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Friday Devo

Scripture Reading:

Psalm 51:10-17
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a loyal spirit within me.
11 Do not banish me from your presence,
and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.
13 Then I will teach your ways to rebels,
and they will return to you.
14 Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;
then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.
15 Unseal my lips, O Lord,
that my mouth may praise you.
16 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
You do not want a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

Commentary from the ESV Study Bible:

51:10-11 The whole tenor of this psalm is that, if strict justice were God’s only consideration, he would have the right to bring dire judgment on those who sin (which includes all of his own people), and that the only possible appeal is to his mercy. The function of the psalm, as a song sung by the entire congregation, is to shape their hearts so that they feel this at the deepest level, lest they ever presume upon God’s grace.
51:14–17 Then I Will Worship Truly. The terms in this section, such as sing aloud (v. 14), declare (v. 15), and sacrifice (vv. 16–17), all point to activities of public worship. The person who has used this psalm to confess his sins and to receive God’s assurance of pardon is the one who can genuinely worship the gracious God of the covenant.
51:14 bloodguiltiness. Probably a reference to the slaying of Uriah (cf. 2 Sam. 12:9). The faithful may not have committed this particular sin, but should instead take heart: if God can forgive David this evil, he can certainly forgive all else!
51:16–17 These verses seem to make sacrifice and burnt offering relatively unimportant for the faithful, even replacing them with the inner disposition (a broken and contrite heart). However, since v. 19 goes on to speak of offering physical sacrifices, it is better to take these verses as implying that the animal sacrifices look to the worshiper offering himself to God (cf. notes on vv. 1–2 and v. 7) as “a living sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1), and without this they forfeit significance.

Study Questions:

  • David wrote this Psalm after he was confronted and called out by the Nathan the Prophet for committing adultery with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of her husband. He is in a place of complete brokenness and repentance before God. It is obvious that his relationship with God was not in a good place, and he made a series of very poor decisions. And now that he's found out, he is turning back to God, repenting, and begging God to restore their relationship and forgive his sins. Maybe you haven't committed sins as life-shattering as these (or maybe you have), but when was the last time you were truly broken over YOUR sin? When was the last time your heart was shattered before an infinitely holy and righteous God over your own sinfulness?

  • The gist of what David is saying about sacrifices is that it's not just about the outward religious activities. Making animal sacrifices for the atonement of sin was a part of their lifestyle and was the way God created for them to be made right with him. It was necessary according to the Law of Moses. But David seems to be suggesting that God looks past all of that and also sees the state of our hearts. It's important to do a heart check every now and again. What does God see when he looks at your motives, intentions and thoughts? Foolish as it may be, many of us try to hide things from God, as we do other people. Take some time today and pray this very prayer of David. You might even open your Bible app and read through the rest of that Psalm and make it your own prayer. Ask God to search you and then turn to him in repentance.

Pray:

  • That our hearts would be broken over our sin and we would be quick to repent. 
  • That we would consistently ask God to search our hearts and expose the things inside of us that don't please him.

This Week's City 7:

Try to commit to memory! 

4. Can a person be good enough to go to heaven? No. Because Jesus rose from the dead proving He is God, I believe a person is saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)

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