Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 51:17
The sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
17. The sacrifices of God ] Such as He desires and approves.
A broken spirit and a contrite heart are those in which sorrow and affliction ( Psa 51:8) have done their work, and the obstinacy of pride has been replaced by the humility of penitence. Cp. Psa 34:18; Isa 57:15.
The P.B.V. a troubled spirit follows the Vulg. spiritus contribulatus, but introduced a distinction which does not exist in the Heb.
thou wilt not despise ] Though David had despised the word of the Lord (2Sa 12:9), he is confident that God will not despise him. Cp. Psa 102:17; Joh 6:37.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The sacrifices of God – The sacrifices which God desires and approves; the sacrifices without which no other offering would be acceptable. David felt that that which he here specified was what was demanded in his case. He had grievously sinned; and the blood of animals offered in sacrifice could not put away his sin, nor could anything remove it unless the heart were itself penitent and contrite. The same thing is true now. Though a most perfect sacrifice, every way acceptable to God, has been made for human guilt by the Redeemer, yet it is as true as it was under the old dispensation in regard to the sacrifices there required, that even that will not avail for us unless we are truly penitent; unless we come before God with a contrite and humble heart.
Are a broken spirit – A mind broken or crushed under the weight of conscious guilt. The idea is that of a burden laid on the Soul until it is crushed and subdued.
A broken and a contrite heart – The word rendered contrite means to be broken or crushed, as when the bones are broken, Psa 44:19; Psa 51:8; and then it is applied to the mind or heart as that which is crushed or broken by the weight of guilt. The word does not differ materially from the term broken. The two together constitute intensity of expression.
Thou wilt not despise – Thou wilt not treat with contempt or disregard. That is, God would look upon them with favor, and to such a heart he would grant his blessing. See the notes at Isa 57:15; notes at Isa 66:2.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.
A broken and a contrite heart
What is a broken heart? We use the expression to set forth the effects of heavy affliction and sorrow. And so here, the broken heart tells of deep sorrow on account of our Sin. Before, it had hope for itself; now it has none, and, thus broken, it is offered with shame and grief. Before, it could listen to the truths of the Gospel unmoved, but now it quivers with emotion. The same wind which moves violently the waters of the lake of Gennesaret is said to leave unruffled those of the Dead Sea. So the man may have been at one time insensible, but he is far from that now.
I. Such broken and contrite heart is a sacrifice of God. Men think it is the price which they pay for forgiveness, and they do not see why it is necessary that Christ should die. But debts cannot be cancelled by mere regret, and the sacrifice of the broken heart always follows, never precedes, the application to the heart of the sacrifice of Christs blood. Whenever Christ saves a sinner He invariably breaks his heart. The same cross which sets him free from the penalty of the law, sets him free also from the obduracy of his own nature; and these two deliverances always go together, and we can never be sure that we have the one unless we have the other.
II. It is an offering which God does not despise. He might have done so, and it is a wonder that He does not. Text implies this, and thankfulness and confidence.
III. But ungodly men despise it. Let them not think they will always feel as they do now. They would rather be detected in crime than in sorrow for it. But God can break their heart. At times He does so, by His word, mightily applied, or by terrible sorrow; and certainly by death. The only gift of God to a lost sinner is the gift of an insensibility unknown before. (J. A. Alexander, D. D.)
Wherein the real sacrifice and service of God consists
David and other Old Testament saints knew well that it was not in ceremonial observances, but in spiritual service.
I. Gods desire and search is after the heart, the soul of man. Our human parental heart teaches us this. Do we not desire our childrens hearts? And so with God; He wants His children back, and hence He so values the first returning relenting thought.
II. Wherefore this is so. All men are sinners, not in the same form, but in the possession of the heart of evil. But see the great change which is wrought when the soul is turned to God. God is revealed to the soul. Conviction of sin follows. We see our sin in the light of Gods goodness, and the vision of that goodness now waiting to be gracious, still further subdues the heart.
III. This new state of heart will be permanent, and will be seen in trust, in humility, in thankfulness, in consecration. (Watson Smith.)
