Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
Sermons
A Broken and a Contrite HeartJ. A. Alexander, D. D.Psalm 51:17
Brokenness of HeartThomas Horton, D. D.Psalm 51:17
Repentance After ConversionPsalm 51:17
The Broken HeartJames Parsons.Psalm 51:17
The True OblationT. D. Witherspoon, D. D.Psalm 51:17
To the Broken-HeartedA. G. Brown.Psalm 51:17
What Does God Require? -- Consider the TextR. S. McAll, LL. D.Psalm 51:17
Wherein the Real Sacrifice and Service of God ConsistsWatson Smith.Psalm 51:17
A Petition and an ArgumentPsalm 51:1-19
Blot Out My TrangressionsAndrew Murray.Psalm 51:1-19
David's RepentanceJ. S. Macintosh, D. D.Psalm 51:1-19
God's Former Dealings a Plea for MercyThomas Horton, D. D.Psalm 51:1-19
God's LovingkindnessT. Alexander, M. A.Psalm 51:1-19
God's MercyA. Symson.Psalm 51:1-19
God's-Tender MerciesT. Alexander, D. D.Psalm 51:1-19
LessonsS. Hieron.Psalm 51:1-19
Sin Blotted OutCampbell Morgan, D. D.Psalm 51:1-19
The Exceeding Sinfulness of SinCanon Newbolt.Psalm 51:1-19
The Fifty-First PsalmF. W. Robertson, M. A.Psalm 51:1-19
The Greatness of Sin to a True PenitentMonday Club SermonsPsalm 51:1-19
The Minister's PsalmW. Forsyth Psalm 51:1-19
The Moan of a KingJ. Parker, D. D.Psalm 51:1-19
The Penitent SinnerHomilistPsalm 51:1-19
The Prayer for MercyAndrew Murray.Psalm 51:1-19
The Prayer of the PenitentG. F. Pentecost, D. D.Psalm 51:1-19
The Prayer of the PenitentDavid O. Mears.Psalm 51:1-19
The Psalmist's Prayer for MercyT. Biddulph, M. A.Psalm 51:1-19
True PrayerW. Forsyth Psalm 51:10, 17
Working for GodC. Short Psalm 51:13-19














With a conscience set free from guilt, with a heart renewed by the Spirit of God, and full of thankfulness for God's great mercy, he cannot keep silent, but will seek to turn other sinners to God. The thirty-second psalm shows how this resolution was kept.

I. HE WHO BY HIS EXAMPLE HAD TAUGHT OTHERS TO SIN WILL NOW SEEK TO CONVERT THEM TO THE WAY OF OBEDIENCE. (Ver. 13.) To the ways of God's commandment. We cannot undo all the evil which our example has done; but we can in part repair it if we renew our lives.

II. DELIVERED FROM HIS SIN, HE WOULD PROCLAIM THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN PUNISHING AND DELIVERING HIM. (Ver. 14.) God is good and righteous in both - in punishing and saving from sin. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

III. THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF PARDONED SIN UNCLOSES THE LIPS WHICH SIN HAD SEALED, AND HE CAN NOW TRULY PRAISE GOD. (Ver. 15.) God opens the lips by giving the sense of forgiveness; then we can preach and sing with a full heart.

IV. THE TRUEST SACRIFICE WE CAN OFFER TO GOD FOR OUR SIN IS REPENTANCE. (Vers. 16, 17.) Not blood or burnt offering; the cleansing of the heart by sorrow and renewal of mind - the work of God's Spirit.

V. WHEN A MAN HAS BEEN TRULY RESTORED HIMSELF, HIS SYMPATHIES WIDEN OUT WITH PRAYER FOR THE NATION AND THE WORLD. (Vers. 18, 19.) Genuine concern for others is founded upon the regeneration of our own spiritual nature. Zeal for others is spurious if we have not been zealous about ourselves; like those philosophers Cowper speaks of -

"Giving lives to distant worlds, And trifling in our own."

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.
What is a broken heart? We use the expression to set forth the effects of heavy affliction and sorrow. And so here, the broken heart tells of deep sorrow on account of our Sin. Before, it had hope for itself; now it has none, and, thus broken, it is offered with shame and grief. Before, it could listen to the truths of the Gospel unmoved, but now it quivers with emotion. The same wind which moves violently the waters of the lake of Gennesaret is said to leave unruffled those of the Dead Sea. So the man may have been at one time insensible, but he is far from that now.

I. SUCH BROKEN AND CONTRITE HEART IS A SACRIFICE OF GOD. Men think it is the price which they pay for forgiveness, and they do not see why it is necessary that Christ should die. But debts cannot be cancelled by mere regret, and the sacrifice of the broken heart always follows, never precedes, the application to the heart of the sacrifice of Christ's blood. Whenever Christ saves a sinner He invariably breaks his heart. The same cross which sets him free from the penalty of the law, sets him free also from the obduracy of his own nature; and these two deliverances always go together, and we can never be sure that we have the one unless we have the other.

II. IT IS AN OFFERING WHICH GOD DOES NOT DESPISE. He might have done so, and it is a wonder that He does not. Text implies this, and thankfulness and confidence.

III. BUT UNGODLY MEN DESPISE IT. Let them not think they will always feel as they do now. They would rather be detected in crime than in sorrow for it. But God can break their heart. At times He does so, by His word, mightily applied, or by terrible sorrow; and certainly by death. The only gift of God to a lost sinner is the gift of an insensibility unknown before.

(J. A. Alexander, D. D.)

David and other Old Testament saints knew well that it was not in ceremonial observances, but in spiritual service.

I. GOD'S DESIRE AND SEARCH IS AFTER THE HEART, the soul of man. Our human parental heart teaches us this. Do we not desire our children's hearts? And so with God; He wants His children back, and hence He so values the first returning relenting thought.

II. WHEREFORE THIS IS SO. All men are sinners, not in the same form, but in the possession of the heart of evil. But see the great change which is wrought when the soul is turned to God. God is revealed to the soul. Conviction of sin follows. We see our sin in the light of God's goodness, and the vision of that goodness now waiting to be gracious, still further subdues the heart.

III. THIS NEW STATE OF HEART WILL BE PERMANENT, and will be seen in trust, in humility, in thankfulness, in consecration.

(Watson Smith.)

I. WHAT IT MEANS.

1. It consists in a quickness of sense and apprehensiveness. A broken spirit is a sensible spirit; it presently discerns what is amiss, either in it, or towards it. As a broken bone or joint, it presently feels the least annoyance that is; even so likewise does a broken heart. That heart which is truly contrite and broken, it is sensible of the least grievance that may be; and this whether in regard of sin, or in regard of punishment,(1) In regard of sin first, it is very quick and sensible here; those whose hearts are hardened and obdurate, they can commit one sin upon another, and yet never be affected with it, or lay it to heart; but those which are broken, and Be tender-spirited, the least miscarriage that troubles them, and goes to their souls, they are humbled, not only for greaser sins, but also for smaller infirmities; and not only for more notorious practices, but likewise for failings in duties themselves; and not only for outward and notorious miscarriages, which come into all men's view, but even also for the secretest obliquities and deflections of the inward man.(2) So in regard of punishment also. Broken hearts and contrite spirits tremble at the very shak-ings of the rod. A wise man, that is, one spiritually wise, which has true grace and godliness in him, and has a principle of spiritual life, such an one is very sensible of judgment.

2. It consists in a pliableness and fashionableness of heart and spirit; a hard heart is capable of no impression; ye cannot work it, or frame it to anything; but a broken heart ye may mould it in any way, and turn it whithersoever ye please. And this is another thing which is considerable in it: it is such a heart as yields to all God's dealings and workings with it, to His Word, and to His Providence, and that in the several dispensations of it, it is pliable to everything.

