Psalms 51:15 (KJV)

Passage

O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

Nearby Context

Psalms 51:13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

Psalms 51:14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

Psalms 51:15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

Psalms 51:16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "lord", "open", "thou", "lips", "mouth", "shall", "shew", and "forth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lord" and "open", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "Deliver me from bloodguiltiness O God thou..." into verse 16's "For thou desirest not sacrifice else would...", so "lord" and "open" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "lord" and "open" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.