Numbers 10:1-11:23
Mark 14:1-21
Psalm 51:1-19
Proverbs 10:31-32
Psalm 51:15 Open my lips, Lord,
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 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
Again, I see "You do not delight in sacrifice". The sacrifice that we are to give is "a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart". Mirriam Webster defines contrite as "feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for improper or objectionable behavior, actions". The Amplified version includes this information to help understand the meaning of this verse.
Psalm 51:17 My [only] sacrifice [acceptable] to God is a broken spirit;
A broken and contrite heart [broken with sorrow for sin, thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.
When we recognize the depth of sin that we have been rescued from our spirits should break. Every one of us should have come to a place where we have reflected on our sinfulness and what it means. I have had that time when I had thought of all my sins and the weight they would have on my eternal life if Jesus had not taken that weight from me. I have been broken and brought to tears of regret and thanksgiving. But now I find I don't spend as much time in confession as I used to. Maybe I have become too comfortable with Jesus' grace. I know that I don't have to keep reviewing all the sins of my past and holding onto the burden of them because they have been forgiven. I know of people who struggle with accepting their ability to be saved because of the depth of their sin even after they give their lives to Jesus. I don't have that struggle. I think my struggle is the opposite direction. I don't think about my sins in a concentrated way at all. When I realize that I am doing or have done something sinful I will acknowledge it and ask for forgiveness to God and when possible, the person that I sinned against but then I let it go. In general, I think that is what we should do because with Jesus we can live in the victory of our salvation. But today I am thinking that there is benefit to remembering the depth of sin that we have come from. To allow that sorrow to change our hearts and humble us and bring us to the foot of the cross in surrender. Once we recognize the depth of our sin if we stop looking at ourselves and then look to Jesus who is greater than all our sins combined, we should be moved so that our mouths will declare His praise. The purpose of our broken and contrite heart is to recognize the stark contract between us and Jesus. His greatness, love, grace, mercy and power is beyond our comprehension and it should bring us to a place of praise, adoration and thanksgiving.
If you are someone who struggles with receiving forgiveness because of the sin in your life, I urge you to stop looking down at all that you have done and look up to all that Jesus has done for you. The greater your sin the greater the grace and the more you have to be thankful for and praise Him for. See it as a blessing because you can better understand the depth of His love. Stop holding onto those things that separated you from God. Open your heart and your hands and let them go and reach for the one who has bridged the gap and given you direct access to God and His grace for eternity. You have gotten to the point of the broken and contrite heart but now you must also open your hand to give your brokenness to Him and open your lips to praise Him.
Praise from our lips can be singing. It can be reading out loud the words of a psalm, hymn or contemporary song. It can be speaking out loud of the greatness of God and the thoughts about Him that come to your mind as you look at the glory of His creation or think about all that He has done. If you are someone who struggles with opening your lips in praise to God be it in singing or speaking words of praise to Him start with reflecting on your sin till it breaks your heart and brings you to repentance then realize it's not about you it's about Him and His greatness, power, love, mercy, grace, and sovereignty. Then your contrite heart will be filled with praises for Him. Let your sacrifice of a broken spirit and contrite heart become a sacrifice of praise. (Hebrews 13:15Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.) Lift your eyes and lift your voice to Him. And if you can't bring yourself to it, ask as the Psalmist did "Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise." He will enable you to do it.
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