Brokenness of heart
I. What it means.
1. It consists in a quickness of sense and apprehensiveness. A broken spirit is a sensible spirit; it presently discerns what is amiss, either in it, or towards it. As a broken bone or joint, it presently feels the least annoyance that is; even so likewise does a broken heart. That heart which is truly contrite and broken, it is sensible of the least grievance that may be; and this whether in regard of sin, or in regard of punishment,
(1) In regard of sin first, it is very quick and sensible here; those whose hearts are hardened and obdurate, they can commit one sin upon another, and yet never be affected with it, or lay it to heart; but those which are broken, and Be tender-spirited, the least miscarriage that troubles them, and goes to their souls, they are humbled, not only for greaser sins, but also for smaller infirmities; and not only for more notorious practices, but likewise for failings in duties themselves; and not only for outward and notorious miscarriages, which come into all mens view, but even also for the secretest obliquities and deflections of the inward man.
(2) So in regard of punishment also. Broken hearts and contrite spirits tremble at the very shak-ings of the rod. A wise man, that is, one spiritually wise, which has true grace and godliness in him, and has a principle of spiritual life, such an one is very sensible of judgment.
2. It consists in a pliableness and fashionableness of heart and spirit; a hard heart is capable of no impression; ye cannot work it, or frame it to anything; but a broken heart ye may mould it in any way, and turn it whithersoever ye please. And this is another thing which is considerable in it: it is such a heart as yields to all Gods dealings and workings with it, to His Word, and to His Providence, and that in the several dispensations of it, it is pliable to everything.
II. The reason why the scripture does so much press this upon us as that sacrifice which is most acceptable to God.
1. It signifies the person in whom it is to be subjected to God, and brought in obedience to Him. A man may offer bodily sacrifice, and perform outward duties to God, and yet stand aloof from Him, and have his heart still reserved to himself; but now, when it is once broken and contrite, it then stoops and gives itself up to Gods disposing; and this is that which God does mainly look after in those that come to Him, He desires still to have the better of them, and to have their spirits brought in order to Him, which is all in all in them; this is that which God calls for (Providence 23:16). Now, this is never done by us till it be in some manner broken and bruised in us; because till then, we shall be apt to rest upon our own bottom, and to subsist wholly in ourselves, and some worth of our own.
2. It is that which makes the best amends for all the sins which are committed by us. The breaking of our hearts, it best satisfies for the breaking of Gods laws; not as if thereby we did indeed make satisfaction to Gods justice (which is only done by the blood of Christ), but it is that which does carry the best shadow of compensation with it.
3. A broken heart is most desired, as that which makes the best improvement of all Gods providences and dispensations, etc. This makes us more thankful for mercies, and this makes us more corrigible under afflictions. (Thomas Horton, D. D.)
What does God require?–Consider the text
I. As setting before us most important truth–that God delights not in sacrifice or burnt-offering, but in the principles and feelings of sincere and heartfelt piety.
1. It is established by every correct view of the Divine character.
(1) God is a Spirit. Nothing can be acceptable to Him, as such, but spiritual service, the worship of the soul.
(2) God is Lord of all. He made, preserves, and governs all; and whatever we present is first His own.
(3) He is a God of love. He delighteth not to impoverish but to enrich His creatures.
2. It is illustrated by the great facts of revelation, and reflects on them, in return, a correspondent illustration and beauty.
(1) Sacrifices were designed not to relieve the offender from the compunction and penitence naturally arising from the remembrance of his faults, by the easy substitution of a trifling mulet instead of a deep and heartfelt contrition, but to render that compunction and penitence more solemn and more lively; to impress those feelings of contrition more awfully upon the soul by a most vivid and affecting exhibition of the just desert of sin. When he beheld the dying victim whom he had made his substitute, he was there to discern the fearful extent of that condemnation he had merited, and thus, humbled and sorrowful, was to acknowledge and bewail his misery, as exposed to the righteous indignation of a just and holy God.
(2) If in the sacrifices under the law it was not the mere pangs or death of the victim, but the moral dispositions with which it was presented, that God delighted in; if it was not in the mere punishment of sin, but its effect upon the conscience and the heart, that God took pleasure; then, in the sacrifice of Christ, we conceive this grand principle more abundantly established. And, oh, how full of a humbling and holy joy is the doctrine we have now endeavoured to explain, when we behold the necessity of our punishment for sin thus awfully manifested, and yet the fear of its endurance done away for ever by the offering of the Lamb of God!
