Tuesday's Text--Psalm 51:1-12

The psalm for the fifth Sunday in Lent is Psalm 51:1-12

<To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.> 

Have mercy on me, O God, 

according to your steadfast love; 

according to your abundant mercy 

blot out my transgressions. 

² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, 

and cleanse me from my sin. 

³ For I know my transgressions, 

and my sin is ever before me. 

⁴ 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. 

⁵ Indeed, I was born guilty, 

a sinner when my mother conceived me. 

⁶ You desire truth in the inward being; 

therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. 

⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; 

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 

⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness; 

let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. 

⁹ Hide your face from my sins, 

and blot out all my iniquities. 

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God, 

and put a new and right spirit within me. 

¹¹ Do not cast me away from your presence, 

and do not take your holy spirit from me. 

¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation, 

and sustain in me a willing spirit.

What questions does this psalm bring up for you?

What comfort do you find in it?

How does the inscription "To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba" change the way you hear it?

Do you ever hear the words in verses 10-12 differently in worship?