For You do not desire animal sacrifice; otherwise, I would offer it: You do not delight in burnt offerings if you did I would give them. The sacrifices that God delights in are a broken spirit and a broken and a contrite heart. O God, these you will not despise.
Psalm 51:16-17 (Paraphrase mine)
David, as they say, had come to the end of his tether. He had nothing to put up as spiritual collateral. He was spiritually bankrupt. He knew that a thousand lambs would not atone for his sins. God gave him no out but to give up his self-sufficiency and lean totally on the mercies of God. The only thing that would suffice was David’s broken spirit and heart. He hoped that God would accept the sincerity of his heart and the confession of his mouth.
Often, these days, people come to God with their broken lives but refuse to be broken before God. They never seem to see any fault in their lives and they have the attitude that God owes them something; that He owes them total restoration and riches and fame. God owes us nothing! He has already given us the very best when He gave His only begotten Son to die as our substitute on the Cross.
I know that God loves sinners but unless the sinner is willing to repent of his sins he will never enjoy the blessing of God’s forgiveness. David knew this, therefore, when he came to God with this prayer it was with a broken heart and a humbled spirit. The word “broken” literally means “crumbled in pieces.” Only God could put it back together again. The word “contrite” means to come “crawling on one’s knees.” From that condition only God can lift one to be upright again. That is how David came to the Lord and that is how everyone who has sinned must come to God. When the sinner comes to God like that, He will not reject him nor despise his offering of worship.
I am confident that God wants to bless us abundantly this year so let’s get everything cleared up with God early on so that nothing will hinder us or short circuit our relationship with our Savior. Have a blessed day in the Lord. Amen, amen and amen.
