Not Sacrifice

Not Sacrifice

For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Psalm 51:16-17

Sacrifices were an integral part of the Old Testament system. These sacrifices were only a means to an end. They were not an end in themselves. As Hebrews says, they could never take away sins. David understood this. He understood that any sacrifice had to be evidence of and accompanied by a heart of sincerity with repentance. Hence he makes the remark in verse 17, ‘The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.‘ Here is the heart of the discussion. When we have sinned against God we cannot fix what is broken by engaging in outward religious exercise. All the church attendance, singing, quoting of Scripture, etc, will not restore our right relationship with God. Outward religious observance is not the same as true heart religion. This is a very real issue for us. We may sin against God and until we come to the point of having ‘a broken and a contrite heart,’ we may continue to engage in all the outward practices of religion. God is not impressed with that. What will bring us to having a ‘broken and a contrite heart?’ A clear sight of Christ will do that for us. As we look clearly at Christ in His state of Sacrifice we realize that it is our sins which put Him there. By our sinfulness, we crucified Christ. The realization of this will break our hearts and draw us out after Him. This, God will not despise.

Our Gracious, Forgiving God
we confess our sin before You.
We rejoice that You are good and ready to forgive
as we come in repentance before You.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning