Jesus said, "I say this to you. If anyone looks at a woman and wants to have sex with her, he has already had sex with her in his mind". (Matthew 5:28)
Psalm 51
(This is) for the music leader.
(It is) a psalm of David.
(It was) when the *prophet Nathan came to him.
(It was) after (David) had sex with Bathsheba.
v1 Give *mercy to me, God, because of your kind love.
Because you have so much love, forget that I did not obey you.
v2 Wash me (from the bad feeling that I have)
because of the bad thing that I did.
Make me clean from all my *sin.
v3 Because I know that I did not obey you
and my *sin is always in front of me.
v4 I have *sinned against you and only you.
You saw the *evil that I did.
And so you are right when you talk to me.
You are not wrong when you say that I am bad.
v5 I am sure that I have done bad things since my birth.
I have always wanted to *sin since the day that I was born.
v6 But you want me to be good
and you want to teach me how to live in the proper way.
v7 Make me clean with hyssop and I shall be really clean.
Wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
v8 I want to hear happy words that give me *joy.
I want the bones that you broke to *rejoice.
v9 Hide your face from my *sins
and forget all the bad things that I have done.
v10 *Create a *pure *heart inside me, O God.
And put a strong spirit in me.
v11 Do not send me away from where you are.
Do not take your *Holy Spirit from me.
v12 Give me back the *joy that I get when I am safe with you.
And (give me) a spirit that makes me strong to give help (to people).
v13 I will teach your ways to those people that fight against you.
Then *sinners will return to you.
v14 Take away from me the bad feeling that I have because I killed someone,
God, the God that makes me safe.
(Then) my *tongue will sing of your *righteousness.
v15 *Lord, open my lips,
then my mouth will say how great you are.
v16 For animal *sacrifice does not bring you pleasure, or I would make it.
You would not want a whole burnt offering.
v17 The *sacrifices that God wants are a broken spirit
and a broken *heart that knows that it has *sinned.
. . .
v18 In your pleasure, do good things to Zion.
Build up the walls of Jerusalem.
v19 Then:
· there will be the right kind of animal *sacrifice
· whole burnt offerings will bring you pleasure
· they will offer bulls on your *altar.