Psalm 51:10-19
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise. For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. By Your favor do good to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem. Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices, In burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar."
Matthew 5:1-13
"When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
I never noticed the similarities between the words of King David, and King Jesus.
David lived under the law, during a time of actual sacrifices of animals on the altar as a way of repentance, obedience and cleansing. Yet, he knew then that what our God truly desired was a pure heart, not sacrifices. He desired "a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart" BEFORE the burnt offering. And it's interesting to me that David came to this conclusion after he murdered Uriah and after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan. He had done some pretty bad stuff, but look at this example of how we can please God with our hearts, even after we have so boldly sinned! What a beautiful mirror this is to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount: poor in spirit, those who mourn, gentle, hungry and thirsty, pure in heart, peacemakers... At first glance these don't all seem to be desirable qualities, but these words describe a heart that David desired and Jesus blessed, because this is the kind Of heart God can use!
I pray this morning that we can all desire these "heart qualities" more. Jesus said blessed are those who ARE this way, and David told us how to get that way--to cry out to God for His mercy and His power to "create, renew, restore, sustain, deliver." It is not within us to live perfect lives. But what hope we have in our merciful Savior!
1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.
Daniel 1:9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him
From the Old Testament to the New, God has been merciful to us, He has welcomed us back when we've strayed and been so faithful to use our broken hearts!
Have a BLESSED day!
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