A penitential psalm

At our Ash Wednesday service the choir chanted Psalm 51, which is the psalm appointed for that day. On Ash Wednesday in 1985 I led a service at the South Bend Christian Reformed Church (Indiana) in which the congregation sang a metrical version of the same psalm which I had recently composed. This version was subsequently published in Songs of Rejoicing: Hymns for Worship, Meditation & Praise.

Psalm 51

Be merciful to me, O God;
your tender grace do now impart.
O cleanse me from my wickedness
and purify my sinful heart.
Too well I know my many faults;
they weigh upon me constantly.
Against you only have I sinned,
offending you most grievously.

You justly pass your sentence down;
your blameless judgement I assume.
You know that I was guilty born,
a sinner from my mother’s womb.
Yet you have probed my deepest self
and wisdom given me to know.
With hyssop wash away my sins,
and make me spotless as the snow.

Now let me taste of joy again;
my weary bones exult once more!
O turn your face from these misdeeds
and my iniquities ignore.
Create in me a worthy heart;
a steadfast spirit in me hide,
and cast me not away from you,
nor take your Spirit from my side.

O Saviour, be my joyful help;
sustain me as you ever do.
Your statutes I will teach to all,
and sinners shall return to you.
Deliver me from death, O God,
and I will sing your righteous ways.
O Lord, do open up my lips,
and I will tell your glorious praise.

For you have shown no pleasure, Lord,
in empty sacrificial rite;
the offering that you ask is this:
a spirit broken and contrite.
Show favour to your chosen ones;
rebuild the city where you live,
that we may sacrifice again
and to you proper offerings give.

Music and versification © David T. Koyzis 1984, 1985

For another metrical version of the same psalm, as set to the proper Genevan melody, click here.