Restoration


Psalm 51:13–19
13Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.
14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
15O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
16For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem;
19then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

In full confession, David humbles himself before the Lord with a truly repentant heart. He even learns a few things along the way and while his actions were despicable God’s forgiveness is complete. David realizes that while his sin was great God’s grace is greater. These last few verses of Psalm 51 indicate a new understanding for David or at least an articulation of something he already knew. He verbalizes the difference between repentant actions and a truly repentant heart. The difference is vast and God is fully aware of where our sacrifice comes from: either a heart of confession or a need to get our sacrificial obligation out of the way. For God that distinction makes all the difference in the world.

Joel 2:12–13
12“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.

In these words, the prophet Joel mirrors the words of David in this Psalm. 16For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

If David could have bought his way out of this mess, he might have done so but God is not satisfied with our meager offerings for our sin. Instead He is looking for a change of heart and that is where David finally arrives. With a broken heart he is finally restored to the Lord and confession has accomplished its work. As we leave this Psalm I give you the words of Dr. Brug as he beautifully summarizes this beautiful song.

This doctrinal psalm is one of the richest and most important of all the psalms. It displays both the extreme depths of sin and the perfect cleansing of forgiveness. It contains petitions and thoughts that we will want to use frequently, both in our public worship services and in our private devotions. May God grant to each of us the repentant spirit and renewed heart that David displays in this psalm.
Brug, J. F. ©1989. Psalms 1–72 (2nd ed., p. 217). Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Pub. House.

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