Sacrifice
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts [a] ;
you teach [b] me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are [c] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole burnt offerings to delight you;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Bee's Thoughts:
I do not know what to say to the Lord when I read tonight's passage. It's the pray of King David, which is also my prayer too.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
17 The sacrifices of God are [c] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
That's exactly how I prayed one year ago during my times of distress. I asked the Lord to give me a new heart. I knew that He will not forsake me as I cried out to Him.
Dear Lord,
Thank You for hearing my prayers. Thank You for delivering me from my distress. Tonight I still want to pray the same prayer to You. I asked that You hear me one more time.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Tommy's Thoughts:
We sometimes feel stagnant in our faith, we feel weary and discouraged over our constant struggle to stay away from sin but fail. We shy away from God because of our iniquity (v2) and the hopelessness we see in our selves; we may even doubt whether God will ever be able to continue forgiving us again and again. We feel we are so distant from God.
Instead of distancing ourselves further, we need to be like David who cried out to God in true repentance and asking God to restore the joy of his salvation (v12). God do not want us to sin because He knows all sins bring hurt and pain to us and also others. It is impossible to have a close and intimate relationship with God if we still have sin that remains unconfessed.
Although God does not always erase the consequences of our sin but He will restore us to a relationship to Him, cleansing us from within (v7) and filling our hearts and spirits for new thoughts and desires.
Dear Father, forgive me for not keeping to Your commands and often pay more attention to please myself rather than You. Teach me not to take Your forgiveness for granted knowing sinning is against You and Your way of living.
Lord, I pray You will guide me to walk ever closely with You daily, treasuring the joy of my relationship with You and sharing them to those who need Your forgiveness and reconciliation. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
