Psalms 51:15
in Psalms 51O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
O Lord, open thou my lips; And my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
KJV
O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
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This verse in Psalms 51
Commentary
11 notes on this verseO Lord, open thou my lips. He is so afraid of himself that he commits his whole being to the divine care, and fears to speak till the Lord unstops his shame silenced mouth. How marvellously the Lord can open our lips, and what divine things can we poor simpletons pour forth under his inspiration! This prayer of a penitent is a golden petition for a preacher, Lord, I offer it for myself and my brethren.
This site's exposition
I will teach transgressors Your ways
on Psalms 51:13-15
The psalm turns outward here, David's own pardon becoming teaching for transgressors, and sinners will return to You. Bloodguilt names Uriah's death at 2 Samuel 11:15, and Numbers 35:31 allows no ransom for a murderer's life. Verse 15 asks God to open his lips for praise.
This site's exposition
O Lord, open my lips
The mouth that confessed now waits for God to open it before it praises. Charles Spurgeon read the request as a man afraid of himself, who would not speak until the Lord unstopped a mouth his shame had silenced. He called it a golden petition for a preacher.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"O Lord, my lips You shall open, and my mouth shall tell of Your praise" [Psalm 51:15]. "Your praise," because I have been created: "Your praise," because sinning I have not been forsaken: "Your praise," because I have been admonished to confess: "Your praise," because in order that I might be secured I have been cleansed.
"O Lord, my lips You shall open, and my mouth shall tell of Your praise" [Psalm 51:15]. "Your praise," because I have been created: "Your praise," because sinning I have not been forsaken: "Your praise," because I have been admonished to confess: "Your praise," because in order that I might be secured I have been cleansed.
The Medieval Church1 voice
"O Lord, you shall open my lips." It should be known that sometimes a person is impeded from teaching even by an interior impediment to speaking; and this happens sometimes because of the fault of the hearers. Ezek. 3: "I will make your tongue cleave …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
David offers the sacrifice of a penitent contrite heart, as that which he knew God would be pleased with. He knew well that the sacrificing of beasts was in itself of no account with God (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
O Lord, open thou my lips,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
O Lord, open thou my lips. He is so afraid of himself that he commits his whole being to the divine care, and fears to speak till the Lord unstops his shame silenced mouth. How marvellously the Lord can open our lips, and what divine things can we poor simpletons pour forth under his inspiration! This prayer of a penitent is a golden petition for a preacher, Lord, I offer it for myself and my brethren. But it may stand in good stead any one whose shame for sin makes him stammer in his prayers, and when it is fully answered, the tongue of the dumb begins to sing. And my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. If God opens the mouth he is sure to have the fruit of it. According to the porter at the gate is the nature of that which comes out of a man's lips; when vanity, anger, falsehood, or lust unbar the door, the foulest villainies troop out; but if the Holy Spirit opens the wicket, then grace, mercy, peace, and all the graces come forth in tuneful dances, like the daughters of Israel when they met David returning with the Philistine's head.
O Lord, open thou my lips - My heart is believing unto righteousness; give me thy peace, that my tongue may make confession unto salvation. He could not praise God for pardon till he felt that God had pardoned him; then his lips would be opened, and his tongue would show forth the praise of his Redeemer.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
O Lord, open thou my lips - That is, by taking away my guilt; by giving me evidence that my sins are forgiven; by taking this burden from me, and filling my heart with the joy of pardon. The original word is in the future tense, but the meaning is well expressed in our common translation. There was, in fact, at the same time a confident expectation that God “would” thus open his lips, and a desire that he should do it. And my mouth shall show forth thy praise - Or, I will praise thee. Praise is the natural expression of the feelings when the sense of sin is removed.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
I will teach transgressors Your ways and they will learn from me. They will repent if they see that You forgive me.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation The holy spirit, which has left me.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֲ֭דֹנָי | ʾadonai | O Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| שְׂפָתַ֣י | sefatai | lips my | H8193 → | 176 times |
| תִּפְתָּ֑ח | tiftach | you will open | H6605 → | 144 times |
| וּ֝פִ֗י | ufi | and mouth my | H6310 → | 498 times |
| יַגִּ֥יד | yagid | it will declare | H5046 → | 370 times |
| תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ׃ | tehilatekha | praise your | H8416 → | 56 times |
אֲ֭דֹנָיO Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
שְׂפָתַ֣יlips my
sefataiH8193 →176 times
תִּפְתָּ֑חyou will open
tiftachH6605 →144 times
וּ֝פִ֗יand mouth my
ufiH6310 →498 times
יַגִּ֥ידit will declare
yagidH5046 →370 times
תְּהִלָּתֶֽךָ׃praise your
tehilatekhaH8416 →56 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 13:15Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that confess His name.
it leads to
- Psalms 107:21–22
Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men.
- Psalms 50:14
Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
- Romans 12:1
Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
- Psalms 145:1–21
I will exalt You, my God and King; I will bless Your name forever and ever.
- 1 Peter 2:5
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
- Psalms 107:21–22
Through
Psalms 119:13With my lips I proclaim all the judgments of Your mouth.
it leads to
- Psalms 71:15–18
My mouth will declare Your righteousness and Your salvation all day long, though I cannot know their full measure.
- Psalms 40:9–10
I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; behold, I do not seal my lips, as You, O LORD, do know.
- Psalms 37:30
The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.
- Psalms 71:15–18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 51; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.