Wait! No Sacrifices Required?
The sacrifices of God are a broken Spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalm 57:17
King David is the author of this psalm. He knows the law. In addition, he knows the sacrifices and rituals outlined in the law. David knows God requires both to atone for each person’s sins. But look at what David says in Psalm 57:16 “For you do not delight in sacrifice otherwise I would give it; you are not pleased with burnt offering.”
David was a man after God’s own heart. He was sinful and had a lust problem, but he desired to follow God and do what was right. He saw how many of the people in his nation went through the rote ritual of offering sacrifices. Their heart was not repentant. They believed if they sinned, they could make a sacrifice, and everything would be made right between themselves and God. Many of the Israelites felt that once they got their obligatory duty out of the way, they could go about their daily lives doing whatever they wanted to do without any regard for God. David knew that attitude was wrong.
In today’s society, some individuals have prayed the prayer of salvation and claim they have accepted Christ but have no desire to live the life Christ calls His children to live. Christ knows that His children are sinners and fail to live up to His standards every day. His true children come before Him and ask forgiveness with a broken heart, a crushed spirit, or both. Those who claim Christ but believe they can do whatever they want because they have prayed the prayer of salvation are like the Hebrews in the Old Testament who saw sacrifices as a ritual through which God must forgive them.
The Hebrews in the Old Testament who made sacrifices as part of their rituals but were not repentant, are just like people in our post modern world who say a quick prayer for salvation, think they’re all set, and then live life on their terms. David, seeing this, addresses the issue of the heart, the internal essence of who we are. He states that above and beyond sacrifices, burnt offerings, and rituals, God looks at the very core of who a man is. When the essence of man is shattered (the Hebrew word for contrite means crushed) because of his wrong, God will not despise him.
It is not enough to mouth words asking Christ to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Without a broken spirit and a crushed heart, they are only meaningless words.