1 Have mercy on me, God, according to your faithful love!
Wipe away my wrongdoings according to your great compassion!
2 Wash me completely clean of my guilt;
purify me from my sin!
3 Because I know my wrongdoings,
my sin is always right in front of me.
4 I’ve sinned against you—you alone.
I’ve committed evil in your sight.
That’s why you are justified when you render your verdict,
completely correct when you issue your judgment.
5 Yes, I was born in guilt, in sin,
from the moment my mother conceived me.
6 And yes, you want truth in the most hidden places;
you teach me wisdom in the most secret space.[a]
7 Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean;
wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and celebration again;
let the bones you crushed rejoice once more.
9 Hide your face from my sins;
wipe away all my guilty deeds!
10 Create a clean heart for me, God;
put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!
11 Please don’t throw me out of your presence;
please don’t take your holy spirit away from me.
12 Return the joy of your salvation to me
and sustain me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach wrongdoers your ways,
and sinners will come back to you.
14 Deliver me from violence, God, God of my salvation,
so that my tongue can sing of your righteousness.
15 Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
16 You don’t want sacrifices.
If I gave an entirely burned offering,
you wouldn’t be pleased.
17 A broken spirit is my sacrifice, God.[b]
You won’t despise a heart, God, that is broken and crushed.
Reflection
I find it interesting that on Valentine’s Day the scriptural reading has much to do with the heart. We find our first “heart” reference in verse 10. It reads: Create a clean heart for me, God; put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!
How easily I forget that only God can create a clean heart in me. It is so much relying on God, rather than myself. And not only do I get a clean heart, God wants to put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me! God wants us to have joyful salvation and a willing spirit to sustain me.
We talk about sacrificing something for God during Lent. But this is what God Really wants. Let’s read verse 16: “You don’t want sacrifices. If I gave an entirely burned offering, you wouldn’t be pleased.”
This is what God really wants, “A broken spirit is my sacrifice, God. You won’t despise a heart, God, that is broken and crushed.”
By Rick Reed
For Pondering & Prayer
Sometimes, maybe often times we think we know what God wants. But the reality is God wants our hearts to be broken and crushed…and his.
Dear Lord, please give me a broken and crushed heart. That is the sacrifice you want from us. Amen.
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