1. Psalm 51:10 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why does David pray for a new heart?

Psalm 51:10 (ESV)

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Real grief about sin entails that you want to get rid of not only the punishment of sin, but of sin itself.1 But that is impossible. If sin has been in you from the beginning of your life, you need something new. David asks God in Psalm 51:10 to create a new heart. That means making something out of nothing like only God, the Creator can do through his Spirit. David prays for something new to come into him that will become the foundation for the fight against sin in the power of the Holy Spirit.