II. As exhibiting the proper influence of this great truth upon the feelings of a humble and penitent mind.
1. How forcibly does this language express that exalted estimate of the worth of pardon, which will ever be cherished by those who sincerely repent!
2. How strikingly it exhibits the penitents humble sense of utter helplessness and incapacity for any service or offering of his own to procure the invaluable blessing!
3. How beautifully does the text describe a simple and grateful reliance upon the freeness of Divine mercy! Where is the man that weeps when no eye sees him, for the defilement of his degenerate nature? Let him not despair. Let him return unto the Lord. Let him lay his hand upon the great propitiation, and believe, and live for ever! (R. S. McAll, LL. D.)
Repentance after conversion
I. Let us consider what this sacrifice is. It is a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart.
1. If you and I have a broken spirit, all idea of our own importance is gone. What is the use of a broken heart? Why, much the same as the use of a broken pot, or a broken jug, or a broken bottle! Men throw it on the dunghill. Hence David says, A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise, as if he felt that everybody else would despise it. Now, do you feel that you are of no importance? Admire the grace of God to you, and marvel at it in deep humiliation of spirit. That is a part of the sacrifice that God will not despise.
2. Next, if you and I have a broken and a contrite heart, it means that frivolity and trifling have gone from us. A broken spirit is serious, and solemn, and in earnest.
3. A broken spirit is one out of which hypocrisy has gone. Reveal yourselves unto yourselves, and so reveal yourselves unto your God.
4. A broken spirit signifies that now all the secrets and essences of the spirit have flowed out. There is much of religion, now-a-days, that is very superficial, it is all on the surface; a very small quantity of gospel paint, with just a little varnish of profession, will go a very long way, and look very bright. But broken hearts are not like that; with broken hearts the hymn is a real hymn, the prayer is a real prayer, the hearing of sermons is earnest work, and the preaching of them is the hardest work of all. Oh, what a mercy it would be if some of you were broken all to pieces! There are many flowers that will never yield their perfume till they are bruised. Even the generous grape lets not its juice flow forth till it is trodden under foot of men.
II. Let us offer the sacrifice. Come, let us mourn a while on account of our past sin; we will do so from several points of view.
1. First, let us deeply regret that we have sinned against so good a God. Shall we not feel within our hearts a burning indignation against sin, because it is committed against so holy, so good, so glorious a being as the infinitely-blessed God?
2. Let us mourn to think that we have offended against so excellent and admirable a law.
3. Let us grieve that we have sinned against a Saviours love. Those hands, those feet, have saved me, yet I nailed them there. That opened side is the refuge of my guilty spirit, yet I made that fearful gash by my sin.
4. Think of our sins against the Holy Spirit. O my soul, how could]st thou ever grieve Him? How couldst thou ever have resisted that best and tenderest Friend? I do not ask you to torture yourselves, but I do invite you now to indulge the joyful grief of sweet heavenly penitence as you remember the love of the Spirit.
5. Let us set our sin in the light of Gods countenance.
6. I want you to set sin in the light of your marvellous experiences. Wonders of grace have been ours!
7. Think of the injury you have done to others by your example. Whatever any of us do, we are sure to have some who will copy us; it cannot be avoided. This thought has a sharp sting in it for any who, by word or by example, have taught others to do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord.
8. Think of all the opportunities that we lose whenever we fall into sin. I do repent of sin unfeignedly because it has hindered my progress. What a preacher I might have been! Oh, what winners of souls you might have become by this time! (C. H. Spurgeon.)
To the broken-hearted
I. The broken heart.
1. Renounces all idea of merit, and seeks alone for mercy (Psa 51:1).
2. Will always feel its sins to be peculiarly its own (Psa 51:2).
3. Will make full confession of sin (Psa 51:3).
(1) Without excuse.
(2) In the plainest language possible.
4. Mourns most over the Godward aspect of sin (Psa 51:4).
5. Will never cavil with God about the deserved punishment (Psa 51:4).
6. Will mourn its general depravity (Psa 51:5).
7. Will always be as anxious for purity as for pardon (Psa 51:7).
8. Is not a despairing heart (Psa 51:9).
9. Is an agonized heart (Psa 51:8).
II. A broken heart is not despised by God. We have His royal word for it (Isa 66:2). I know that Christ will never despise it, and that for a very good reason. He has suffered from it Himself. You say, Ah, but mine is broken on account of sin: His was not. Was it not? It was broken by the unutterable horror of having sin imputed to Him, and occupying the sinners place. Thy pangs, thy sorrows, thy griefs, thine unutterable longings for the light of the Fathers face–all these are known unto thy Saviour. He will not despise thee. I am sure He will not, because it was He who broke thy heart. It would be despising His own handiwork were He to reject a contrite spirit. It would be casting on one side that which He hath Himself made. (A. G. Brown.)
The broken heart
I. In what a broken heart consists. It is in itself a state where the mind is rendered susceptible of deep spiritual feeling–that feeling being mainly grief and sorrow.
II. How a broken heart is produced.
1. The Agent. You must remember that the state we are describing never can be supposed to originate in any human or finite power whatever. It is not, for example, produced by the force of instruction, whether administered in juvenile or in riper years. It is not produced by processes of personal reflection; and it is not produced by movements of the natural conscience. We do not deny that they do sometimes appear to possess influences very similar to the influences of religion; and we are aware how conscience, especially under particular circumstances, occasionally becomes lashed and roused into such a state of alarm and accusing energy, that its awakenings are not at all distinguishable from the impulses of veritable and substantial piety. But yet, after all, the appearances are deceitful, and the results are impotent. The heart of stone, if we may use such a figure, is, as it were, only shifted in its position–that change of position rendering the moral frame uneasy and disturbed. The substance of the heart itself yet remains unpenetrated and untransmuted, and the truth remains, that were man left to himself, and to beings like himself, never would he know and feel what real contrition is. After this limitation of human agency, we are prepared to determine that the production of this state is to be ascribed exclusively to the supreme power of the Divine Spirit.
2. This, then, is the Agent in the production of the state we have noticed. We must also observe the instrumentality which the Agent employs. And the Divine Spirit always operates upon the mind of man by an instrumentality which is precisely adapted to its nature; we mean the Word of truth, as it reveals the character, the claims, and the procedure of God, along with the character, the duties, and the prospects and destinies of man. And especially as it sets forth the love of the Lord Jesus Christ on behalf of sinners. This prominency will be found distinctly ascribed to it by the manner in which it constituted the one grand topic of inspired and apostolic ministry in primitive times.
III. Why a broken heart is commended. We are to commend as precious and valuable the broken heart.
1. Because it is the state by which alone man can be saved from everlasting ruin.
2. It introduces to the enjoyment of all spiritual blessings. (James Parsons.)
The true oblation
In the temple of Israel there were two altars: the first, the great altars of burnt-offering. It was the altar of atonement, the only one in all the world on which God looked down with approval. At its base flowed the blood of every victim that was slain. On its broad bosom it received, and with its fiery breath it consumed, the holocausts and hecatombs of the thousands of Judah. But within the holy place was another altar; it was the altar of incense, fit representative of an order of sacrifices that were not expiatory, but oblations. They were not for the purpose of making atonement and seeking reconcilation, but for expressing the consecration to God of the redeemed soul. And the acceptableness of such oblation was expressed by the offering of the fragrant incense that was burnt upon that altar. Now, it is of this second class of sacrifices that the psalmist is speaking in our text. He is referring not to the sacrifices of expiation, but of oblation. The sinner is already pardoned, the atoning sacrifice has already been accepted, and he approaches the golden altar, not to deprecate worth or to plead for pardon, but as a forgiven sinner to offer on this altar the oblation of his gratitude and devotion, the love which wells up with overflowing fulness in a heart redeemed from sin. Now, looking at this sacrifice, we note–
I. The spirituality of the service which God requires. That which is to be laid upon His altar is not some material gift, however costly, but an offering of the spirit.
II. In the sacrifices of God the heart constitutes its very essence. Gods religion is pre-eminently one of love. Hence, the true oblation can only be of love, the only true sacrifice that of the heart. Contrast the sacrifices on the great brazen altar and those on the altar of incense. That holy place was the sanctuary of forgiven hearts, the retreat of those whose sins had been put away by the expiation offered on the altar without. Then are we taught that it is the heart which God demands as an oblation upon His altar. Only love will satisfy love.
III. But the heart must be broken and contrite. This is one reason why the way to the altar of incense is by that of expiation, that men may learn the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and look upon Him whom they have pierced, and mourn for their sin. This it is which makes it so hard for man to lay upon this altar the acceptable sacrifice. If there were no demand for repentance and confession, no need for such self-humbling as in the dust, man would readily come. But only the broken and contrite heart will God accept, or ought He to accept. For such should be our posture before God. Not that of pride, but of deep humility. (T. D. Witherspoon, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit] As my crimes are such as admit of no legal atonement, so thou hast reserved them to be punished by exemplary acts of justice, or to be pardoned by a sovereign act of mercy: but in order to find this mercy, thou requirest that the heart and soul should deeply feel the transgression, and turn to thee with the fullest compunction and remorse. This thou hast enabled me to do. I have the broken spirit, ruach nishbarah; and the broken and contrite heart, leb nishbar venidkeh. These words are very expressive. shabar signifies exactly the same as our word shiver, to break into pieces, to reduce into splinters; and dakah, signifies to beat out thin, – to beat out masses of metal, c., into laminae or thin plates. The spirit broken all to pieces, and the heart broken all to pieces, stamped and beaten out, are the sacrifices which, in such cases, thou requirest and these “thou wilt not despise.” We may now suppose that God had shone upon his soul, healed his broken spirit, and renewed and removed his broken and distracted heart; and that he had now received the answer to the preceding prayers. And here the Psalm properly ends; as, in the two following verses, there is nothing similar to what we find in the rest of this very nervous and most important composition.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The sacrifices: this is instead of or of more value than many sacrifices.
Of God; which God in such cases as mine requires, and will accept; in which sense we read of the work of God, Joh 6:28.
A broken and a contrite heart, i.e. a heart deeply afflicted and grieved for sin, humbled under the sense of Gods displeasure, and earnestly seeking and willing to accept of reconciliation with God upon any terms. See Isa 57:15; 61:1; 66:2; Mat 11:28. This is opposed to that hard or stony heart, of which we read so oft, which signifies a heart insensible of the burden of sin, stubborn and rebellious against God, imminent and incorrigible.
Thou wilt not despise, i.e. thou dost highly approve; as such negative phrases oft signify, as hath been formerly proved.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
The sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit,…. That is humbled under a sense of sin; has true repentance for it; is smitten, wounded, and broken with it, by the word of God in the hand of the Spirit, which is a hammer to break the rock in pieces; and that not merely in a legal, but in an evangelical way; grieving for sin as committed against a God of love; broken and melted down under a sense of it, in a view of pardoning grace; and mourning for it, while beholding a pierced and wounded Saviour: the sacrifices of such a broken heart and contrite spirit are the sacrifices God desires, approves, accepts of, and delights in;
a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise; but regard, and receive with pleasure; see Ps 102:17; the Lord binds up and heals such broken hearts and spirits, Ps 147:3; he is nigh to such persons, looks upon them, has respect unto them, and comes and dwells among them, Ps 34:18.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. He had shown that sacrifices have no such efficacy in procuring the Divine favor as the Jews imagined; and now he declares that he needed to bring nothing whatever to God but a contrite and humbled heart. Nothing more is necessary, on the part of the sinner, than to prostrate himself in supplication for Divine mercy. The plural number is used in the verse to express more forcibly the truth, that the sacrifice of repentance is enough in itself without any other. Had he said no more than that this kind of sacrifice was peculiarly acceptable to God, the Jews might easily have evaded his argument by alleging that this might be true, and yet other sacrifices be equally agreeable in his sight; just as the Papists in our own day mix up the grace of God with their own works, rather than submit to receive a gratuitous pardon for their sins. In order to exclude every idea of a pretended satisfaction, David represents contrition of heart as comprehending in itself the whole sum of acceptable sacrifices. And in using the term sacrifices of God, he conveys a tacit reproof to the proud hypocrite, who sets a high value upon such sacrifices as are of his own unauthorised fancy, when he imagines that by means of them he can propitiate God. But here a difficulty may be started. “If the contrite heart,” it may be said, “hold a higher place in the estimation of God than all sacrifices, does it not follow that we acquire pardon by our penitence, and that thus it ceases to be gratuitous?” In reply to this, I might observe, that David is not speaking at this time of the meritorious condition by which pardon is procured, but, on the contrary, asserting our absolute destitution of merit by enjoining humiliation and contrition of spirit, in opposition to everything like an attempt to render a compensation to God. The man of broken spirit is one who has been emptied of all vain-glorious confidence, and brought to acknowledge that he is nothing. The contrite heart abjures the idea of merit, and has no dealings with God upon the principle of exchange. Is it objected, that faith is a more excellent sacrifice that that which is here commended by the Psalmist, and of greater efficacy in procuring the Divine favor, as it presents to the view of God that Savior who is the true and only propitiation? I would observe, that faith cannot be separated from the humility of which David speaks. This is such a humility as is altogether unknown to the wicked. They may tremble in the presence of God, and the obstinacy and rebellion of their hearts may be partially restrained, but they still retain some remainders of inward pride. Where the spirit has been broken, on the other hand, and the heart has become contrite, through a felt sense of the anger of the Lord, a man is brought to genuine fear and self-loathing, with a deep conviction that of himself he can do or deserve nothing, and must be indebted unconditionally for salvation to Divine mercy. That this should be represented by David as constituting all which God desires in the shape of sacrifice, need not excite our surprise. He does not exclude faith, he does not condescend upon any nice division of true penitence into its several parts, but asserts in general, that the only way of obtaining the favor of God is by prostrating ourselves with a wounded heart at the feet of his Divine mercy, and supplicating his grace with ingenuous confessions of our own helplessness.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Psa 51:17. The sacrifices of God, &c. The sacrifices of God are either, such as were fit to be offered to God in consequence of such grievous offences as David had committed, or such as God would regard, or as could be in any degree available to secure his forgiveness through the alone merit of the great Atonement. These sacrifices were a broken spirit, or a broken and contrite heart. The expressions mean in general a mind greatly depressed, humbled, and almost overwhelmed with affliction and grief, of whatever kind, or whencesover they arise. Psa 34:17-19.; whether from poverty, as Psa 74:21; Psa 109:16 or banishment, Psa 147:2-3.; or captivity or imprisonment, Isa 61:1.; or from moral and religious causes, as in the place before us. For David unquestionably means by it, that deep sense of his offence, that affecting concern and grief of heart for the guilt he had contracted, which made him humble himself before God, and take to himself the shame which was his due; filled him with terror lest he should be deserted of God; and rendered him incapable of possessing himself in peace, till God should mercifully restore him to his favour. And it may be observed, that the second word nidkeh, which we render contrite, denotes the being bruised, or broken to pieces, as a thing is broken and bruised in a mortar: comp. Num 11:8 and therefore, in the moral sense, signifies such a weight of sorrow, as must wholly crush the mind, without some powerful and seasonable relief. Such a broken and contrite spirit, upon account of sins so deeply aggravated and heinous as David’s were, was the only sacrifice which he possibly could offer to God, and which he knew God would not despise; i.e. would graciously regard and accept, through the merit of the grand Sacrifice. Religious men argued from the infinite goodness of God, and the promises he made to his repentant returning people, that he would forgive, upon a sincere repentance, even those more aggravated sins to which the law of Moses denounced death, and for the expiation of which it had appointed no sacrifices of atonement whatsoever. I cannot omit even Mr. Boyle’s remarks upon this head: “David’s amour with the wife of Uriah,” says he, “and the orders he gave to destroy her husband, are two most enormous crimes; but he was so grieved for them, and shewed forth so admirable a repentance, that this is not the passage in his life wherein he contributes the least to the instruction and education of the faithful. We therein learn the frailty of the saints; and it is a precept of vigilance; we therein learn in what manner we ought to lament our sins; and it is an excellent model.” Let me just add, that the wisdom and equity of the law of Moses evidently appears, in that it appointed no sacrifices to atone for such crimes; the pardoning of which would have been inconsistent with the peace and safety of civil society; such as those which David laments in this Psalm, murder and adultery. Here, the punishment prescribed by the law being death, David had no other way of escaping it than by the undeserved mercy of God: God was pleased to extend this mercy to him, to shew how acceptable the sinner’s unfeigned repentance will be, through the mediation of Christ, whatever be the nature and aggravation of his offences. And if we learn from hence what the Scripture calls the deceitfulness of sin, to be cautious of the first beginning of it, and not to indulge those sensual appetites, which, when given way to, draw men insensibly into crimes that they would once have trembled at the thoughts of committing; we shall make the best and wisest improvement of this melancholy part of David’s history, and be real gainers by his sins and sorrows. Chandler.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Ver. 17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit ] i.e. Such a heart as lieth low, and heareth all that God saith; such a sacrifice or service as is laid on the low altar of a contrite heart, which sanctifieth the sacrifice (Mr Abbot); such a person as with a self-condemning, self-crucifying, and sin-mortifying heart, humbly and yet believingly maketh out for mercy and pardon in the blood of Christ, this, this is the man that God expects, accepts, and makes great account of.
