Repentance - Psalms 51

1 For the choir leader. A psalm from David,
2 when Nathan the prophet, rebuked him, after committing adultery with Bathsheba and killing her husband, Uriah.
3 Grant me your mercy, O God, out of the goodness of your heart; remove my sins from me because of your great love;
4 cleanse me from the filth that is on me, forgive my sins.
5 Because I know what I have done wrong, my sin is engraved on my forehead.
6 I have sinned against You, You alone, and made a great dishonour to Your name; therefore your reproof is absolutely due to me, for you are a just Judge.
7 See, I am a sinful person from birth; it seems as if it is in my genes.
8 Behold, You made known what I fearfully kept a secret, and uncovered everything.
9 Scrub away sin with soap from me; then I am clean, wash me, then I am whiter than snow;
10 Help me to be happy again; to leave this terrible time behind me, because it almost destroyed me.
11 Do not turn away from me out of horror for my sins, but redeem me free from guilt.
12 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew me, so that I will cling to you;
13 do not reject me as your child and let your Holy Spirit continue to speak to me;
14 Help me experience the joy of redemption and give me the will to do only your will.
15 Then I will help those who make mistakes, as I did, to turn to you.
16 Save me, for I have given an order to kill someone in a horrible way, O God of my redemption, from now on let me use my mouth to tell people about your justice;
17 Lord, from now on, only open my lips to honour you.
18 For you do not want tiresome penances from me; they don't tell you anything.
19 You want me to grieve for the sins I have committed; You never reject a broken and crushed heart, O God.
20 Do well to the people you love and protect their children against apostasy.
21 Then you will be pleased with the sacrifices that they make to you from a cleansed and forgiven heart.