The preaching of God's Word then is in Psalm 51 and verses 16 and 17. So David, who has found it all upon the mercy of God, his forgiveness, his purification, his restoration, his enjoyment of all the spiritual blessings, that are given to us has asked that God would open His mouth to show forth the Lord's praise. Now we read verses 16 and 17. For thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it. Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. We know that David is not outrightly saying he'll never offer a sacrifice again, because he says in verse 19 that after these things, then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering, and the offering of bollocks upon God's altar. So David isn't in some strange way setting aside the old covenant way. but he's acknowledging something important for us, both in our understanding of the Old Testament, but likewise more fully of the way of God's grace. So when we think about the Old Testament sacrifices, we're right to understand that one who was convinced of his own sin was ordered to bring various sacrifices according to the law to be offered up. And yet, what David sees so clearly And what the believer would have known so clearly under the Old Testament is that not one drop or all the drops of the blood of these animals ever in itself satisfied God. This is David's point. You don't desire that. Well, why did God establish these sacrifices then? Well, for a number of reasons. Chiefly though, as pointing to that preeminent sacrifice which would satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God. But what David's getting at is, he realizes that what God is after in David's life is not the multiplying of religious ordinances under the Old Testament, not the multiplying of sacrifices, and so on. God is after the reality of all that David is. So David, you'll notice, uses this expression regarding his spirit and his heart, two different ways of addressing the same idea, namely the reality of David. that David's desires, David's whole identity is to be devoted to the Lord, not sacrifices, though they are pointers to Christ. And the believer looking through them to that ultimate sacrifice, of course, was justified and accepted on account of that great sacrifice that would come by Jesus Christ. But here David is seeing as his heart had been puffed up and proud. He sees now that what God delights in is David's proud heart being crushed and broken. Not to some just enjoyment of misery, but this inward brokenness, this conviction of sin that led to repentance, to the seeking again of God. And brethren, this of course is common both in the Old and New Testament. that, as we'll see, it is the broken heart that God delights in. We see in Isaiah 57, He's the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, who lives in the high and holy place, who Himself is holy, and yet also dwells with Him who is broken and contrite in spirit. And we see this, of course, again and again throughout the scriptures. You can see it, for instance, in Luke 18, in the story that Christ tells of the proud Pharisee, I thank thee God that I'm not like other men are. and recounting all their sins and recounting his own righteousness. And then off in the distance in the courtyard is that tax collector who says, God be merciful to me, the sinner. See that these again and again display the same truth. Paul speaks of himself as at one time alive apart from the law. Not that he didn't know the law intellectually. He would have been able to recite things that you and I can't remember. He would have been a student of the law of God, but he was living against its power. What's its power? Its convicting force. Bringing conviction to his soul. And he says, and yet when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. saying, I was alive once in my own work's righteousness, but when I saw the force of the commandment, it crushed me, it broke me, it slayed me, so that I no longer had any confidence in myself. This is what David's been brought to experience. And you'll notice that this is not just true in our initial conversion unto God, But it's true as well, throughout the Christian life, that there are seasons when we become puffed up, and God brings us low, humbles us, and convicts us. It's a strange thing, isn't it? That the very thing that God would have perpetually in us, this contrite heart, is a thing that in many ways we try to resist and defend ourselves against. So think of it for a moment. We spend our time thinking about how is it that I can improve myself instead of meditating upon the Lord's Word to search out and examine ourselves. And so we can have books that are sold and audiobooks and all sorts of blog posts and podcasts that have the ideas of joy and gladness against which we're not opposed. but which will be absent from them is this notion common in the Scriptures of examining ourselves, searching out sin, finding what remains of the old man that by the Spirit applying Christ to us we might put it to death. Preeminent themes in the Scripture. If the world looks at that and hears that, and we're tempted to hear that from the Scripture and think in terms of, well, what a most