them does good!

²God looks down from heaven

on the entire human race;

he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,

if anyone seeks God.

³But no, all have turned away;

all have become corrupt.

No one does good,

not a single one!

⁴Will those who do evil never learn?

They eat up my people like bread

and wouldn’t think of praying to God.

⁵Terror will grip them,

terror like they have never known before.

God will scatter the bones of your enemies.

You will put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

⁶Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel?

When God restores his people,

Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice.