psalm 51

Age : 21 Joined : 18 May 2007 Posts : 2714

this one of my favorite psalms. i have made it something of a prayer of forgiveness every night. i'm one for honesty and brokeness and have certainly felt the words many times in my life.

here's the text for those that haven't read it (NIV):

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse 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 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Subject: Re: psalm 51 Thu May 24, 2007 12:09 pm

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Dark motions, black eyes, and mournful lust, the wings of solitude
...I'm the hateful raven

I dream in shades of you.

Age : 21 Joined : 18 May 2007 Posts : 2714

any discussion or did the length lose you guys? Cool

Subject: Re: psalm 51 Thu May 24, 2007 12:41 pm

No, nu key player person..... just the Bible thinker types don't bummrush this room like the others. You must have patience. albino

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The closer you are too having only one fan, the closer you are too Trooness.

Sometimes death is the only healing

only symbols can be twisted ,burned,spat on etc.NOTHING truly Holy can be desecrated.....

Age : 36 Joined : 14 Jan 2007 Posts : 3111

Age : 21 Joined : 18 May 2007 Posts : 2714

Joined : 25 Apr 2007 Posts : 127

I've turned to this Psalm many times, as well as 91. I usually go here when I've mucked it up. I am so thankful for God's restoration and redemption. It's just so awe inspiring...it brings me to tears.

This is one of my alltime fav verses: 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Thank you and praise you Lord!! cheers

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"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6

myspace/missionsfamily

Mission Of One Age : 38 Joined : 03 Jan 2007 Posts : 4928

Age : 21 Joined : 18 May 2007 Posts : 2714

i've started to read it every night and then praying over what i've read.
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"He had discovered Time and Death and God"-Aldous Huxley

Age : 20 Joined : 12 Apr 2007 Posts : 206

This is one of my favourite psalms. Smile

Great to read as a forgiveness prayer. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, This has always been my favourite verse from the psalm. Burnt offerings (previous verse) mean nothing to God unless they are offered by someone *completely* humbled before him. It is not and never has been ritual that can cleanse us, the way in which we come before God is all important. "A broken spirit" is a powerful phrase.

I always found this verse interesting.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.

If this psalm was written by David after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed her husband Uriah, as is the accepted view (i think), then it seems strange that he could claim he had sinned only against God. I think it shows that to sin is to deny God's authority in our lives and to disobey his Law. David had sinned against others, but it was sin because it was going against God's law. When we sin against others we are offending God by hurting someone made in his likeness but we are also ultimately sinning directly against God.
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The other twin: I'm the one with musical discrimination...

Play it LOUD!! Age : 51 Joined : 06 Jan 2007 Posts : 11093

Amen sis'.

The thoughts in your last paragraph are deep ones. Good ones......true that. It is hard for me to fathom the fact that although I sin and hurt and do wrong to others......I do it to GOD as well. Ouch!! Crying or Very sad

This is a good reading......this Psalm.

KISS

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"The 'farce' is strong with Obama-Wan." words of Scourge.

One of the twins: I'm the one who likes it all....

Age : 33 Joined : 06 Apr 2007 Posts : 2280

Age : 20 Joined : 12 Apr 2007 Posts : 206

That 's really interesting. Smile

I've heard that David wasn't necessarily the author of psalm 51. Apparently the main evidence was the references to Zion after verse 18? (I don't remember why) Do my comments still stand? Are there any other thoughts on who the authors of the psalms were?
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The other twin: I'm the one with musical discrimination...

Age : 33 Joined : 06 Apr 2007 Posts : 2280

We're only beginning to understand the formation of the Hebrew Psalter, which was likely compiled by a group of Levitical priests. We'll probably never know exactly who wrote the individual Psalms, although the latest scholarship suggests that the organization of the Psalter was likely quite deliberate. The order of all 150 served some sort of teaching function, which we're just now beginning to understand. If you're interested in the most recent Evangelical research on the Psalms, let me recommend the following books:

Nancy L. Declaisse-Walford Reading from the Beginning: The Shaping of the Hebrew Psalter

Nancy L. Declaisse-Walford Introduction To The Psalms: A Song From Ancient Israel

Beth Laneel Tanner The Book of Psalms Through the Lens of Intertextuality

David Firth & Philip Johnston, editors. Interpreting the Psalms: Issues and Approaches (If I were teaching a class on the Psalms, this title would be my first choice for primary textbook.)

Declaisse-Walford and Laneel Tanner are two of the three authors contracted to write a massive one volume commentary on the Psalms for the prestigious New International Commentary on the Old Testament (NICOT), hands down the best Evangelical OT commentary set. I'm pleased that the series editors chose these women. Not only did the female students display greater mastery of Hebrew than the men when I was in seminary, women also seem to gravitate toward poetry more naturally than men. Given those factors, I'm expecting a first-class NICOT volume on the Psalms. Only the best and brightest Evangelical scholars earn the privilege to contribute to that series. Every NICOT volume relesed to date has been a solid 'home run.' Their thoroughness, completeness and user-friendly format are unmatched.

Age : 21 Joined : 18 May 2007 Posts : 2714

i like to look at it as David wrote it. i realize this may make me close minded in some views, but it just seems to work. plus i'm of the opinion that it's slightly irrelevant...so long as the actual text remains accurate, that's all that really matters (at least in this instance).
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"He had discovered Time and Death and God"-Aldous Huxley

Age : 33 Joined : 06 Apr 2007 Posts : 2280

Subject: Re: psalm 51 Mon May 28, 2007 7:57 am

I don't know what could ever be wrong with discussing it. I think that's a horrid attitude to have. Nobody is pushing aside any edifications or anything.
_________________
Dark motions, black eyes, and mournful lust, the wings of solitude
...I'm the hateful raven

I dream in shades of you.

Age : 33 Joined : 06 Apr 2007 Posts : 2280

Subject: Re: psalm 51 Mon May 28, 2007 6:33 pm

You say I read too much into it, *but*...