An Acceptable Sacrifice
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Psalm 51
1. Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love; according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in thy sight, so that thou art justified in thy sentence and blameless in thy judgment. 5. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. 7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8. Fill me with joy and gladness; let the bones which thou hast broken rejoice. 9. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. 11. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me. 12. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. 13. Then I will teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners will return to thee. 14. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of thy deliverance. 15. O Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. 16. For thou hast no delight in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, thou wouldst not be pleased. 17. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 18. Do good to Zion in thy good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, 19. then wilt thou delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on thy altar.
I have verse 17 underscored and highlighted in my bible. And every so often, I start thinking God has broken my spirit adequately for my life to be an acceptable sacrifice. I feel as though I have worked hard to rid myself of sinful behavior – though I ever fall short of the ideal. I believe I am acting in obedience, though I rely too often on my own will as a “fall back.” When I woke up this morning, at 3 am (because our dogs decided they needed to go “outside”) I was aroused from a dream that I cannot now remember. But verse 10 was on my mind and I remember reciting a couple of times before I went back to bed. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.”
I knew immediately why I was reciting the Psalm, and why I searched for it this morning to reflect upon. In His goodness and wisdom, God has placed amazing, loving individuals in my life who help me see the “growth areas” in myself. God has stripped away so many layers of my resistance to Him. He has taken ownership of so much of my heart and soul. I realize, though, that so much and so many is not enough. He wants it all—every ounce and every square inch; every thought and every dream; every deed and every decision. My husband has commented on my bent toward “road rage” as we’ve commuted together several days. And in a situation recently when a hurtful situation from the past came back to visit me, he reminded me of Romans 12:21 - Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Regarding this same situation, several others were involved with me. Each of us felt we were “right.” Beyond that, some of us felt “wrongly accused.” Aren’t there many psalms about how to deal with that scenario? Didn’t Jesus address it as well? And last night when I told a dear sister in Christ that I felt I needed to get two of the parties involved together, she gently asked me, “Why?” She told me that one of the qualities she loves in me is my ardent desire to have everyone in my world at peace, happy—no dissention or disputes. And she followed up that compliment with a statement that very gently and kindly reminded me that it really is not my business how each of the parties are dealing with the situation.
And I had to ask myself whether I wanted them to work out this discord for the sake of harmony and peace in my life, or was I concerned for their souls. Both, is the answer. But I realized that I will not be broken or contrite or “clean” enough until my only concern is for them alone. So God is at work in yet another area of my being! He loves me so much He won’t just let me be. And God loves you that much too. If you are struggling with something in your life, and you feel overwhelmed by situations in which you find yourself, you may want to ask God to show you the areas of your life that need to be given over to Him. He will take them from you and replace them with an unimaginable peace. He will restore to you the joy of God’s salvation, and uphold you with a willing spirit.
My prayer today is that you ask God to create in you a clean heart. And that you offer up to Him a broken spirit and contrite heart, knowing He will lift you up for your offering.
Mary