undesirable life. And yet it misses the context that as sin is crushed, as pride is consumed, it's only then that there is a foundation for the enjoyment of God. And so what the world lusts after, and what many professing Christians say they desire, is actually impossible for them to gain, because they'll never gain it without their own hearts being humbled and brought to this lowly position before the Lord. Think of this counsel as we read it. in the epistle of James, James 4, when he says, and think of this, to the church, be afflicted and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. That's enough for the world to say, well, this is a little too much. This is a little too serious. This isn't the joy that so characterizes the Christian. And yet, actually, it's that which precedes the joy which truly characterizes the Christian, because in doing so, in as it were, leveraging all against our sin, all against our remaining depravity, crucifying the old man, As we humble ourselves in the sire of the Lord, notice, it's not that then we lift up ourselves. It's that He shall lift us up. This is a theme throughout the Scriptures. As our souls are crushed, the Lord is actually preparing the way for His bringing us up to the enjoyment of the highest and most lasting good Himself. Notice it's what God desires. He doesn't desire, He doesn't delight in the multiplying of outward ordinances in and of themselves. He only desires them when they are the actual outflow of a heart that is renewed, a heart that is consumed with God Himself, that has cast off all hope in itself and looks solely to that which God provides. We wish to look at this brokenness which in the sight of God is beautiful. Firstly, looking at what it is the Lord desires. And secondly, why it is the Lord desires it. So, what is this broken heart that the Lord desires? And then considering from the Scriptures why it is that God desires it. Notice first, regarding what the Lord desires, that it is focused on the heart of man. So the scriptures before us use these words, and heart, both are words common in the scriptures, both Old and New Testament, which speak of the full, the real identity of the man. So, for instance, a man can outwardly pretend to many things. A man can outwardly go about doing many things. And yet, all of us know that there can be a world of difference between the outward display and the inward reality. And so, in the Scriptures, many times used these words spirit and heart, they're talking about the reality of one's desires, the seat of affection as some have noted. And so it's not that we should think in terms of, well, what's the difference between a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart? There's not a difference. These are synonymous expressions getting at this notion of the inner man has been broken inside of his sin. Remember Isaiah 57, the reproof to the high and the proud ones. And as James was reproving the proud ones in the church, and resisting them, showing that God resists them. This notion is that God is not after just an external change, but He's pursuing the absolute change of the heart. The heart which was stout against Him. The heart which was saying, I'll be my own wisdom. I'll go about my own way. God is saying, I don't just want you to start using the right words. I don't just want you starting to participate in the right things. That's not what God desires. And so you can think of this. It's right, of course, for people who have not been going to faithful churches to start going to faithful churches. But the difference between those two things is not God is unpleased and now God is pleased. because the one who's going to church may in their hearts still be relying upon themselves. They may be as fully possessed of their own self-righteousness that far from them relinquishing and seeing their heart broken, they've actually become more proud. And they say, look, now I'm doing what's right. That's what the Pharisee was doing in Luke 18. I thank you that I'm not like other men are. Like those adulterers, and those Sabbath breakers, and those idolaters, and all those wicked ones. I thank you that I'm not like them. That I rather am one who fasts, and I give, and I do all of these things. You see, though he was engaged outwardly in right things, undeniably. Who would deny that? Who would say, well, you know, it'd actually be better if you were committing adultery. No one would. But what had happened is his heart, far from being broken and contrite, was actually more hard. It was more stout. It was more standing forth in himself. And so what God is after is not merely the external reformation of manners and customs and actions. David says, you know, you don't desire sacrifice. Well, there's a way in which, of course, he does desire it. But what David's getting at is he doesn't just want me, as one convicted, to start multiplying these things that God has commanded. Now, we of course realize that the age of sacrifices has ceased, but we can understand something here. These religious ordinances are not the things that God is fundamentally after. In other words, He doesn't just want you, who aren't reading the