A Contrite Heart
The
Hebrew introduction for Psalm 51 tells us that this is “A
Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to
Bathsheba.” King David’s incident with Bathsheba is a dark moment in
his life and reveals to us the depths to which sin can drive an otherwise godly
man. David’s sins in this moment included pride, lust, adultery, deception, and
murder. Truly a dark chapter in his life. We see from this that David was a
sinful man, just like you and me. After
being “found out” by Nathan the Prophet, David confessed and repented of his
sin. In Psalm 51, with a deeply penitent heart, David pleads to God for the
remission of his sins.
David was a great
sinner, a human being just like all of us, capable of being enticed by the
lusts of his flesh. But, at the same time, he was truly a man after God’s
heart. Deep down, far below his sinful desires, he longed to do God’s will and
was grieved when confronted with his failure.
A person after God’s
heart loves the things God loves and the ways He prescribes. Though he may deviate
from those ways at times, he will return—for God will not let him rest in his
sin. All true children of God will be called back to Him when they wander.
David’s heart was
truly broken over his sin and he came to God here in true heartfelt repentance.
He mentions his contrite heart in verse 17. To be “contrite” before God means
that we bow down with the awareness of our
spiritual bankruptcy, our inner spirit is crushed with its guilt, we have
genuine and deep sorrow for how we have offended our loving God, and we have a
determined desire to do differently. A contrite heart does not seek to fool God
or others, nor to rationalize or excuse our sin. A contrite heart produces true
repentance. As with David, we don’t ask
God to ignore or disregard our sin.
Instead, we admit our sin and plead for God to have mercy according to
His “abundant mercy.”
When
we become aware of our sins, iniquities, and transgressions we need to know that
God isn’t interested in empty apologies and He doesn’t want our promises
to do better. God
desires a broken and contrite heart which is the true sacrifice of one who
determines to turn from sin, to forsake sin, and to abandon it.
David sinned greatly
and repented greatly. So will all who love God.
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