Psalm 51

Psalm 51 was a nice break from Genesis (of which, yes, I am still *ahem* reading). It was like going from an old Greek epic to an early 19th century poem. At first though, so much of this "poem" seems to remind me of many of the things that I have heard about the Bible, argued over dinner with friends about, and just generally sums up a great deal of the social milieu...let me explain. So much of the discourse that follows me concerning the bible comes in the form of people knocking on my door with some great news, "God is merciful! Hooray!" Then there's always the old stand by that priests have been clinging onto for a very long time "I [and everyone else] was born guilty," so that covers your original sin. Next, in true fashion, well God can erase those sins if you ask nicely, and when he does, you can help spread the word. This was how I read Psalm 51 at first, like some hell-bent atheist who gets offended by the words "God", "Sin", "Original" and "Religion"...but that's not really me, so I figured I'd better take a second look.
When I read it again, this time with the open literary mind that I am supposed to be reading it with, well, it was good....REALLY good. The imagery was phenomenal; a man, who has just committed sin against an angry God essentially prostrates himself and delivers brilliant words. He does not simply ask for forgiveness, that would be too easy, but rather he asks "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me." For me, a non-believer, this is a great image, David is not asking for forgiveness, he is asking to be cleansed top to bottom and to have his heart replaced, talk about devotion. Another line that I had mentioned earlier, "Indeed, I was born guilty" actually turns out to have less to do with original sin, and more about the author's ability at creating hyperbolic verse to really drive home the point. David is so guilty that he feels he has been with sin for his entire life...that's guilt. And now, a drum roll, for my two favorite passages. "let the bones that you crushed rejoice" This line is, without a doubt, so insane it borders on genius (in my humble opinion), to be so convinced of the joy one can feel from God that a person's painfully mashed and crushed bones rejoice, well lets just say that's an image that won't be leaving me for awhile. My other favorite, "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit," this seems to echo the bones line, but in a much more ethereal sense. I guess I like the idea of God as a kind of Byronic hero who wants not the best, straight laced goody two shoes he can find, but the souls that have been beaten, broken, and are flawed through sin. I realize this is not a "new" image of God, but given a choice between the God of Psalm 51 and the God of Genesis I would definitely be happy to sacrifice my broken spirit.