GOD, FORGIVE ME SO I CAN WORSHIP YOU

Psalm 51

The Psalms are songs of worship. It is the “hymnbook” of the nation of Israel. They describe her
worship of the Lord. They are prayers to God. An important part of prayer involves confession
of sin. Confession of sin is absolutely essential to worship; for that reason, we find many
penitential psalms in the Psalter.
Psalm 51 was written by King David, following his affair with Bathsheba and the resulting
murder of her husband Uriah (cf. 2 Sam 11:1–12:25). A period of close to a year ensued, during
which David was covering his sin, continuing on in ritual worship, although Psalm 32 describes
the misery of this time. God sent Nathan the prophet to confront David, and he confessed his
sin. This prayer to God is written as David reflects on his need for God’s forgiveness.
Confession is essential to worshiping God. We might be tempted to think that confession of our
sin is good, but not necessary to worship. David makes the connection between God’s
forgiveness and our ability to worship God very clear. God must forgive me so I can worship
him.
G OD, PLEASE FORGIVE ME (VV. 1–9)
I need your forgiveness because I have sinned (vv. 1–3)
I need your forgiveness because I have sinned against you (v. 4)
I need your forgiveness because I am sinful (v. 5)
I need your forgiveness because you are sinless (v. 6)
I need your forgiveness because I am unclean (v. 7).
I need your forgiveness because I cannot worship and praise you as I ought (v. 8).
G OD, PLEASE RESTORE MY WORSHIP TO YOU (VV. 10–19)
You must forgive me in order for me to worship you because my sin affects my relationship
with You (vv. 11–14).
You must cause me to praise You because my sin affects my worship to You (v. 15).
You must enable me to please you because my sin affects others’ worship (vv. 16–19).