Bible, to start reading the Bible. You understand? Now someone says, but he does want us to read the Bible. Of course. But the point is, as David's getting at, God doesn't just want your manners to change. He doesn't want you merely to stop speaking profanity and now to find no word of profanity on your lips. Of course, those are right things. But he's getting at the fact that that can be done by a proud and arrogant man still. God doesn't just want us outwardly, externally, to be, as it were, in the right, because the heart can still be far from God. So God is seeking the reality of man, the heart of man, the spirit and the heart, the inward reality, and you'll notice in the scriptures regularly God will get at this. He'll say that He, Ezekiel 36 and Jeremiah as well, He'll remove the heart of stone, right? The hard heart, and He'll place within the heart of flesh, not sinful flesh, but living flesh. He's giving a living heart. There is a change of the inner reality. He says that He'll inscribe His law not merely upon the actions of His people, but it'll be upon the heart of His people. And so from within, the renewed man delights and desires the things of God, which then, as we'll see, brings forth the external. So as here David denies these sacrifices as that which God desires, he says after this broken and contrite heart and God's gracious work, verse 19, then shall thou be pleased with these sacrifices. So here's the point. We can look at it this way. Here's one person reading his Bible daily. Here's another person reading his Bible daily. Here's one person going to church every Lord's Day. Here's another person going to church every Lord's Day. We look at those outward things, and we might ask ourselves, well, with whom is God pleased? Which one of these satisfies God? Well, ultimately, neither one, because of course, their actions will never satisfy divine justice. But as one is brought to Christ, which one is pleasing God? Well, we can say in one sense it depends. Which one is going about these things because their heart has been broken from their trust in themselves, and now their heart is delighting in and desiring the fellowship of God? So it's right, of course, for us to visit a family and the family says, you know, we aren't reading the Bible in our home. And for pastors and elders to say, listen, we need to get that reformed. It's right for the church to be a prophetic ministry to the world and say, you know, these abortion clinics are grotesque. They are immoral, they are a blight upon society, and they ought to be entirely razed to the earth. They ought to be destroyed. Churches should be full. We visit somebody and we say, you know, you ought to be in church. We have no hesitation in saying those things. Those are right things. But we also realize, as were our churches full, where every abortion clinic throughout the world ceased to exist, where unlawful marriages no longer performed. Were all of those things righted? We wouldn't say, now God is pleased. You understand? If America saw such a reformation that every abortion mill was put out forever, we wouldn't look now at America and say, therefore, God is now pleased. We would certainly rejoice. We would say, thank you God for this blight of wickedness has been removed. But here's the point. There's still the need for the heart to be transformed. And that's what God is pursuing. So we stand opposed to the outward, of course. We reprove and rebuke and correct the outward. We labor for its reform. All of that's right. But fundamentally, what God is after is the heart. And notice particularly, the Lord doesn't just desire the heart of man, but the heart of man humbled. There was a dramatic change that took place in the opening chapters of Genesis. Adam and Eve, in dependence upon God, lived for a season. We don't know how long, we don't know all that transpired, of course, but we know early in the history that there was this change wherein Adam and Eve, in pride now, asserted themselves. And they, instead of being submitted to God, are now critics of God. They're judging and they're assessing God's work. They're listening to Satan, and they're persuaded by him. And now, instead of being under God, looking to God, receiving from God, They stand over God and they're assessing and examining and saying, well, I don't know if this is entirely what is right. You see, there's a change that takes place from one being humble and dependent, receiving God, submitting to God, to being puffed up. and arrogant and proud, judging God and criticizing God. And this, of course, has permeated their descendants, that naturally, now the heart of man is proud. So, when we think of the heart described, we think of the ways it's described in Scripture as dead, as hard, as adamant, all these different descriptions, wayward, it's stout, all of these ideas are that it's resisting God. And so notice when the Scriptures then assert that the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, What's being expressed is that pride is being crushed. These words broken and contrite are both synonyms. Broken, you can think children of a piece of glass that's shattered. That would be broken. That's