The Perfect Worship That Pleases God

 

 

 

[Psalm 51]

 

 

In the book Sin and Temptation by Pastor John Owen, it is stated that sin opposes God in four ways:

(1) Sin opposes God by stimulating the lust of our flesh (Galatians 5:17). Our hearts have a secret inclination to do evil. Our hearts are habitually inclined toward evil. Satan uses our fleshly desires to incite sin and encourage evil.

(2) Sin causes strife and disputes, thereby opposing God (Romans 7:23; James 4:1; 1 Peter 2:11). The battle of sin consists of three elements: first, rejecting grace; second, attacking the soul and attempting to take control; and third, confusing emotions.

(3) Sin captures the soul, thus opposing God (Romans 7:23). The concept of being "captured by sin" encompasses four meanings:

  • First, the power of sin is so strong that it binds us as slaves.

  • Second, sin captures us through repeated attempts and successes.

  • Third, the state of being bound is a very miserable state.

  • Fourth, this concept of being captured especially applies to believers, as the unregenerate are never captured by the law of sin.

(4) Sin gradually brings madness, thus opposing God (Ecclesiastes 9:3). Satan fans a small spark into a raging flame. He uses past sins to lead us into greater and greater sins.

Why do we not feel the pain of our sins even when they are exposed by the revelation of God's word? Why do we not feel conviction over our sins? There are two reasons:

  • The first reason is that we love and prefer the world more than God, which has caused our hearts to become numb.

  • The second reason is that we have the mindset of being righteous in our own eyes (Park Yun-Seon). The mindset of being "righteous by ourselves" is:

    1. False,

    2. Pride, thinking we are wiser than God,

    3. A sin that denies the authority of God's word,

    4. A sin that blasphemes the blood of Christ.

In today’s Bible passage, Psalm 51:19, the psalmist David confesses: "Then you will be pleased with righteous sacrifices, with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then they will offer bulls on your altar." The phrase "you will be pleased with a whole burnt offering" teaches us that we must offer perfect worship that pleases God. How can we do this? We must understand what God desires from us when we worship Him. So today, based on the passage we read, I will meditate on one or two things that God desires from us in order to offer perfect worship that pleases Him. Through this, I earnestly pray that all of us may be raised as true worshipers who please God.

First, what God desires from us is “truth in the innermost being.”

Look at Psalm 51:6: “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.” Last Wednesday, as we meditated on Psalm 50, we thought about “hypocrisy.” In that context, we briefly reflected on the hypocrisy of David. David, in his attempt to cover up his sin, sent Uriah to be with Bathsheba, who was pregnant with his child. However, when the faithful Uriah did not go home, David conspired with Joab, the general, to have Uriah killed by the sword of the enemy. Despite all of this, God sent the prophet Nathan to expose David’s sin. God said to David, “You did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, in broad daylight” (2 Samuel 12:12). We may commit sins secretly, but the Holy God is the one who exposes our sins before all people.

When God reveals our hidden sins, what should we do? We must repent of our sins with sincerity from the heart.

(1) We must confess our sins.

Let’s look at verses 3-4 of today’s passage, Psalm 51: “For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done this evil in Your sight…” Also, see 2 Samuel 12:13: “David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’” David confessed his sin to the prophet Nathan, who had pointed it out to him. David began to see his sin from God's perspective. And his confession was, “I have done evil in Your sight.” In other words, David confessed, “Lord, I have done evil in Your eyes.”

Was this easy for David? I believe it was not easy at all. The reason is that after we sin, it is often harder to confess our sins to people than it is to confess them to God, especially when God reveals them. What sins did David commit? Of course, we know that David broke the sixth commandment, committing the “sin of murder”; the seventh, committing the “sin of adultery”; the eighth, committing the “sin of theft”; the ninth, committing the “sin of false testimony”; and the tenth, committing the “sin of coveting.” These are the obvious sins we can think of. But the prophet Nathan pointed out David's sin like this: “Why have you despised the word of the Lord and done evil in my sight?” (2 Samuel 12:9). In other words, David’s sin was “the sin of despising God” (v. 10).

However, David did not stop there. He saw the root of his sin. And so, in verse 5 of Psalm 51, David confessed: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” David saw that from the very beginning of his existence, he was tainted by sin. He saw the deep root of his sin. This, too, was God’s grace. God gave David wisdom (v. 6) to see the deepest reality of his heart (Park Yun-Seon).

(2) We must seek God's mercy and compassion.

Look at verse 1 of today's passage, Psalm 51: "Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions." After committing a sin and confessing it, what we can only rely on is the Lord's lovingkindness and His mercy. This is because, without God's lovingkindness and mercy, we cannot receive forgiveness and be pardoned for our sins. Therefore, like David, we too must cry out, "Have mercy on me, O God."

(3) We must ask God to cleanse us from our sins.

Look at verses 2 and 7 of today's passage, Psalm 51: "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin" (v. 2), "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow" (v. 7). There are two types of repentance: legalistic repentance and evangelical repentance (Park Yun-Seon). Legalistic repentance focuses more on worrying about the punishment for sin than the sin itself, and it is a repentance prayer offered to God out of fear of the consequences. However, evangelical repentance is not concerned about punishment but rather worries about how sin has obscured God's glory, given grounds to speak ill of the Lord, and caused a separation from God (2 Samuel 12:14). David offered evangelical repentance to God. If we look at the terms he used, such as "Blot out my transgressions," "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity," and "Cleanse me from my sin," we can see that David was not asking God to excuse the punishment declared by the prophet Nathan (2 Samuel 12:11-14), but he was pleading with God to cleanse him from the defilement that had separated him from God and hindered his communion with Him (Park Yun-Seon).

We must confess our sins to God with sincerity in our hearts and truly repent. Recently, a pastor of a large church publicly confessed to his congregation (internet) saying, "I committed adultery and thus broke the seventh commandment before God… I spent the last two months in a death-like state," with tears. He also said, "Just as the Lord forgave the adulterous David and the woman caught in adultery, He has forgiven my sins as well." Even though he had been forgiven by God, he confessed that he could not bear the feelings of betrayal and the burden it placed on the congregation.

Secondly, what God desires from us is a "broken heart."

Please look at Psalm 51:17 in the Bible: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” What does the term “broken spirit” mean here? It refers to a “broken and contrite heart.” It signifies the change that occurs in a hard and proud heart, realizing that no one but God can save them (Park Yun-Seon). Therefore, David prayed to God with a broken heart: “O God, my salvation, deliver me from bloodguilt…” (v. 14). A person with a broken heart is one who repents and views his actions as deeply wrong. He no longer feels any importance in himself (Park Yun-Seon). From this point forward, there will be no trace of hypocrisy in him. Thus, David said: “For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings” (v. 16). He realized that God does not desire worship offered in religious hypocrisy. He confesses that God does not want worship given out of habit while hiding one’s sins without genuine repentance. David no longer relied on himself but approached God believing that only He could save him. What was the focus of David's prayer, as he depended completely on God and humbly sought His help?

(1) David asked God, the Creator, to renew a clean heart and a right spirit within him.

Look at verse 10 of Psalm 51: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” David knew that in order not to sin again, there was no other way but for his heart to be recreated. Therefore, he prayed to God for the renewal of his heart. In the midst of this, David also prayed, “renew a steadfast spirit within me,” meaning he asked God for a heart that would firmly trust in the Lord (Park Yun-Seon).

(2) David prayed for God’s presence.

Look at verse 11 of Psalm 51: “Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” David prayed that he would not be separated from God (Park Yun-Seon).

(3) David prayed for restoration.

Look at verse 12 of Psalm 51: “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.” What kind of restoration did David ask for?

(a) First, he asked for the restoration of the joy of salvation (v. 12).

Sin robs us of our joy or happiness. In other words, when we break God's commandments and sin, we lose the true joy that God gives us and are tormented by a sense of guilt. Therefore, after his repentance, David prayed to God to restore the joy of His salvation.

(b) Secondly, he asked for the restoration of service.

Look at verse 13 of Psalm 51: “Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.” After repenting and receiving God’s grace, David vowed to lead others to God (Park Yun-Seon).

(c) Finally, the third restoration David prayed for was the restoration of praise (worship).

Look at verses 14-15 of Psalm 51: “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise.” One of the most important restorations is the restoration of worship and praise.

 

I read in an article discussing an incident where a pastor from a large church committed adultery, and in the article, there was a quote that said: “What is it that God is asking of us in this age? It is not grand church buildings, sophisticated training programs, large events, or excellent talents. What God is asking of us is a broken and contrite heart. God neither sleeps nor slumbers, and He is waiting for the prodigal sons and daughters who have left the Father’s embrace to repent and return” (Internet). What God desires is for us to repent with a broken heart before Him.

In order to offer a perfect worship that pleases God, we need to understand what He expects from us. That is nothing other than “sincerity in the heart” and “a broken spirit.” We must repent of our sins with sincerity in our hearts. Furthermore, we must approach God with a contrite heart. We must ask Him to renew a spirit of honesty within us and also ask for His presence and restoration. We should pray for the restoration of the joy of salvation, the restoration of service, and the restoration of praise (worship).

 

 

 

With sincerity in the heart and a broken spirit, we approach God, desiring to offer Him the perfect worship that He delights in.

 

 

Pastor James Kim
(With the desire to be raised as a worshiper established by the Lord)