Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God

THE PSALMS this week follow our chronological reading order, meaning they were written by David after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan for conspiring to kill Uriah the Hittite so that David could take his wife, Bathsheba. We discuss the repentant heart of David that comes through in these psalms—acknowledging his guilt and pleading with God to wipe away his sin, transgression, and iniquity. Then we return to 2 Samuel for a preview of the turbulent period of David’s life that followed when his oldest sons began plotting to succeed David on the throne. His eldest, Amnon, sinned by raping his half-sister, Tamar; in turn, Tamar’s brother, Absalom, took revenge by plotting Amnon’s murder two years later. In both cases, David didn’t help matters. For one thing, he didn’t punish Amnon for raping his half-sister—David’s own daughter! That was compounded by his failure to punish Absalom for the murder of Amnon. For his part, based on what he eventually did, it’s not clear that Absalom was avenging his sister’s assault by killing his half-brother or using her humiliation to justify eliminating an obstacle between himself and the throne of David.