Create in Me a Clean Heart, O Lord

I suspect that most people are familiar with the biblical story about King David committing adultery with Bathsheba and then trying to cover up his sin by sending her husband to the front of battle, where he was sure to be killed.

David didn’t get away with his double sin, however.

The baby Bathsheba conceived by David was very dear to the him, but God punished him by permitting the newborn to die. The prophet Nathan not only knew the truth, he confronted the king about it. David repented and wrote Psalm 51, seeking the Lord’s forgiveness.

Psalm 51: 10-12 isn’t just a good prayer for us when we’re repenting of some wrongdoing, it’s a good prayer when we simply need to freshen and strengthen a less that perfect relationship with the Lord .

¹⁰Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

I kept my rewording of those verses to a minimum in this song, but I’m not sure which translation of the Bible I was working from.

Create in me a clean heart, O Lord,
And renew a right spirit within me.
Don’t turn me away from Your presence, Lord,
Or withhold Your Spirit from me.
Don’t withhold Your Spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation;
Let Your Spirit make me whole once more.

Create in me a clean heart, O Lord,
And renew a right spirit in me.
Lord, renew a right spirit in me.

You may listen to a recording of this song here. You’ll find a free PDF of this song here.

Over the last fifteen years or so I’ve written and published twenty-four Christian novels. They’re all available on Amazon in both print and Kindle editions. I’m currently editing and revising #25.

Links you might be interested in:

About Roger E. Bruner

Seventy-nine-year-old Roger E. Bruner is the author and publisher of twenty-four Christian novels and the writer of more than two hundred Christian songs and choruses, a handful of musical dramas, and a number of shorter works. He sings, plays guitar and bass, and records many of his original songs in his home studio. He is active in his church and plays bass guitar on the praise team. Married for twenty-two years to Kathleen, he has one grown daughter, two grandsons, and one step-grandson. Roger enjoys reading, walking, photography and book cover design (he's done all of his own except for Rosa No-Name), playing Snood and Solitaire, and complaining about the state of the nation while continuing to pray for it.

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