II. THE REASON WHY THE SCRIPTURE DOES SO MUCH PRESS THIS UPON US AS THAT SACRIFICE WHICH IS MOST ACCEPTABLE TO GOD.

1. It signifies the person in whom it is to be subjected to God, and brought in obedience to Him. A man may offer bodily sacrifice, and perform outward duties to God, and yet stand aloof from Him, and have his heart still reserved to himself; but now, when it is once broken and contrite, it then stoops and gives itself up to God's disposing; and this is that which God does mainly look after in those that come to Him, He desires still to have the better of them, and to have their spirits brought in order to Him, which is all in all in them; this is that which God calls for (Providence 23:16). Now, this is never done by us till it be in some manner broken and bruised in us; because till then, we shall be apt to rest upon our own bottom, and to subsist wholly in ourselves, and some worth of our own.

2. It is that which makes the best amends for all the sins which are committed by us. The breaking of our hearts, it best satisfies for the breaking of God's laws; not as if thereby we did indeed make satisfaction to God's justice (which is only done by the blood of Christ), but it is that which does carry the best shadow of compensation with it.

3. A broken heart is most desired, as that which makes the best improvement of all God's providences and dispensations, etc. This makes us more thankful for mercies, and this makes us more corrigible under afflictions'.

(Thomas Horton, D. D.)

I. AS SETTING BEFORE US MOST IMPORTANT TRUTH — that God delights not in sacrifice or burnt-offering, but in the principles and feelings of sincere and heartfelt piety.

1. It is established by every correct view of the Divine character.(1) God is a Spirit. Nothing can be acceptable to Him, as such, but spiritual service, the worship of the soul.(2) God is Lord of all. He made, preserves, and governs all; and whatever we present is first His own.(3) He is a God of love. He delighteth not to impoverish but to enrich His creatures.

2. It is illustrated by the great facts of revelation, and reflects on them, in return, a correspondent illustration and beauty.(1) Sacrifices were designed not to relieve the offender from the compunction and penitence naturally arising from the remembrance of his faults, by the easy substitution of a trifling mulet instead of a deep and heartfelt contrition, but to render that compunction and penitence more solemn and more lively; to impress those feelings of contrition more awfully upon the soul by a most vivid and affecting exhibition of the just desert of sin. When he beheld the dying victim whom he had made his substitute, he was there to discern the fearful extent of that condemnation he had merited, and thus, humbled and sorrowful, was to acknowledge and bewail his misery, as exposed to the righteous indignation of a just and holy God.(2) If in the sacrifices under the law it was not the mere pangs or death of the victim, but the moral dispositions with which it was presented, that God delighted in; if it was not in the mere punishment of sin, but its effect upon the conscience and the heart, that God took pleasure; then, in the sacrifice of Christ, we conceive this grand principle more abundantly established. And, oh, how full of a humbling and holy joy is the doctrine we have now endeavoured to explain, when we behold the necessity of our punishment for sin thus awfully manifested, and yet the fear of its endurance done away for ever by the offering of the Lamb of God!

II. AS EXHIBITING THE PROPER INFLUENCE OF THIS GREAT TRUTH UPON THE FEELINGS OF A HUMBLE AND PENITENT MIND.

1. How forcibly does this language express that exalted estimate of the worth of pardon, which will ever be cherished by those who sincerely repent!

2. How strikingly it exhibits the penitent's humble sense of utter helplessness and incapacity for any service or offering of his own to procure the invaluable blessing!

3. How beautifully does the text describe a simple and grateful reliance upon the freeness of Divine mercy! Where is the man that weeps when no eye sees him, for the defilement of his degenerate nature? Let him not despair. Let him return unto the Lord. Let him lay his hand upon the great propitiation, and believe, and live for ever!

(R. S. McAll, LL. D.)

I. LET US CONSIDER WHAT THIS SACRIFICE IS. It is a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart.

1. If you and I have a broken spirit, all idea of our own importance is gone. What is the use of a broken heart? Why, much the same as the use of a broken pot, or a broken jug, or a broken bottle! Men throw it on the dunghill. Hence David says, "A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise," as if he felt that everybody else would despise it. Now, do you feel that you are of no importance? Admire the grace of God to you, and marvel at it in deep humiliation of spirit. That is a part of the sacrifice that God will not despise.

