Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart--these, O God, You will not despise. (NKJV)
In the 12th chapter of 2 Samuel it's recorded that Nathan the prophet is sent by the Lord to confront King David for his sin. After committing adultery with Bathsheba and upon learning she has become pregnant, David arranges for Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, to be killed by the Ammonites so that he may have Bathsheba as wife. King David believes his sin to be cleverly concealed until confronted by Nathan. But notice David's response in 2 Sam. 12:13-- David responded to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." (HCSB) Because David confessed his sin, God spared his life, although the baby born to him and Bathsheba died.
Psalm 51 is David's prayer for restoration after this confrontation with Nathan. David prays for God to wash away his guilt and cleanse him from his sin. (v.2) He again confesses in (v.4) --Against You-You alone- I have sinned and done this evil in Your sight. (HCSB) We can learn a lot from David about how to respond to God when He convicts us of our wrongdoings. Yes, David sinned big time--adultery and then murder. That just goes to show us how far sin can take us. Just an innocent glance that turns into a lingering look and then to lust ultimately led David to murder. But when confronted with the fact that he couldn't hide his sin from God, David confessed. He could have denied it. He could have lied and continued to try his best to conceal it. But He didn't. He revealed the truth and admitted fault. He repented. He had a contrite heart, a humbled heart and a broken spirit within. Years ago I would sing a praise chorus during altar calls at our church that was based on Ps. 51. Maybe I should start using it again. Read the lyrics with me:
A Broken Spirit
A broken spirit and a contrite heart
You will not despise, You will not despise.
You desire truth in the inward parts,
a broken spirit and a contrite heart.
Lord my heart is prone to wander,
prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, Lord take and seal it.
Seal it for Your courts above.
Don Harris & Martin J. Nystrom
copyright 1993 Integrity's Hosanna Music
A broken spirit and a contrite heart
You will not despise, You will not despise.
You desire truth in the inward parts,
a broken spirit and a contrite heart.
Lord my heart is prone to wander,
prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, Lord take and seal it.
Seal it for Your courts above.
Don Harris & Martin J. Nystrom
copyright 1993 Integrity's Hosanna Music
So how about you? Are you concealing some sin from God? Are you trying to pretend that if you can hide it from your friends that God won't know? If you want to have and retain a close relationship with the Lord, then you need to pray for a broken spirit. We all need to do so in order that our hearts will not be hardened and numbed to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Let's maintain a humbled and contrite heart--a repentant heart--that God will not despise but instead will find to be a pleasing sacrifice.
Singing His Praises,
Joey Culpepper