Psalm 51:15 NKJV
O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
When God Unlocks the Heart
MY NOTES
“O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.” — Psalm 51:15 (NKJV)
Ever felt like you’ve “lost your voice” with God? Not because of a sore throat, but because of a heavy heart?
In Psalm 51:15, David is at a standstill. He’s been honest about his “bloodshed” and his deep need for a clean heart, but there’s a lingering side effect of sin that we don’t always talk about: it shuts your mouth. Guilt makes us stammer. Shame makes us want to hide in the back row of the sanctuary. David knew that until God did a work on his heart, he couldn’t even manage a decent “Hallelujah.”
The Silence of Guilt
Guilt is a powerful muzzle. Matthew Henry noted that David’s sin had “gone near to stop the mouth of prayer.” Think about it: when you know you’ve messed up, coming into the presence of a holy God feels awkward at best and terrifying at worst. You can’t for shame, and you can’t for fear.
David’s harp—once used to soothe kings and celebrate victories—was effectively hung on the willow trees. He was tongue-tied. If you’ve been feeling like your prayer life is a series of stutters or that your worship feels like “acting,” you’re in good company. Sin silences the song.
The Divine “Ephphatha”
David doesn’t try to force a song. He doesn’t try to “fake it until he makes it.” Instead, he asks God to do what only God can do: “Open my lips.” This is a beautiful “golden petition.” David is asking God to take away the weight of guilt and replace it with the evidence of forgiveness. It’s like the moment in the Gospels when Jesus says, “Ephphatha,”—Be opened. When God unblocks the heart, the lips follow suit. Praise is the “natural expression,” as Albert Barnes put it, of a soul that finally feels the burden of sin lift.
Who is the Porter?
Spurgeon used a vivid image here: he compared our lips to a gate. When vanity, anger, or lust are the “porters” at the gate, nothing but “foul villainies” come out. But when the Holy Spirit unbars the door, what follows is a “tuneful dance” of grace, mercy, and peace.
If God opens the door, He is sure to have the fruit of it. You don’t have to manufacture praise; you just have to ask the Lord to clear the debris that’s blocking the exit.
Key Takeaways
- Sin is a Silencer: Guilt doesn’t just damage our relationship with God; it kills our ability to praise Him authentically.
- Don’t Force the Song: If you feel “locked,” don’t try to perform. Ask God to “unstop” your mouth through the assurance of His pardon.
- A Preacher’s Prayer: This verse is essential for anyone who speaks for God. We cannot teach or praise effectively unless God gives us “the opening of the mouth.”
- The Natural Flow: Once the barrier of sin is removed, praise isn’t a chore; it’s the inevitable result of being rescued.
Cross References (NKJV)
Luke 1:64
“Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God.”
Psalm 103:1
“Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!”
Isaiah 50:4
“The Lord God has given Me The tongue of the learned, That I should know how to speak A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear To hear as the learned.”
Hebrews 13:15
“Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”
Prayer
Abba, You know exactly what has been keeping me quiet. You see the shame, the fear, and the guilt that act like a seal on my lips. I’m tired of faking the song. I ask You today to perform Your ‘Ephphatha’ in my heart. Take away the burden of my failures and fill me with the joy of Your pardon. Open my lips, Lord, not so I can impress anyone, but so I can finally tell the world how good and merciful You are. I ask You and Thank You for this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Things to Think About
- Is there a specific “lock” on your lips right now? What is the root—is it fear of judgment, shame over a recent fall, or just spiritual dryness?
- Think back to a time when you felt “the joy of pardon.” What did your “song” sound like then? How can that memory encourage you to pray Psalm 51:15 today?
Proverb for Today
In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death. Proverbs 14:26-27 NKJV
Daily Scripture
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. Ephesians 1:7-10 NKJV
Bill
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Summary of Commentaries:
David’s sin muzzled his song, leaving him “tongue-tied” by shame and fear. Commentators describe his plea as a “golden petition” for restoration. Only the assurance of pardon can perform a spiritual “Ephphatha,” unbolting the heart’s gates so grace and praise flow naturally. When the Holy Spirit becomes the “porter” of the lips, the silenced penitent is transformed into a bold witness, authentically singing of God’s mercy and faithfulness once again.
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
“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 marvelously 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 anyone 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.
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Albert Barnes
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.
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John Gill
O Lord, open thou my lips,…. The Targum adds, “in the late”; which were shut with a sense of sin, with shame of it, and sorrow for it; and though they were in some measure opened in prayer to God for the forgiveness of it, as appears by various petitions in this psalm, yet he still wanted a free spirit and boldness at the throne of grace, which the believer has when his heart is sprinkled from an evil conscience by the blood of Christ; and especially his lips were shut as to praise and thanksgiving; the guilt of sin had sealed up his lips, that he could not sing the praises of God as he had formerly done; and only a discovery of pardoning grace could open them, and for this he prays:
and my mouth shall show forth thy praise: the praise of his mercy, grace, goodness, truth, and faithfulness, in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; see Psalm 103:1.
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Matthew Henry
He prays for the grace of God and promises to improve that grace to his glory (v. 15): “O Lord! open thou my lips, not only that I may teach and instruct sinners” (which the best preacher cannot do to any purpose unless God give him the opening of the mouth, and the tongue of the learned), “but that my mouth may show forth thy praise, not only that I may have abundant matter for praise, but a heart enlarged in praise.” Guilt had closed his lips, had gone near to stop the mouth of prayer; he could not for shame, he could not for fear, come into the presence of that God whom he knew he had offended, much less speak to him; his heart condemned him, and therefore he had little confidence towards God. It cast a damp particularly upon his praises; when he had lost the joys of his salvation, his harp was hung upon the willow-trees; therefore, he prays, “Lord, open my life, put my heart in tune for praise again.” To those that are tongue-tied by reason of guilt, the assurance of the forgiveness of their sins says effectually, Ephphatha- Be opened; and, when the lips are opened, what should they speak but the praises of God, as Zacharias did? Lu. 1:64.
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