Psalm 51

Imagine that the following anonymous question from a youth was included in this month’s edition of For the Strength of Youth magazine:

As you study King David’s pleadings in Psalm 51, look for truths that could help answer this youth’s question. Ponder what counsel you would share with them.

King David was a powerful and righteous leader, but he later committed serious sins. When David saw Bathsheba bathing on the roof, he lusted after her. Bathsheba was married, but David pursued her anyway. He sent servants to bring her to him and eventually had sexual relations with her (2 Samuel 11:1–5). David also arranged to have her husband killed in battle. Psalm 51 is David pleading with the Lord for forgiveness.

The following questions are meant to help guide your study of Psalm 51. Answer each question in your scriptures by creating links and notes throughout the chapter.

1. Which of the following scriptures teaches a similar truth to what is taught in Psalm 51:1–2, 7, 9?

   Study the best option and link it to verse 2.

   1. Ezekiel 3:16–17: The prophet is “a watchman unto the house of Israel.”

   2. Malachi 3:8–10: This shows the blessings of paying tithing.

   3. Isaiah 1:18: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”

2. Read Doctrine and Covenants 58:42–43 and the following quote from the General Handbook. Which of the passages from Psalm 51, listed after the quote, teaches the same principle?

   Link your answer.

   When Church members commit serious sins, their repentance also includes confession to their bishop or stake president. He is then able to exercise the keys of the gospel of repentance on their behalf (see Doctrine and Covenants 13:1; 84:26–27; 107:18, 20). This helps them heal and return to the gospel path through the power of the Savior’s Atonement.

   … Voluntary confession shows that a person desires to repent. (General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 32.4.1, Gospel Library)

   1. Psalm 51:3–4

   2. Psalm 51:10–12

   3. Psalm 51:16–17

3. The following principles are all found in Psalm 51. Which one best aligns with David’s requests in Psalm 51:10–12?

   Create a note copying your answer, or one similar, next to verse 10.

   1. I must have a broken and contrite heart and spirit to truly repent before God.

   2. Acknowledging our sin before God is necessary for repentance.

   3. As we repent, God can help us change, feel joy, and have the Holy Ghost with us.

4. Which of the following passages teaches the same truth taught in 3 Nephi 9:19–20 and explained in the following statement by Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles?

   Link your answer.

   

   To have a broken heart is to be humble, repentant, and meek, eagerly receptive to the will of God. A contrite spirit puts one’s own interests in the hands of God, believing that His will, not our own, will help us become who we should become. (The Divine Gift of Forgiveness [2019], 153)

   1. Psalm 51:3–4

   2. Psalm 51:10–12

   3. Psalm 51:16–17

5. Which passage in Psalm 51 would you link to the following statement by President Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles?

   

   [H]owever many mistakes you feel you have made … or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines. (“The Laborers in the Vineyard,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2012, 33)

Review the following study options. Complete one or more.

Option A

What other questions can I ask about repentance?

Imagine you’re the teacher of a seminary class full of teenagers like you. Respond to the following question in your notebook.

• What question(s) would you ask to gauge if they understand the doctrine of repentance?

Option B

How can I explain repentance to others?

Respond to the question asked by a teenager at the beginning of the lesson. Use at least one of the scriptures or statements you’ve studied today in your answer.

Lesson Purpose: To help you understand that as you repent, the Savior can make you clean.

Share one or more of the following with your teacher or class:

• Your responses to the five questions and the question(s) you would ask a seminary class.

• How you would use what you studied to respond to the question at the beginning of the lesson.

• Something specific you did to achieve the purpose of this lesson.

• Any questions this lesson raised for you. How will you try to find answers to your questions?