2. Next, if you and I have a broken and a contrite heart, it means that frivolity and trifling have gone from us. A broken spirit is serious, and solemn, and in earnest.

3. A broken spirit is one out of which hypocrisy has gone. Reveal yourselves unto yourselves, and so reveal yourselves unto your God.

4. A broken spirit signifies that now all the secrets and essences of the spirit have flowed out. There is much of religion, now-a-days, that is very superficial, it is all on the surface; a very small quantity of gospel paint, with just a little varnish of profession, will go a very long way, and look very bright. But broken hearts are not like that; with broken hearts the hymn is a real hymn, the prayer is a real prayer, the hearing of sermons is earnest work, and the preaching of them is the hardest work of all. Oh, what a mercy it would be if some of you were broken all to pieces! There are many flowers that will never yield their perfume till they are bruised. Even the generous grape lets not its juice flow forth till it is trodden under foot of men.

II. LET US OFFER THE SACRIFICE. Come, let us mourn a while on account of our past sin; we will do so from several points of view.

1. First, let us deeply regret that we have sinned against so good a God. Shall we not feel within our hearts a burning indignation against sin, because it is committed against so holy, so good, so glorious a being as the infinitely-blessed God?

2. Let us mourn to think that we have offended against so excellent and admirable a law.

3. Let us grieve that we have sinned against a Saviour's love. Those hands, those feet, have saved me, yet I nailed them there. That opened side is the refuge of my guilty spirit, yet I made that fearful gash by my sin.

4. Think of our sins against the Holy Spirit. O my soul, how could]st thou ever grieve Him? How couldst thou ever have resisted that best and tenderest Friend? I do not ask you to torture yourselves, but I do invite you now to indulge the joyful grief of sweet heavenly penitence as you remember the love of the Spirit.

5. Let us set our sin in the light of God's countenance.

6. I want you to set sin in the light of your marvellous experiences. Wonders of grace have been ours!

7. Think of the injury you have done to others by your example. Whatever any of us do, we are sure to have some who will copy us; it cannot be avoided. This thought has a sharp sting in it for any who, by word or by example, have taught others to do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord.

8. Think of all the opportunities that we lose whenever we fall into sin. I do repent of sin unfeignedly because it has hindered my progress. What a preacher I might have been! Oh, what winners of souls you might have become by this time!

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

I. THE BROKEN HEART.

1. Renounces all idea of merit, and seeks alone for mercy (ver. 1).

2. Will always feel its sins to be peculiarly its own (ver. 2).

3. Will make full confession of sin (ver. 3).

(1)Without excuse.

(2)In the plainest language possible.

4. Mourns most over the Godward aspect of sin (ver. 4).

5. Will never cavil with God about the deserved punishment (ver. 4).

6. Will mourn its general depravity (ver. 5).

7. Will always be as anxious for purity as for pardon (ver. 7).

8. Is not a despairing heart (ver. 9).

9. Is an agonized heart (ver. 8).

II. A BROKEN HEART IS NOT DESPISED BY GOD. We have His royal word for it (Isaiah 66:2). I know that Christ will never despise it, and that for a very good reason. He has suffered from it Himself. You say, "Ah, but mine is broken on account of sin: His was not." Was it not? It was broken by the unutterable horror of having sin imputed to Him, and occupying the sinner's place. Thy pangs, thy sorrows, thy griefs, thine unutterable longings for the light of the Father's face — all these are known unto thy Saviour. He will not despise thee. I am sure He will not, because it was He who broke thy heart. It would be despising His own handiwork were He to reject a contrite spirit. It would be casting on one side that which He hath Himself made.

(A. G. Brown.)

I. IN WHAT A BROKEN HEART CONSISTS. It is in itself a state where the mind is rendered susceptible of deep spiritual feeling — that feeling being mainly grief and sorrow.

II. HOW A BROKEN HEART IS PRODUCED.

1. The Agent. You must remember that the state we are describing never can be supposed to originate in any human or finite power whatever. It is not, for example, produced by the force of instruction, whether administered in juvenile or in riper years. It is not produced by processes of personal reflection; and it is not produced by movements of the natural conscience. We do not deny that they do sometimes appear to possess influences very similar to the influences of religion; and we are aware how conscience, especially under particular circumstances, occasionally becomes lashed and roused into such a state of alarm and accusing energy, that its awakenings are not at all distinguishable from the impulses of veritable and substantial piety. But yet, after all, the appearances are deceitful, and the results are impotent. The "heart of stone," if we may use such a figure, is, as it were, only shifted in its position — that change of position rendering the moral frame uneasy and disturbed. The substance of the heart itself yet remains unpenetrated and untransmuted, and the truth remains, that were man left to himself, and to beings like himself, never would he know and feel what real contrition is. After this limitation of human agency, we are prepared to determine that the production of this state is to be ascribed exclusively to the supreme power of the Divine Spirit.

2. This, then, is the Agent in the production of the state we have noticed. We must also observe the instrumentality which the Agent employs. And the Divine Spirit always operates upon the mind of man by an instrumentality which is precisely adapted to its nature; we mean the Word of truth, as it reveals the character, the claims, and the procedure of God, along with the character, the duties, and the prospects and destinies of man. And especially as it sets forth the love of the Lord Jesus Christ on behalf of sinners. This prominency will be found distinctly ascribed to it by the manner in which it constituted the one grand topic of inspired and apostolic ministry in primitive times.

III. WHY A BROKEN HEART IS COMMENDED. We are to commend as precious and valuable the "broken heart."

1. Because it is the state by which alone man can be saved from everlasting ruin.

2. It introduces to the enjoyment of all spiritual blessings.

(James Parsons.)

In the temple of Israel there were two altars: the first, the great "altars of burnt-offering." It was the altar of atonement, the only one in all the world on which God looked down with approval. At its base flowed the blood of every victim that was slain. On its broad bosom it received, and with its fiery breath it consumed, the holocausts and hecatombs of the thousands of Judah. But within the holy place was another altar; it was the altar of incense, fit representative of an order of sacrifices that were not expiatory, but oblations. They were not for the purpose of making atonement and seeking reconcilation, but for expressing the consecration to God of the redeemed soul. And the acceptableness of such oblation was expressed by the offering of the fragrant incense that was burnt upon that altar. Now, it is of this second class of sacrifices that the psalmist is speaking in our text. He is referring not to the sacrifices of expiation, but of oblation. The sinner is already pardoned, the atoning sacrifice has already been accepted, and he approaches the golden altar, not to deprecate worth or to plead for pardon, but as a forgiven sinner to offer on this altar the oblation of his gratitude and devotion, the love which wells up with overflowing fulness in a heart redeemed from sin. Now, looking at this sacrifice, we note —

I. THE SPIRITUALITY OF THE SERVICE WHICH GOD REQUIRES. That which is to be laid upon His altar is not some material gift, however costly, but an offering of the spirit.

II. IN THE SACRIFICES OF GOD THE HEART CONSTITUTES ITS VERY ESSENCE. God's religion is pre-eminently one of love. Hence, the true oblation can only be of love, the only true sacrifice that of the heart. Contrast the sacrifices on the great brazen altar and those on the altar of incense. That holy place was the sanctuary of forgiven hearts, the retreat of those whose sins had been put away by the expiation offered on the altar without. Then are we taught that it is the heart which God demands as an oblation upon His altar. Only love will satisfy love.

III. BUT THE HEART MUST BE BROKEN AND CONTRITE. This is one reason why the way to the altar of incense is by that of expiation, that men may learn the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and look upon Him whom they have pierced, and mourn for their sin. This it is which makes it so hard for man to lay upon this altar the acceptable sacrifice. If there were no demand for repentance and confession, no need for such self-humbling as in the dust, man would readily come. But only the broken and contrite heart will God accept, or ought He to accept. For such should be our posture before God. Not that of pride, but of deep humility.

(T. D. Witherspoon, D. D.)

People
Bathsheba, David, Doeg, Nathan, Psalmist, Saul
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Acceptable, Broken, Bruised, Contrite, Despise, Heart, O, Offerings, Sacrifice, Sacrifices, Sorrowing, Spirit, Wilt
Outline
1. David prays for remission of sins, whereof he makes a deep confession
6. He prays for sanctification
16. God delights not in sacrifice, but in sincerity
18. He prays for the church

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 51:17

     1620   beatitudes, the
     2425   gospel, requirements
     5450   poverty, spiritual
     6178   hardness of heart
     6733   repentance, nature of
     7435   sacrifice, in OT

Psalm 51:1-17

     1065   God, holiness of
     6655   forgiveness, application
     6735   repentance, examples
     8707   apostasy, personal

Psalm 51:12-17

     5015   heart, and Holy Spirit

Psalm 51:16-17

     1175   God, will of
     6027   sin, remedy for

Library
David's Cry for Pardon
... Blot out my transgressions. 2. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.'--PSALM li. 1, 2. A whole year had elapsed between David's crime and David's penitence. It had been a year of guilty satisfaction not worth the having; of sullen hardening of heart against God and all His appeals. The thirty-second Psalm tells us how happy David had been during that twelvemonth, of which he says, 'My bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night Thy hand
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

David's Cry for Purity
'... Renew a right spirit within me. 11. ... And take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. 12. ... And uphold me with Thy free Spirit.' --PSALM li. 10-12. We ought to be very thankful that the Bible never conceals the faults of its noblest men. David stands high among the highest of these. His words have been for ages the chosen expression for the devotions of the holiest souls; and whoever has wished to speak longings after purity, lowly trust in God, the aspirations of love, or the raptures of devotion,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

January the Twenty-Seventh the Confession of Sin
"I acknowledge my transgressions; and my sin is ever before me." --PSALM li. 1-12. Sin that is unconfessed shuts out the energies of grace. Confession makes the soul receptive of the bountiful waters of life. We open the door to God as soon as we name our sin. Guilt that is penitently confessed is already in the "consuming fire" of God's love. When I "acknowledge my sin" I begin to enter into the knowledge of "pardon, joy, and peace." But if I hide my sin I also hide myself from "the unsearchable
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Unimpeachable Justice
There is now agitating the public mind something which I thought I might improve this day, and turn to very excellent purpose. There are only two things concerning which the public have any suspicion. The verdict of the jury was the verdict of the whole of England; we were unanimous as to the high probability, the well-nigh absolute certainty of his guilt; but there were two doubts in our minds--one of them but small, we grant you, but if both could have been resolved we should have felt more easy
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

The Wordless Book
"Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."--Psalm 51:7. I DARESAY you have most of you heard of a little book which an old divine used constantly to study, and when his friends wondered what there was in the book, he told them that he hoped they would all know and understand it, but that there was not single word in it. When they looked at it, they found that it consisted of only three leaves; the first was black, the second was red, and the third was pure white. The old minister used to gaze upon
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 57: 1911

Praying Saints of the Old Testaments (Continued)
Bishop Lambeth and Wainwright had a great M. E. Mission in Osaka, Japan. One day the order came from high up that no more meetings would be allowed in the city by Protestants. Lambeth and Wainwright did all they could but the high officials were obstinate and unrelenting. They then retired to the room of prayer. Supper time came and the Japanese girl came to summon them to their meal, but she fell under the power of prayer. Mrs. Lambeth came to find what the matter was and fell under the same power.
Edward M. Bounds—Prayer and Praying Men

Period iv. The Age of the Consolidation of the Church: 200 to 324 A. D.
In the fourth period of the Church under the heathen Empire, or the period of the consolidation of the Church, the number of Christians increased so rapidly that the relation of the Roman State to the Church became a matter of the gravest importance (ch. 1). During a period of comparative peace and prosperity the Church developed its doctrinal system and its constitution (ch. 2). Although the school of Asia Minor became isolated and temporarily ceased to affect the bulk of the Church elsewhere, the
Joseph Cullen Ayer Jr., Ph.D.—A Source Book for Ancient Church History

