I love my God... and I love David's writings...
Here is what this passage says:
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 [c] 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.
Sometimes we mess up and think, "I will do this, I will do that, I will stop this, I will stop that," all to prevent us from sinning. In the 'olden days' David and the Israelites sacrificed bulls and rams and goats and pigeons to YHWH in order to appease Him and be blessed and be forgiven. However, David notices VERY wisely through something that MUST be a revelation fro the LORD that the true sacrifice the LORD delights in is a broken and contrite heart! No wonder David was a man after God's own heart!!
This psalm was written by David right after he killed Uriah to try to cover up his sin of fornication with Bathsheba. A murderer and a sexual immoral man at this point. However, David KNOWS that his heart is away from his Daddy's heart! He feels it! He detests it and cries out. David truly is a man after God's own heart not because he is perfect, because he isn't, but because he knows and recognizes that HOLINESS IS LIVING A LIFE OF REPENTANCE.
And I love the end of this psalm. I believe that the key word in the last verse is the first word: THEN. God doesn't want us to focus on sacrifice and outward actions that show our faith if we have not gone to him to show him that we are truly repentant! Any outward sacrifice that has not started with a humble, broken spirit, and a contrite heart is not a sacrifice that the LORD desires or honors.
Selah
2 comments:
altho you didn't directly write it, i hear that what you're getting at is the heart, and how actions don't mean squat if the heart isn't there first... ok, so it's a little bit of a stretch, but as i was reading this, some things that you said reminded me of somethings i talked with my mother about when i was discussing divorce and re-marriage with her... so yah, i have some thoughts, and i'm interested in talking about them....
:-)
altho you didn't directly write it, i hear that what you're getting at is the heart, and how actions don't mean squat if the heart isn't there first... ok, so it's a little bit of a stretch, but as i was reading this, some things that you said reminded me of somethings i talked with my mother about when i was discussing divorce and re-marriage with her... so yah, i have some thoughts, and i'm interested in talking about them....
:-)
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