Psalms 51:1
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Study Note
Study Note
The opening petition 'have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions' is traditionally David's prayer after his adultery and murder (heading: 'when Nathan the prophet came unto him'), making it the canonical model of penitential prayer before the holy God. The three Hebrew terms in verse 1-2 — chata' (sin), pesha' (rebellion/transgression), avon (iniquity/guilt) — together constitute the most comprehensive vocabulary of human moral failure in the Psalter. The three corresponding requests — blot out (machah), wash thoroughly (kabas), cleanse (taher) — move from forgiveness to purification, the second requiring repeated application ('wash thoroughly' implies vigorous laundering). Psalm 51 is the seventh of the Church's seven 'penitential psalms' (Pss 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143) and became the model for Thomas Cranmer's general confession and Luther's understanding of evangelical repentance.
Other Translations
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: According to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
To the Overseer. --A Psalm of David, in the coming in unto him of Nathan the prophet, when he hath gone in unto Bath-Sheba. Favour me, O God, according to Thy kindness, According to the abundance of Thy mercies, Blot out my transgressions.
Have pity on me, O God, in your mercy; out of a full heart, take away my sin.
Cross References
And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant …
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting …
The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting …
Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast …
And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof …
And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath …
And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee: for they have provoked …
Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have …
But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear …
Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.