Psalm 51:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

NIV: My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

NASB: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise.

CSB: The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.

NLT: The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

KJV: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

NKJV: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.

David could have offered God a thousand sacrifices, but he knew the sacrifices God looks for are a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart. David offered God a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart when he implored God to forgive his sin. Isaiah 57:15 reinforces David's words by quoting God as saying, "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite."

Jesus recounted the story of a tax collector and a Pharisee to illustrate this truth (Luke 18:9–14). The two men entered the temple to pray. The Pharisee's heart was proud. He filled his prayer with boasting about his religious works (Luke 18:11–12), whereas the tax collector was too humble and contrite even to lift his eyes toward heaven. He simply beat his breast and said, "God be merciful to me, a sinner" (Luke 18:13). Jesus stated that the tax collector went home justified, rather than the haughty Pharisee. He concluded: "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 18:14).

Psalm 51:16–19 is the final section of Psalm 51. These verses indicate that God doesn't primarily want sacrifices when someone sins. He accepts and deeply desires a broken spirit and a contrite heart, however. Isaiah 1:18 reinforces David's observation about what is important to God. Isaiah reported that the Lord was tired of hypocritical sacrifices. He refused to accept them, but summoned the people to have a personal relationship with Him, and He would cleanse their sin. David ends his psalm with a prayer for Jerusalem. He recognizes that when the Lord revives Jerusalem, He will accept the people's sacrifices.

This psalm opens with David's plea to God to show him mercy. He asks God to blot out his transgressions, wash his iniquities, and cleanse him from sin. He admits his sinning was against God. He also confesses his human sin nature. David asks God to make him as white as snow by purging him with hyssop. He longs for joy to return to him, but knows he was suffering because God had turned away from him. He pleads with God for a clean heart and a right spirit. He does not want God to cast him aside and remove His Holy Spirit. David longs for a renewal of the joy of his salvation. If cleansing from sin occurred and joy returned to him, David would teach transgressors God's ways, and sinners would be converted. He promises near the end of the psalm to declare God's praise if God would forgive him. He knew it would be futile to offer a sacrifice to God, because God delights in a broken and contrite heart and not in sacrifices offered with an unrepentant heart. David closes the psalm with a prayer for God to bless Jerusalem.

Second Samuel 11—12 provides the sad background for Psalm 51. Instead of being out on the battlefield and leading his troops, David was walking on the roof of his palace. A woman named Bathsheba was taking a bath on a neighboring roof. David lusted for her and had her brought to the palace, where he committed adultery with her. Learning later that she was pregnant, David summoned Uriah, her soldier-husband and one of David's mighty men, to come home from the battlefield. He expected Uriah to have relations with Bathsheba so it would appear that Uriah was the baby's father. But Uriah did not touch Bathsheba, so David launched an alternate plan. He arranged for Uriah to be put on the frontline of battle and be killed. The plan worked, but the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to confront David with his sin. Overcome with guilt, David poured out his heart to the Lord in confession. Psalm 51 records his confession, and Psalm 32 reports the forgiveness he received from the Lord. Even though he was forgiven, David's sins still carried life-ruining consequences.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.