Psalm 51

Hi Beloveds...

Psalm 51 has always rocked me.  I love it!  I am a huge David fan.  If there is one person in the Bible I can relate to it's him.

I have always struggled with his adultery though.  Don't get me wrong, we all fall.  We all have our sin that is just as great as anything David did.  As I read the story of David and Bathsheba though I am hit in a particularly sensitive and personal place.

Psalm 51 is David's cry to God after he has done this deed.  It's pure.  It's raw.  It's real.  I can feel and relate to his heart and the pain.  I love the wisdom and knowledge of God he shows in the structure and choice of his words.  I could go on and on pointing these things out by verse, but there is one in particular that hit my recently.



This starts as Old Testament stuff but please try to follow me.

For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

By Your favor do good to Zion;
Build the walls of Jerusalem.

Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,
In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.  (Psalm 51:16-19 NASB)

Before David's sin can be forgiven.  Before he can even offer up a burnt offering to God.  He must resubmit himself to God.  He must choose to break his own will and submit to the will of God.  I know this is way simplistic, but why forgive someone if the person doesn't think they did anything wrong or "want" to get on the right track.

Think of how this works in day to day living with other people.  Say someone hurts me.  Say I walk up to them and say...  "You hurt me, but I forgive you.  You are forgiven.".  Most of the time you will get a "you're crazy" or "get out of my face".  They will most likely want nothing to do with you.  The times they do respond positively I would argue it's more like a guilt trip than anything else and will likely not cause any lasting change in that person's life.  They have to want it.  You can forgive them in your heart and move on, yes.  God will never shackle us to others sins with no way out.  But for them to grow and for them to be forgiven they must want it.  They must have "a broken and a contrite heart".

Now let's take a look at this in New Testament terms.  We have Jesus, right?  He died on the cross for all of our sins, right?  No more need for burnt offerings because the deed has been done.  The blood covers all.

But look at this...

How do we get that salvation?  How do we get that forgiveness?  Though Jesus.  We have to accept Him.  Like David then, we today must surrender to Him.  We must have that same "broken and a contrite heart".  We must say "I choose you God".

Running a little short on time.  Hope this blesses someone.