Psalm 51, verses 14 to 19, the sacrifices of righteousness

 

Psalm 51:14 ¶  Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15  O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 16  For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 18  Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 19  Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

 

David pleads with God to remove the stain of his murder of Uriah the Hittite. Here is a typical Old Testament Israelite making a deal with God. God’s deliverance of David’s guilt will result in David singing God’s praise.

 

No sacrifice nor offering can remediate David’s sins. He deserves to die. But see here what is called for in such an extreme situation in verse 17. Also see this previous verse;

 

Psalm 34:18  The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

 

Do we mourn for our sin and for the sins of mankind in general? Are we not broken-hearted at our failures and weaknesses? Some commentators interpret the following from the Sermon on the Mount as referring to realizing we are morally and spiritually bankrupt before Christ and being exceeding sorrowful for how sin has separated us from God.

 

Matthew 5:3 ¶  Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4  Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

 

What will please God are the sacrifices of righteousness, a humble spirit before Him and doing what is right in all circumstance.

 

Psalm 4:5  Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD.

 

Notice also what we are called to as Christians;

 

Romans 12:1 ¶  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

 

If truth be told we are all guilty of David’s egregious sin. It has been said that our sins put Christ on the Cross and that mankind used Roman government agency to murder Him no less than what David did to Uriah the Hittite, one of the Christ figures of the Old Testament. Old Testament sacrifices of animals will not compensate for our sin but only a living sacrifice to God in Christ to live our lives directed by Him.

 

Romans 10:4  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

 

Philippians 3:9  And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: