GOD’S WORD FOR JULY 11~ ~ Psalm 51:17 ~ ~ “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.”

Excerpts from John Piper’s book, “the Pleasures of God”

Characteristics of the upright heart toward God that produces prayers that are a delight to God:

He continues:

The first mark of the upright heart is that it TREMBLES at the Word of the Lord. I get this from Isaiah 66, which deals with this very same problem of some who worship in a way that pleases god and some who worship in a way that doesn’t.

Isaiah 66:3 describes the wicked who bring their sacrifices. “He who slaughters an ox is like him who kills a an; and he who sacrifices a lamb, like him who breaks a dog’s neck.” (wow!)

Their sacrifices are an abomination to God—-on par with murder. Why?

In verse 4, God explains:

“When I called, no one answered, when I spoke, they did not listen.”

THE PEOPLE WERE DEAF TO HIS VOICE, That’s why their sacrifices were an abomination to Him.

But, by contrast, there is another kind of man that God speaks of in verse 2:

“For all those things My hand has made,
And all those things exist,”
Says the Lord.
“But on this one will I look:
On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
And who trembles at My word.”

So the first marks of the upright man is a contrite spirit and one who trembles at God’s word.

These are the people to whom God will look.

David knew this, when he wrote Ps 51:17 (verse of the Day)”The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.”

Also Solomon knew it in 2 Chronicles 7:14 “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

The first thing that makes a prayer acceptable to God, then, is the brokenness and humility of the one who prays: (“HUMBLE THEMSELVES”)

Therefore, the first mark of the upright heart whose prayers please the Lord is also BROKENNESS, CONTRITION, HUMILITY, AND TREMBLING.

In other words, what makes a heart upright and what makes prayers pleasing to God is a FELT AWARENESS OF OUR TREMENDOUS NEED FOR MERCY.

(This is true Christianity in a nutshell, everything else is outward motion. We must KNOW that we need a Savior, and KNOW that Jesus is that Savior.)

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