Psalms 51:17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
In
the Beatitudes, Jesus lays out eight blessings, each of which resembles a
proclamation similar to a proverb, four of which are also in Luke's gospel
(Matthew 5:1-12; Luke 6:20-23). Blessed is the poor in spirit is the idea here
in this Psalm. Only a heart and soul broke and humbled before the Lord will
offer a commendable and laudable sacrifice to God. The verse of today is a
Psalm of David, a person that God said was "a man after His own
heart" (1 Samuel 13:14). There was no insinuation that David was a perfect
person, but one that recognizes his sin for what it is and repents of that sin.
David made many sacrifices to God over his lifetime, but he was fully aware
that it was not the blood of those sacrificial animals that pleased God but a
contrite and broken heart. Only a heart, soul, and spirit that is bereaved and
void of its self-worth or value, enamored in humble repentance, will be
pleasing in God's eyes.
David
was aware of the darkness teeming and overflowing within his heart and soul.
David realized that any interrupted mutuality with God was caused only by and
through the sin within his heart. Exultation and delight in God can only become
reestablished through a broken and contrite heart, soul, and spirit. Only the
one looking to and depending on Christ Jesus as their advocate with the father
(1 John 2:1) can escape the bonds and chains of Satan and sin. The verse of the
day refers to our sins before our conversion and all post-salvation sins.
Our
relationship with God through our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, can never be
severed or dissolved. However, our daily walk with the Lord can be interrupted
when we take our eyes off Jesus and let them drift away and meander through the
halls of worldly lust, fame, and fortune. Before the first advent of Christ
Jesus, the Holy Spirit would come upon people in the millennia when God had a
special mission for them to carry out and then depart from them. These last days
we live in, that does not happen because we have the permanent indwelling of
God's Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, we can grieve the Holy Spirit by giving in to
Satan's lies and allusions, clouding over the reception of His leading guidance
and direction.
When
David became aware of his shortcomings and lustfulness that led to a sinful
nature, he came before God with a contrite heart and broken spirit, knowing
that God would accept that real heartfelt sacrifice. That is the only way God
will accept our request for forgiveness of sin. We can offer God nothing in and
of ourselves, only a remorseful, regretful, and repentant heart, soul, and
spirit.
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