Psalms 51:10 (KJV)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Psalms 51:8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

Psalms 51:9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

Psalms 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Psalms 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Psalms 51:12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "create", "clean", "heart", "renew", "right", and "within". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "create", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "Hide thy face from my sins and..." into verse 11's "Cast me not away from thy presence...", so "Spirit" and "create" 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 "Spirit" and "create" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.