Psalms 51:15-17
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Tag: God Desires Worship in Spirit and in Truth
Notice the words of Jesus when He was asked by the woman at the well what true worship was and where the place of worship would be:
John 4:21-24
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The woman was deflecting Jesus inquiry into her own life and her own sin. Instead of answering Jesus’ questions she wanted to know about where to worship and how to worship. Jesus answers and provides the same truth that David provides us about worship in this Psalm. God is not looking for a place, style, or actions of worship. God is looking for a heart of worship. You and are to seek God with a broken and contrite heart over our sin and a searching sacrifice of our souls. God does not delight in sacrifice that is not coming from a true heart of worship. David will go on to say that sacrifice and service is important to God, but it is not the thing God wants from us - it is the outcome of our faith toward God. We are not to STOP serving and sacrificing to God. We do not serve and sacrifice because we want to earn God’s favor. We come to God in faith with a broken heart that acknowledges our sin and then we serve and sacrifice to God out of love and thankfulness for His forgiveness. David is confessing his sin in Psalm 51. He has just been found out about his adultery and his murderous coverup. He does not desire to have God favor claiming his obedience and sacrifice - because he is an epic fail as a murderous adultery. He claims God will impart righteousness to Him based upon God’s mercy:
Psalms 32:1-2
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
God delights in our confession of sin and complete reliance on His unmerited favor.
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