Take a Deep Breath ... Praying Psalm 51

Praying the Psalms

 

...following SPU's Lectio Guides

October 28-November 3

 

 

First.

Read the assigned Psalms (or plan out a reading schedule for the week)  

• Psalm 25
• Psalm 32
• Psalm 36
• Psalm 38
• Psalm 51

Second.

Read or Listen to Dr. Frank Spina's Presentation

• Confession, Repentance, Absolution: Getting Right with God

Third. 

 

Take a Deep Breath...make the words of the Psalm your very own prayer.

Follow this guide for praying Psalm 51.

 

__________

 

 

Praying Psalm 51
Title: To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. (Read about this in 2 Samuel 11-12)

 

Key Quotes from Dr. Spina:

• “Psalm 51 is arguably the most comprehensive penitential psalm, in that it covers a range of topics from confession to internal transformation.”
• “…the psalm attributed to David in the context of (his) monumental moral failure is a model of repentance, forgiveness, and amendment of life.”

Psalm 51:1-2

*Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.  *Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

• Pray the Psalm. These are words spoken from a person to God; speak them to God as your prayer.
• Get Specific with Your Sins.  Praying the words of this psalm, you’re asking God to blot out your transgressions, wash you from your iniquity, cleanse you of your sin.  Take some time to list your sins to God.  This could range from a brief pause in your prayer for a quick review to a more time-intensive self-examination (a journal may be helpful for this).

 

Psalm 51:3-5
*For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.  *Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. *Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.

• Pray the Psalm. These are words spoken from a person to God; speak them to God as your prayer.
• Go Deeper with Your Sins.  Say the words of verse 3 and then explore your conscience so that you might truly get to “know your transgressions.”  Consider the theological impact of your sins along with verse 4 – how you have sinned against God, and how might God be justified in issuing or allowing consequences?  Along with verse 5, consider your sinful nature, your past experience with sins, and the deeper patterns/habits of sin in your life.

 

Psalm 51:6-9

*You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. *Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  *Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.  *Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

• Pray the Psalm. These are words spoken from a person to God; speak them to God as your prayer.
• Focus on God’s Mercy.  Allow God to meet your sin with His mercy.  Examples: 1) “Teach me wisdom in my secret heart;” Mediate on God’s power to transform the areas of life where you struggle with sin.  2) “Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow;”  Meditate on God’s power to cleanse you of your sins, and his merciful willingness to do so.  Visualize his washing your sins away, erasing them, leaving no mark at all upon your heart.  Remember God’s desire is to ultimately restore you to joy & gladness.

 

Psalm 51:10-12

*Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.  *Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.  *Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

• Pray the Psalm. These are words spoken from a person to God; speak them to God as your prayer.
• Pray for Restoration.  Your sin is cleansed through the mercy of God and the grace that is yours in Christ.  But God’s work in your is not finished.  God is re-creating you, giving you a clean heart and a right spirit, restoring to you the joy of God’s salvation, sustaining you with a spirit willing to live God’s way and say no to temptations.  Thank God for all of this, and invite him to make it happen, to make it real, in your life.
• Breath Prayers.  These three verses have been set to music (perhaps you can sing a line from memory) and the phrases within make melodic breath prayers:
• "Create in me a clean heart, O God."
• "O God, put a new & right spirit within me."
• "Restore me to the joy of your salvation."
• "O God, sustain in me a willing spirit."

 

Good words from Dr. Spina about God’s grace in Jesus & the Old Testament:

“In light of psalms such as these, God’s incarnation in Jesus the Christ should not be seen as God’s introducing grace for the first time. It is part of God’s character to extend grace, something God does throughout the Old Testament. Instead, God’s being in Christ should be seen as God’s showing the extent of divine graciousness. God’s grace has no bounds. Thus, the Incarnation does not introduce God’s grace; it demonstrates its extent.”

 

Words of Blessing

May God have mercy upon you according to His steadfast love.  May God cleanse you of your sin as you seek forgiveness through Christ.  May God create in you a clean heart and renew your spirit, so that you will live in the joy of His salvation.  Amen.

 

Pastor Kurt