how the word here would be used for that. The word contrite would be crushed or pummeled. And so you can think perhaps of something that is ground into the the earth and it's broken apart, yes, but it's not just shattered, it's crumbled up. And so it's pulverized in a sense. And God says, isn't it striking? That's what He delights in. He delights in our hearts shattered and pulverized. Why? Well, think of those walls of Jericho which stood, whenever they were built, and for whatever reason, for the protection of Jericho, they stood as emblems when God was bringing in His people of resistance to God, and they come crashing down, and then God's people take over. You think of Jacob, who's coming down in all of his cleverness and all of his earthly wisdom, and then he meets with the angel of the Lord and wrestles with Him, right? And then he says, I will not let thee go except thou bless me. And the angel of the Lord, the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ, touches his thigh, and from thenceforward now he walks with a limp. He's humbled, having been face-to-face with the Lord before His incarnation. Again and again, God is humbling His people, bringing them low, bringing them to cast off their hope in themselves. You think of how God actually foretold, Moses, listen, I'm going to bring My people out, and I'm going to try them and test them that they would see that I am the Lord that saves them. We sang earlier from Psalm 83, how it was earlier in the day, how we call upon God to do unto His enemies as He did in this place and that place historically, that they would set their hope in God, that they would be crushed and broken in order to turn unto God. That's what God's after. In other words, let's be clear, The humbling of the heart of man is not a natural experience of despair. That's common to men. Men know what it is to despair. Men know what it is to have the pressures of life so come in upon them that they can say, I'm broken. I'm crushed. And yet, what they really mean is, I've lost all hope of ever being able to make this work. And they're not actually despairing of themselves. They're despairing in themselves, not having recourse to repairing what's broken. It's earthly, natural, normal despair. The world knows what it is to despair. God's not after that. That doesn't please God. Think of it this way. Judas Iscariot, you can see it in Matthew 27. He's one who's broken, but not graciously. Naturally, according to what is within the power and the experience of fallen men. So in Matthew 27, notice for instance, At v. 3, Judas, which had betrayed Him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself. In his own soul, he's broken and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders saying, I've sinned in that I've betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, what is that to us? See thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself." Brethren, we'd be right to say Judas is broken. He is crushed, but not graciously. This is something that men realize. In our day, this is the man who has been caught in his sin, and now he realizes there's no out. So he goes and hangs himself. He goes and places the gun to his head and pulls the trigger. There's despair, you understand. There's brokenness, but not gracious brokenness. There's natural dealing with their sin. Judas says it. I've sinned. I've betrayed innocent blood. I am guilty. And yet, he's left still. Do you see it? He's left still to his own wisdom. What can I do about this? Well, I'll go kill myself. You see, that's despair. That's brokenness. But that's natural. That's earthly. That's not gracious and heavenly. What is it then that God is desiring? He's desiring the broken heart, which elsewhere is described as the tender heart. Notice, for instance, we read in Isaiah chapter 57. Notice now Isaiah chapter 66. Isaiah chapter 66. Notice again, these common themes of God's exalted stand, and how He transcends all in v. 1. Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where is the house that ye build unto Me? Where is the place of My rest? For all those things have Mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord. Isn't that astounding? God looks and says, you can't give Me a thing. Nothing that you ever bring to Me will provide anything for Me. But He doesn't stop. He says, but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." See, the difference between Judas and a gracious brokenness is that Judas still lived by himself. That is, he lived according to his reason. He functioned as one saying, I have nothing else to do, I guess I'll go take my life. He doesn't reason according to God's Word. One who is graciously broken is actually broken from themselves. They no longer cleave to their own reasoning. They no longer cleave to their own thoughts. They no longer say, I'm going to trust my heart. So soon as we hear people saying, well, the Bible doesn't make sense to me, I'm going to do it this way. What we see as a man, however many tears in their eyes, what we see as a woman, however many sobbings they've had, is a man or woman who is still stout-hearted because they refuse to bow before the High and Lofty