April 11, 2025

Psalm 51  (HCSB)
A Prayer for Restoration
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm, when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had gone to Bathsheba.
1 Be gracious to me, God,
according to Your faithful love;
according to Your abundant compassion,
blot out my rebellion.
2 Wash away my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I am conscious of my rebellion,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against You—You alone—I have sinned
and done this evil in Your sight.
So You are right when You pass sentence;
You are blameless when You judge.
5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born;
I was sinful when my mother conceived me.
6 Surely You desire integrity in the inner self,
and You teach me wisdom deep within.
7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones You have crushed rejoice.
9 Turn Your face away from my sins
and blot out all my guilt.
10 God, create a clean heart for me
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not banish me from Your presence
or take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore the joy of Your salvation to me,
and give me a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach the rebellious Your ways,
and sinners will return to You.
14 Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God,
the God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.
15 Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare Your praise.
16 You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it;
You are not pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit.
God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart.
18 In Your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper;
build the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on Your altar.

Kenny Brooks
Sin requires a sacrifice. Aren’t you glad there’s no longer a need for animal sacrifice? Imagine PETA’s response! God provided a pure Lamb...His only Son as the only way for us to enjoy a restored relationship with Him. In this psalm, David pours himself out before God and realizes that although God despises sin, He does not despise our brokenness over it. He desires us to confess what He already knows. David, like us, was weighted down by his sin and pleaded for God to restore his joy. Sadness is a bedfellow of sin. David realized that only the God who had created him in the first place, could now cleanse him and create a new and pure heart in him. As a result, David lists three things that should be a result of our restored relationship with the Father...(1) we should teach others His ways so they repent; (2) we should sing of His righteousness; and (3) we should declare His praise. All three of these require us to have a VERBAL witness! Not just living it out. Our best advice comes from Ecclesiastes 12:13, “When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is: fear God and keep His commands, because this is for all humanity”.