Friday, February 22, 2008 @ 12:29 AM Psalm 51: Broken Spirit & Contrite Heart.
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
***
Something struck me while I was reading this psalm.
We all know that the bible calls King David a man after God's own heart. (Read 1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22)
But if you truly understand about King David's life, he is not without flaw. In fact, most of us will probably fare better than him in avoiding major sins. I mean, I assume not many of us will sleep with the wife of our trusted friend, then plot and eventually murder him in order to cover up the sin. He is so sinister that he "借刀杀人”. That exactly is the context of this psalm (read 2 Samuel 12)
Why then, does God call him a man after His own heart, even though God had to deal with him and discipline him at times?
It is because David chose to be always humble before God.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Verse 17 is also translated as "my sacrifice, oh God, is a broken spirit."
Are we broken before God?
Do you know that God is not worried about sin? Because Jesus has dealt with sin once and for all at the cross. His blood is sufficient to pay the price for our sins (past, present, future) till we die.
God knows that as long as our heart is broken and contrite before him, there's always a chance we will rely on Him and have a breakthrough.
But PRIDE will separate us from God. That's what He is worried about.
Pride says: Forget it, I keep struggling with my sin. Too tiring, I dont want to change. Pride says: Deny it, pretend nothing has happened. Pride says: What will others think of me?
Pride hardens our heart and gives no room for God to convict us of sin. There is no remorse and no repentance as we dont feel the need to.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
More and more I am starting to understand that we cannot live a full and abundant Christian life, if we are not constantly broken before God, and hungering for His presence.
Even as we begin the 40 day prayer and fasting, have you allowed God to surface your weaknesses, so that you will be broken and cry out to God to help you?
I realised that even as we started out this week, my life was turning upside down. I was so busy at work, having so much fear of not doing well. To the extent that God has to break my work piece to catch my attention. God is surfacing the area I have not surrendered fully to Him.
Is God surfacing something, a sin or weakness, and you are starting to feel out of control?
Take heart. It could be God's process of breaking you.
Friday, February 22, 2008 @ 12:29 AM Psalm 51: Broken Spirit & Contrite Heart.
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.
***
Something struck me while I was reading this psalm.
We all know that the bible calls King David a man after God's own heart. (Read 1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22)
But if you truly understand about King David's life, he is not without flaw. In fact, most of us will probably fare better than him in avoiding major sins. I mean, I assume not many of us will sleep with the wife of our trusted friend, then plot and eventually murder him in order to cover up the sin. He is so sinister that he "借刀杀人”. That exactly is the context of this psalm (read 2 Samuel 12)
Why then, does God call him a man after His own heart, even though God had to deal with him and discipline him at times?
It is because David chose to be always humble before God.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Verse 17 is also translated as "my sacrifice, oh God, is a broken spirit."
Are we broken before God?
Do you know that God is not worried about sin? Because Jesus has dealt with sin once and for all at the cross. His blood is sufficient to pay the price for our sins (past, present, future) till we die.
God knows that as long as our heart is broken and contrite before him, there's always a chance we will rely on Him and have a breakthrough.
But PRIDE will separate us from God. That's what He is worried about.
Pride says: Forget it, I keep struggling with my sin. Too tiring, I dont want to change. Pride says: Deny it, pretend nothing has happened. Pride says: What will others think of me?
Pride hardens our heart and gives no room for God to convict us of sin. There is no remorse and no repentance as we dont feel the need to.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
More and more I am starting to understand that we cannot live a full and abundant Christian life, if we are not constantly broken before God, and hungering for His presence.
Even as we begin the 40 day prayer and fasting, have you allowed God to surface your weaknesses, so that you will be broken and cry out to God to help you?
I realised that even as we started out this week, my life was turning upside down. I was so busy at work, having so much fear of not doing well. To the extent that God has to break my work piece to catch my attention. God is surfacing the area I have not surrendered fully to Him.
Is God surfacing something, a sin or weakness, and you are starting to feel out of control?
Take heart. It could be God's process of breaking you.
