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
Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal …
I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord …
I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for …
I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
Yet, Lord, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their …
But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come …
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of …
The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes.