WORSHIP GOD WITH A CLEANSED HEART!

TRUE JOY IS RESTORED WHEN REPENTENCE IS SINCERE

READ PSALM 51

Psalm 51:13-17

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will return to you.

14 Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God,

O God of my salvation,

and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.

15 O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;

you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 

In the beginning of this psalm, David was recognizing his sin and going to the only One who could ever forgive him. David knew that after his confession and receiving pardon by God’s grace alone, he would have joy again.

The amazing blessing is that after have wandered away from God in sin, now David can be used by God to warn the transgressor and invite them to return to God, too.

David has returned to God with the right attitude: a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart. Any pride or personal justification had to be set aside. David had recognized his sin and how deeply he had offended his God.

God was not looking for external actions; He was not looking for empty rituals, but for a repentant heart that was aware of the offense to the Lord.

We have said it before: God is not looking for repentance caused by the consequences of our sin, but for those who agree that their sin was an act of rebellion against God. Those who truly repent are not giving excuses for their actions, but are taking full responsibility for their transgressions. They know that they need to remit themselves to the grace of God. They must be fully committed to changing their sinful ways.

They see clearly their wretchedness and God’s holiness. They know that a righteous God has every right to punish them, and it’s only His grace that causes Him to forgive them.

Those who are forgiven cannot help but praise God for saving them, and allowing them to come into His presence. It is God who fills their hearts and mouths with praise.

Psalm 51:18-19

18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;

build up the walls of Jerusalem;

19 then will you delight in right sacrifices,

in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

then bulls will be offered on your altar. 

Once the heart is made right, then worship can be brought to God again and He will be pleased.

Dear friends, what a privilege we have, to know the forgiveness of God. This forgiveness truly takes away guilt and produces profound joy. This effective work of God produces a gratitude that cannot be explained. In God’s goodness, He uses us to invite others to Him. Our worship is then pure and pleasing to God.

This is the God whom David worshiped and invited the children of Israel and us to know. How thankful I am that in God’s mercy, He revealed Himself to me, and I know the reality of forgiveness.

May our desire always be to have God show us our sin, and may our repentance then be prompt. We have an advocate, Christ Jesus, who paid for our sins and intercedes for us before the Father. We are truly blessed!

Do not worship God if you are not purified by Him. Do not resist His hand of correction. Do not wander in the darkness and weight of sin. Come to Christ, repent of your sin, make no provision for it. Find true peace and rest in Him. Speak of His wonderful grace, and invite others to know complete forgiveness in Christ. In this way you can worship God with a pure heart!