Text: Psalm 51:10–19
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me with Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise. For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart – These, O God, You will not despise. Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem. Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, With burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.
Devotion
Each believer is weak and sins daily, but sometimes he does worse and grieves God’s Spirit. Watch, dear Christians, and be on guard. Never take sin lightly, for it can become eternal death. But when you fall, then accept correction from God’s Spirit, feel your sin with regret, and go straight to Jesus with honest confession. That’s what God’s true children do. The heart suffers and groans and cannot be still, before it has gotten the Lord’s answer that sin is forgiven. Then the joy of His salvation comes again and with it a willing spirit, which is so necessary to keep faith and work sanctification. When the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, when our heart has righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, when we are certain of God’s good pleasure for us in Christ: then we love Him in return and serve Him with a willing spirit. Only then can we offer the Lord well-pleasing offerings and stand firm in grace.
Whoever has tasted the joy of God’s salvation and daily sits at His table will also draw others to the Lord and offer his heart, his lips, and all that he has to the Lord’s service. When Andrew had found Jesus, he looked for his brother Simon, told him with joy and led him to the Lord (Joh 1:41-43). Whoever converts a sinner saves a soul from death and covers a multitude of sins (Jam 5:20). Promise your God that you will confess Him faithfully and offer Him holy fruit from your lips. But always remember that a heart that is meek, poor in spirit, bruised by sorrow over your own sins and sins of others, is the best sacrifice for Him. Without it He has no pleasure in our words or deeds, but with it they please Him. With a broken heart praying for Zion and Jerusalem, with a willing spirit lovingly sighing for God’s kingdom to come, our poor words and deeds are well-pleasing, rising to heaven as a sweet-smelling sacrifice before the Lord.
Closing Prayer
We pray again: Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me with Your generous Spirit. Keep me in meekness, and make me fervent in love, that I may be to You a well-pleasing offering, and consume myself in Your service. Amen.
Hymn
God gave His Word, the purest,
Which shows us all our sin;
The Spirit us secureth
True knowledge to begin.
How merciful and kind!
Now Jesus we are knowing,
Our hearts with joy are glowing,
When we God’s love do find!
This truth impress upon us,
Into our hearts each day,
That we embrace with fondness
Your truth and holy way!
O may Your precious voice
Within our ears be sounding
Our souls with joy be bounding;
In You we shall rejoice!
Werner: I Kristne som bekjende L 398:2-3 tr. DeGarmeaux;
tune: Von Gott will ich nicht lassen (ELH 465); alternate hymn: Love divine, all love excelling ELH 407:1