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
sacrifices. Plural of majesty = the great sacrifice. Compare Isa 57:16; Isa 66:2.
not despise. Figure of speech Tapeinosis, meaning that God will do infinitely more than words can express.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
sacrifices: Psa 107:22, Mar 12:33, Rom 12:1, Phi 4:18, Heb 13:16, 1Pe 2:5
a broken spirit: Psa 34:18, Psa 147:3, 2Ki 22:19, Isa 57:15, Isa 61:1-3, Isa 66:2, Eze 9:3, Eze 9:4, Eze 9:6, Mat 5:3, Luk 18:11-14
thou: Psa 22:24, Psa 102:17, 2Ch 33:12, 2Ch 33:13, Amo 5:21, Luk 7:39-50, Luk 15:2-7, Luk 15:10, Luk 15:21-32
Reciprocal: Exo 37:22 – beaten work Lev 4:31 – a sweet Lev 7:3 – General Lev 9:10 – the fat Lev 23:32 – afflict Num 29:17 – General Deu 33:19 – they shall 1Sa 15:22 – Hath the Lord 2Ch 34:27 – thine heart Job 42:6 – I Psa 138:6 – Though Son 8:1 – yea Jer 7:22 – nor Jer 44:10 – humbled Joe 2:13 – rend Mat 12:20 – bruised Luk 4:18 – to heal Luk 7:38 – weeping Joh 4:24 – must
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit.
Psa 51:17 (Prayer Book Version)
Notice one or two of those accepted sacrifices which from time to time have been set up in our world, and which the Holy Spirit has recorded for our humiliation, our comfort, and our happiness.
I. The repentance of David was the repentance of a fallen child of God.If we can say that Davids confession was the cause of his forgiveness, in a truer sense we may say Davids forgiveness was the cause of his repentance. It was none other than the fountain of Gods forgiving love that opened the fountain of a penitent spirit.
II. The case of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, was as dissimilar to that of David as it is possible for the manifestation of the same grace to be in two places.Manasseh was a dissolute, godless man for more than half the years of his life. David was aroused by a voice, Manasseh by an iron chain. Out of the depths he cried to God. Sorrow made him acquainted with himself; prayer made him acquainted with God.
III. The history of the Ninevites stands out with this signalising mark, that our Lord Himself adduced it as the very standard of true repentance, by which others at the last great day shall be measured and condemned.The distinguishing feature in their repentance was that it was national.
IV. Mary was saved at Jesus feet; Peter by a look from Jesus eye.With each God deals separatelyas He pleases, and as each requires. But in all sin is the parent of the sorrow, sorrow is the parent of the joy, and joy is the parent of holiness. Grace and the God of grace are the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, all in all.
Rev. James Vaughan.
Illustration
I would cherish the sense of sins ugliness. Here is something directly opposed to the Divine nature which has been implanted within me. Here is something which prevents and interrupts my obedience to the Divine will. Here is something which breaks my fellowship with my Divine Friend. Ah! sin is hateful and loathsome. I would cherish, too, the sense of my helplessness when it confronts me. With all the knowledge I have gained of Christ, with all the love I feel for Him, with all the zeal I throw into His service, I cannot rid myself of His adversary and mine. So my heart is humbled and broken. Yet One there is Who can roll the strangling load from me. I praise God for Him.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
51:17 The sacrifices of God [are] a {o} broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
(o) Which is a wounding of the heart, proceeding from faith, which seeks God for mercy.