Some Helps to Mourning
Having removed the obstructions, let me in the last place propound some helps to holy mourning. 1 Set David's prospect continually before you. My sin is ever before me' (Psalm 51:3). David, that he might be a mourner, kept his eye full upon sin. See what sin is, and then tell me if there be not enough in it to draw forth tears. I know not what name to give it bad enough. One calls it the devil's excrement. Sin is a complication of all evils. It is the spirits of mischief distilled. Sin dishonours
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

The Songs of the Fugitive.
The psalms which probably belong to the period of Absalom's rebellion correspond well with the impression of his spirit gathered from the historical books. Confidence in God, submission to His will, are strongly expressed in them, and we may almost discern a progress in the former respect as the rebellion grows. They flame brighter and brighter in the deepening darkness. From the lowest abyss the stars are seen most clearly. He is far more buoyant when he is an exile once more in the wilderness,
Alexander Maclaren—The Life of David

Transcriber's Note.
There are significant differences in the numerous reprints of Isaac Watts' "Psalms." The first generation of this Project Gutenberg file was from an 1818 printing by C. Corrall of 38 Charing Cross, London. The Index and the Table of First Lines have been omitted for the following reasons: 1. They refer to page numbers that are here expunged; and 2. In this electronic version key words, etc., can be easily located via searches. Separate numbers have been added to Psalms that have more than one part
Isaac Watts—The Psalms of David

How God Answered Donald's Prayer
God often uses children to win grown folks for Christ. Little children not only have a deep faith but a childlike trust in believing that God answers their prayers. "All that ye ask in my name, believing, that ye shall receive." As a young girl, I went to Sunday School and learned about Jesus. Although I knew about my Savior and what He had done to save me, yet I never accepted Him as my own Redeemer and Friend. As years went by, I went into sin and shared in the common sins of worldly people.
S. B. Shaw—Touching Incidents and Remarkable Answers to Prayer

David and Nathan
'And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin.'--2 SAMUEL xii. 13. We ought to be very thankful that Scripture never conceals the faults of its noblest men. High among the highest of them stands the poet- king. Whoever, for nearly three thousand years, has wished to express the emotions of trust in God, longing after purity, aspiration, and rapture of devotion, has found that his words have been before him. And this man
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Out of the Deep of Sin.
Innumerable troubles are come about me. My sins have taken such hold upon me, that I am not able to look up; yea, they are more in number than the hairs of my head, and my heart hath failed me.--Ps. xl. 15. I acknowledge my faults, and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight.--Ps. li. 3. I said, I will confess my sins unto the Lord; and so Thou forgavest the wickedness of my sin.--Ps. xxxii. 6. Blessed is the man whose iniquity is forgiven, and
Charles Kingsley—Out of the Deep

Cleansing.
As there are conditions requiring to be complied with in order to the obtaining of salvation, before one can be justified, e. g., conviction of sin, repentance, faith; so there are conditions for full salvation, for being "filled with the Holy Ghost." Conviction of our need is one, conviction of the existence of the blessing is another; but these have been already dealt with. "Cleansing" is another; before one can be filled with the Holy Ghost, one's heart must be "cleansed." "Giving them the Holy
John MacNeil—The Spirit-Filled Life

All are Sinners.
Some time ago we overheard from a person who should have known better, remarks something like these: "I wonder how sinners are saved in the Lutheran Church?" "I do not hear of any being converted in the Lutheran Church," and such like. These words called to mind similar sentiments that we heard expressed long ago. More than once was the remark made in our hearing that in certain churches sinners were saved, because converted and sanctified, while it was at least doubtful whether any one could find
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

