Psalm 51 — Create in Me a Clean Heart

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

— Psalm 51:1–12 (KJV)

About This Prayer

Psalm 51 is David's prayer after the prophet Nathan confronted him over his sin with Bathsheba — the rawest confession in Scripture, prayed by a king with nothing left to hide. Believers have made its words their own for three thousand years, because it asks for the only things a guilty heart truly needs: mercy, cleansing, and a fresh start that only God can create. Its most famous line — "create in me a clean heart" — is not a promise to try harder, but a plea for God to do what we cannot.

When to Pray This

Pray Psalm 51 when you have failed and know it — when guilt sits heavy and you need words for coming back to God. It is also a steady prayer for any season of self-examination, such as before communion or at the start of Lent. However far you feel you have fallen, this psalm has been the road home for countless people before you.