Psalm 51:17

Psalm 51:17

A broken spirit

Well, there is no Tabernacle in the wilderness for us is there? We have no Temple Mount and no soaring edifice dedicated to the glory of God or, even if we do, He is not in it! There are no ceremonial practices that will draw us nearer to Him and no hand-made artifacts that represent His glory and splendour. I’m talking about candlesticks and altars and lavers. What can you and I bring to the Lord that will please Him? What can we do that will be the equivalent of the ancient practices? How do we approach this Almighty Being we call God if we have no tangible means of doing so? 

In this verse David gives us an answer; a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart are not despised by the Lord. He may turn His nose up at the relics of religion, but He never spurns the humble hearts of His worshippers. Is He so arrogant that He desires us to be broken and to come crawling to Him on begging knees? No, of course not! What He requires is that we lay aside our egos and our strategies and our efforts to impress Him. All He seeks is willing obedience, a recognition of our desperate need and a dependence that comes from a proper view of ourselves as destitute creatures. When we lay aside self, we are available to be filled with Him. When we recognise our sinfulness, the door is open to bask in His glorious forgiveness and grace. Our brokenness is His opportunity, to rebuild, to reshape and remake us into the people we should be. Hallelujah!

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