God the Holy Spirit the Love which Dwells in the Heart.
"It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard; that went down to the skirts of his garments." --Psalm cxxxiii. 2. The fact that love can radiate within man does not insure him the possession of true and real Love, unless, according to His eternal counsel, God is pleased to enter into personal fellowship with him. So long as man knows Him only from afar and not near, God is a stranger to him. He may admire His Love, have a faint sense of it, be pleasantly
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Original Sin
Q-16: DID ALL MANKIND FALL IN ADAM'S FIRST TRANSGRESSION? A: The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself, but for his posterity, all mankind descending from him, by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him in his first transgression. 'By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin,' &c. Rom 5:12. Adam being a representative person, while he stood, we stood; when he fell, we fell, We sinned in Adam; so it is in the text, In whom all have sinned.' Adam was the head
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

St. Malachy Becomes Bishop of Connor; He Builds the Monastery of iveragh.
16. (10). At that time an episcopal see was vacant,[321] and had long been vacant, because Malachy would not assent: for they had elected him to it.[322] But they persisted, and at length he yielded when their entreaties were enforced by the command of his teacher,[323] together with that of the metropolitan.[324] It was when he was just entering the thirtieth year of his age,[325] that he was consecrated bishop and brought to Connor; for that was the name of the city through ignorance of Irish ecclesiastical
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

In Fine, Supplication for Pardon, with Humble and Ingenuous Confession of Guilt...
In fine, supplication for pardon, with humble and ingenuous confession of guilt, forms both the preparation and commencement of right prayer. For the holiest of men cannot hope to obtain anything from God until he has been freely reconciled to him. God cannot be propitious to any but those whom he pardons. Hence it is not strange that this is the key by which believers open the door of prayer, as we learn from several passages in The Psalms. David, when presenting a request on a different subject,
John Calvin—Of Prayer--A Perpetual Exercise of Faith

But Regard the Troops of virgins, Holy Boys and Girls...
37. But regard the troops of virgins, holy boys and girls: this kind hath been trained up in Thy Church: there for Thee it hath been budding from its mother's breasts; for Thy Name it hath loosed its tongue to speak, Thy Name, as through the milk of its infancy, it hath had poured in and hath sucked, no one of this number can say, "I, who before was a blasphemer, and persecutor, and injurious, but I obtained mercy, in that I did in being ignorant, in unbelief." [2130] Yea more, that, which Thou commandedst
St. Augustine—Of Holy Virginity.

Moral Depravity.
VIII. Let us consider the proper method of accounting for the universal and total moral depravity of the unregenerate moral agents of our race. In the discussion of this subject, I will-- 1. Endeavor to show how it is not to be accounted for. In examining this part of the subject, it is necessary to have distinctly in view that which constitutes moral depravity. All the error that has existed upon this subject, has been founded in false assumptions in regard to the nature or essence of moral depravity.
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

The Sinfulness of Original Sin.
MATTHEW xix. 20.--"The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?" In the preceding discourse from these words, we discussed that form and aspect of sin which consists in "coming short" of the Divine Law; or, as the Westminster Creed states it, in a "want of conformity" unto it. The deep and fundamental sin of the young ruler, we found, lay in what he lacked. When our Lord tested him, he proved to be utterly destitute of love to God. His soul was a
William G.T. Shedd—Sermons to the Natural Man

How Shall one Make Use of Christ as the Life, when Wrestling with an Angry God Because of Sin?
That we may give some satisfaction to this question, we shall, 1. Shew what are the ingredients in this case, or what useth to concur in this distemper. 2. Shew some reasons why the Lord is pleased to dispense thus with his people. 3. Shew how Christ is life to the soul in this case. 4. Shew the believer's duty for a recovery; and, 5. Add a word or two of caution. As to the first, There may be those parts of, or ingredients in this distemper: 1. God presenting their sins unto their view, so as
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

That a Man Ought not to Reckon Himself Worthy of Consolation, but More Worthy of Chastisement
O Lord, I am not worthy of Thy consolation, nor of any spiritual visitation; and therefore Thou dealest justly with me, when Thou leavest me poor and desolate. For if I were able to pour forth tears like the sea, still should I not be worthy of Thy consolation. Therefore am I nothing worthy save to be scourged and punished, because I have grievously and many a time offended Thee, and in many things have greatly sinned. Therefore, true account being taken, I am not worthy even of the least of Thy
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

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