One. But one who is graciously broken is one who trembles at His Word. No longer do I live by my reasoning, by my thoughts, but I live by the Word of God. God, You're the Master. You're the King. You're the Lord. You see, the heart of man humbled graciously is a heart which is now taken off of its own throne. And the throne is there now inhabited by God according to His Word. So you come across all sorts of men and women today who are happy to consider themselves religious, and perhaps we would agree they may have some form of religion, but they're regularly picking apart the Bible. You know, well, this part doesn't apply, and that part I disagree with, and you know, they have all their excuses and whatever else. They may have tears, they may have many pleadings, they may have all of these kinds of things. They may even say, I've sinned, right? Judas did that. I've sinned. Take the money back. But what they don't have is a broken heart. How can we say that? Is that unfair of us? Is that, you know, unkind of us? Well, what it is is the application of God's Word. Because the broken heart is not measured by how many vials are filled with tears. The broken heart is not measured by how many lines of words confessing sin are filled. The broken heart is not measured by how many times people will say, well, I want to be done with it. The broken heart is measured by the trembling at, the submitting to the Lord God as revealed in His Word. the poor and contrite spirit that trembles at my Word. That's the graciously broken heart. And brethren, this is important because as we tremble at God's Word, that doesn't just mean we tremble at His commandments, but we tremble at His promises. Right? People can think, well, you know, I'm so sinful. How could I ever believe that God would do this gracious thing? That's pride speaking. That's not faith. That's not humility. That's pride. Because trembling at God's Word says He's promised it. This is true. I believe that God will fulfill His promise to me. You see, and this is actually the beginning of true joy. Because what's happening is, the false guide of our own imagination, which has brought us into all sorts of destruction, is now removed. And the true guide of life everlasting through God, revealed in His Word, directing us to Christ, is now enthroned. So the Lord is desiring the heart humbled of its own way, and taking up The way of the Lord. Notice how Paul expresses this a bit differently in 2 Corinthians 7 when he speaks of his previous letter bringing about sorrow. If there's any word that could stand in the society we live in as a cuss word, it would be this notion of shame and sorrow. These are the worst things that one could experience. But notice what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 7, verse 8. He says, Though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent. Though I did repent. What he's saying is this. What I wrote to you struck you through the heart and you were convicted. I'm not sorry about that. What does he say? He says, I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were for but a season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance. For ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of. But the sorrow of the world worketh death." You see, there's a sorrow of the world, there's a sorrow from God. And what God is pursuing here is that gracious, trembling, brokenness of heart that leads to repentance. And brethren, don't we see that throughout this psalm? David has been convicted by the Word of God. Nathan comes and says, you're the man. You deserve death. David is cast then upon the mercy of God, pleading the forgiveness that is offered to him freely. And he also prays for renewal of his heart. He doesn't just say as Saul did, honor me before this people. No, he's saying, restore me, renew me, that I would honor you. You see, he's desiring repentance And what an encouragement, for as he's reflecting on this and desiring it and praying for it, he's reminded and reminding us by the guidance of the Spirit of God, that it's that which God delights in. God delights in the heart that is convicted and broken on account of one's sin, not in and of itself, but in that that brokenness by grace leads us to look to God. That's what God delights in. Now the heart says, look how vain I was to lean upon my own understanding. You know, this Disney religion. Absolutely wicked. Absolutely godless. follow your heart, follow your dreams. That is to take the Bible and throw it in the trash. Absolutely without any sense of truth. The Bible never tells us to follow our heart. It tells us to deny our hearts. It tells us that the heart is desperately wicked. It's deceitful above all else. The one who trusts in his heart is a fool. but the one who trusts in the Lord is blessed." And so this conviction, when God graciously convicts, and let's be sure of that, conviction in this way is a gracious gift of God. What He's doing is He's shooting an arrow through that inflated balloon of our heart's trust and saying, there's no hope in that. And it hurts because we put our hope in it. We say, I think this is the way it should work. I think this is my hope. And God shoots it down and destroys it. And we say, what now? And in His grace, He directs us to God and says, Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thine help. In me. That's the broken heart's hope. In God is my help. In God is my salvation. All the works of my hands are nothing. They're polluted. They're corrupted. They're worthless. But God is my hope. God is my salvation. This is what God delights in. The heart that has been removed from its own trust. onto looking to God. Well quickly then, why is it that the Lord desires it? Now this is largely clarifying the working of the humbled heart. We can say quickly several things as we look at the scriptures. Why the Lord desires it generally is because now the heart is oriented exclusively to God. We can see this in three ways. One, its relationship to God's law. The humbled heart no longer resists and parries and deflects the arrows of God's law, but rather it receives conviction and says, God's law is right. Brethren, don't you know what it is, as I shamefully do, to resist conviction? You know what it is to see in your daily readings, or hear the preaching of God's Word, or a passage comes to mind, or you're engaged in something and your heart is pricked. You start to reason, well, is it really that bad? Others are doing this, and others are doing worse, and I've got circumstances that seem to justify this. And what happens is, we're actually resisting and arguing against God's law. But the humble and contrite heart doesn't engage in that way. The humble and contrite heart, in a sense, opens its bosom unto the Lord's law and says, I want you to search me and try my heart and see if there be any wicked way in me. The psalmist says, Lord, examine me. Pour over me with the searching light of your law. Search every crevice. Search every channel. Search every vein that is there within my heart, and whatever you find that is not according to your law, point it out. Lead me in the way everlasting." You see, what's going on is the heart, humbled in this way, is now delighting in God's law, because it's not just saying, I like pain, I want to be convicted. Rather, I want that which is my true enemy, my sin, I want it found out, I want it destroyed, and in its place. I want the image of God more fully formed. I want the fullness of your likeness more fully realized in my life. You can see how this impacts us in one sense in Romans 7. when it is that Paul relates his own experience in v. 9. We referenced this earlier when he says in v. 9, I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. See, the commandment, as he says in verse 11, sin taking occasion by the commandment deceived me, and by it slew me. He came to realize his sin. And when God graciously so works and humbles the heart, the commandment comes with power to convince us, to silence us. At the bar of God's divine justice, the humbled heart hears the law against him, and he has no complaint. He has no argument. He has no alibi to say, listen, it really isn't that bad. But rather, it's as if the heart would say, let me tell you more. I'll add to the indictment that's brought against me. Because God's law is good. God's law is beautiful. And my sins are wicked. You see, what's happening is the humbled heart is one that is brought to acknowledge the goodness of God's law. Moreover, this honors God. It vindicates God. It justifies God. Let God be true and every man a liar, even in things regarding God's law. So someone comes to you and says, you know, why are you so concerned about honoring authority? You know, no authority is perfect, and many authorities have proven themselves insufficient and so forth, and we say, well, because God's law tells us, honor thy father and thy mother. God's law tells us to give honor to whom honor is due, to governors, to magistrates, to all of these people. It's not because of what they are in themselves, but because of the station that God has given them. And so I'm going to be particular to do that. Why is it that you do all of this diligently to prepare for the Sabbath day? Lighten up. The rest of the church is so easy about this. You say, well, because God's law says this. The humbled heart doesn't reason by the actions of others. It reasons by the law of God and says, this is good. This is the way. This is truth. But there's more in justifying God and His law. It also is pleasing to God because of its relationship, the way it relates, to God's mercy. And so it receives the convicting power of God's law. It, by God's grace, is led to walk in the light of God's law. We've seen that. But it also is pleased to embrace the mercy of God held forth. It's delighted to trust in the mercy of God. Notice verse 1 of our psalm. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness. according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions, O brethren. How often have we stuttered and stumbled to express before God a confident reliance upon His mercy. When a heart is humbled and trembles at God's Word, it is ready to rest upon His promises, however big they are, however unworthy we are of them. Brethren, what promise from God are we worthy of? The point is the humbled heart trusts God. So think of this, when God brings a promise to us and we say, I don't know. That's actually our own indictment against God. God, I don't know if you're going to keep your word. Now, we don't say it that way, do we? We don't in our prayers go to God and say, Oh Lord, I see that you promised this, but I'm going to be very explicit here. I'm not sure you'll keep your word. But brother, what we do, is no different, in essence, because when we stutter and stumble, and we think, I don't know, and our excuse is, well, because I'm so evil, I'm unworthy, is actually to discredit God from keeping His Word who is true and faithful. God knows your sins far more than you know them. Have you not had those experiences, brethren, when there's a moment in God's gracious work in your life that it's as if your sins spring forth and you're standing aghast at the corruption that you never knew was in your heart? There are seasons perhaps where you're sitting, even in the worship of God, and thoughts against other Christians so plague your mind, and you're sitting there in grief wondering, how is it that such wickedness is in my mind? How is it that such wickedness is within my heart? And it's as if it's surprising to us. We're astounded that such sin remains. Well, brethren, let's be clear. You're astounded. You're surprised. I'm astounded. I'm surprised. But God isn't astounded nor surprised. God knows every aspect of your sin. Brethren, there are seasons, aren't there, where we pass through and we think, At least that's dealt with. And now, you know, the rest of my life, whatever trials I have outwardly, at least I know the majority of my sins are now put off. And then time passes, and we say, have I made any progress whatsoever? Now, that's a discovery for us. But God knows it. And so when He gives us promises, when He holds forth promises of forgiveness, and sanctification, and help, and comfort, and peace, and all of these things that David has been asking for, He doesn't predicate them upon us being worthy of them. Do you understand that? No promise comes to us that first says, make yourself worthy of what I'm promising you. His promises come in mercy. And He holds them forth to us in grace and kindness. And David has learned that. David has this heart that to a degree has been broken and is contrite. And so what's he doing? He's casting all of his hope upon the mercy of God. And that is what delights God. Here's a heart that trusts Me. It's not meritorious in God's sight, of course, because it's the fruit of God's grace. But it's pleasing in God's sight. He sees the fruit of His grace. Think of Christ in Isaiah 53. He will see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied. All the forgiveness, all of the beautifying of His bride, He'll see it as that which He has purchased. And He won't say, well, you know, I'm not satisfied by this because they didn't do it. He'll be satisfied because He's brought to pass this glorious work of salvation in His beloved people. And He's pleased with that, and so is God toward us when He's bringing a heart out of the hardness of unbelief and the pride of resistance into the relinquishing of self-righteousness and self-wisdom and the cleaving to His promises. This pleases God. The heart is brought to live as it ought to live in fellowship with God. Well, brethren, there's much more of course. We see even in this psalm as well, these things. David's asking to be led, to be guided, to walk in the ways of the Lord, and to be made a teacher to transgressors of God's ways, that they would be converted unto God. He's praying that God's promises would be realized in his life. And we also see that all of this can be summarized in that the Lord is pleased with this because the heart is now related rightly to God's glory. David is seeking these things not for himself. He's seeking them for the Lord's glory. Though he's asking for personal things, verse 8, "...make me to hear joy and gladness, that these bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice." All of these things do have benefits to him. But it is that as these things are done, he's then put in service to God, to promote God's ways. And so his fundamental orientation now is to seeking the glory of God. Think of how this is expressed in Psalm 73 and at verse 25. There we have a different context, of course, And yet we have this expression in verse 25, Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. That's the humbled heart. My only desire is God. This doesn't mean that a Christian husband doesn't care for his wife. But now the Christian husband cares for his wife out of care for God. It's precisely what Paul says in Ephesians 5. Husbands, love your own wives, as Christ loved the church. It's not that the wife now, as a Christian, says, well, you know, we're all equal and I'm not going to care about submitting to you. No, the wife says, I'll gladly submit to my husband because I'm doing so as unto the Lord. The whole orientation is put in its proper way. You know, the world can have its good marriages and its fine families, but the orientation is still off. It would be hard to find a better functioning family than many that are found in Mormon congregations. And yet, they are outright heretics. Their orientation is not right. They may have tactics and tricks and strategies as to how the marriage should be and how children should be raised, some of which we agree, of course, in the outward things, but their orientation of their heart is still opposed to God. They reject God. They reject Christ. They cast off His Word. With all of the religious soundings, their heart is still far from God, and they do not seek His glory. We think of their religion. Their fundamental hope is that they will be promoted to be gods of their own universe. It is the precise antithesis of the scriptures. The scriptures call us to realize what we are, and to rejoice in the only God, and to enjoy His fellowship. Whereas Mormonism says, here's your hope, that you can be your own god of your own universe. It is the pride of the garden on steroids. It is the engulfing of false religion and forming its most wicked expression of idolatry, perhaps beneath Islam and Roman Catholicism. The point is this, where there is a true brokenness of heart, the solitary desire now is the glory of God. Whatever else you do, O Lord, whatever else at all, please use me to promote Your praise. With my own lips, with my influence upon others, that is life. Christian, don't you know that by your experience? When is it that your soul is most satisfied, but that when it is in sincerity, you're praising the Lord and giving glory to Him, or when you see others being brought to praise the Lord? And this is how it was supposed to be from the very beginning. God created man for what purpose? That he would praise God. Now, this isn't artificial. Rather, this is the good and wholesome relationship that God, who is perfect and good, should consume our affections and elicit from us delightful praise. It's not slavery and bondage wherein we're whipped into praising His name. It's rather the enlivening of our souls in the wonder of the glory of the goodness and the grace of God, that we cannot help but pour forth praise to His name. This is the humbled heart, broken in light of its own sin and pride and its arrogance. and now cleaving to the Word of God by grace, redeemed by the mercy of God, guided by His law, and oriented to the promotion of God's praise now and forever. Brethren, this is truly wherein joy is found, broken from ourselves and consumed with our beloved God. Well, brethren, If this is what God desires, a simple question in closing, is this what you have? Notice the question. It's not asking, do you have the outward stuff? You may very well have that. It's asking, is this heart your heart? is your heart, one, that is broken and contrite. It trembles at God's Word. God's Law comes. You're not trying to deflect it. You're not trying to sidestep it. You're not trying to avoid it. But rather, the Lord's arrow comes and you say, land and slay my sin. Make me to know my sin. The promise comes, and you don't start to reason in this false, pious way, you know, well, I'm too wicked and all of these things. But you look and say, it's God's promise. Blessed be God who has promised, O Lord, give me faith to trust in these things. And the whole orientation of our life is, as Paul says, that having been redeemed with a price, now our desire is to glorify God in our body and in our spirit, which are the Lord's. That's what Christ said. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. It's our consuming focus. It's what Mary experiences at the feet of Christ. There's one thing needful, Martha, and Mary hath chosen the good part which shall never be taken from her. Is this what you have? Of course, not in perfection. Who among us could say that we have it in perfection? But is it there in sincerity? Brethren, if it's not, notice this, it won't be through the multiplication of religious actions that will give this. It is the gracious work of God that will cultivate such things. And our only recourse is to go to God and say, my heart is stout. It's hard. It's proud. I need You to do what You did to David. That by Your Word, with Your Spirit, You would come with power and destroy that death and give life. But brother or sister, you who have been brought to this broken and contrite heart, think of what a gracious thing God has done. That instead of allowing you to continue in your self-righteousness, your self-wisdom, and all of these things, He's crushed that idol. He's destroyed that falsehood. And He's brought you to see where life is found. That it's found in Him alone. This is God doing. God didn't let David continue in his sin. He sought David out. The one who had gone astray, He brings him back and plants him in the garden of His grace. And He causes David to be restored, forgiving him mercifully, giving life to him, and using him Not only for Psalm 51, which we praise God for, but for many other things that still minister to us. So brethren, if God has given you this broken and contrite heart, you have cause to rejoice sincerely and to let the religious expression of your life be the outflow of a heart renewed by God's grace. Well, let us stand and give thanks to God for his mercies and ask his blessings.