The Prayer of the Broken

“Have mercy on me, O God,
according to Your steadfast love;
according to Your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!” 

—Psalm 51:1-2

There is no offering that we can bring to God to earn His favor. There is no price that we can pay for our sin that is sufficient in His sight! The only thing that we can bring to God is our “broken and contrite” heart. God does not delight in sacrifice, but in the realization that we are broken. Jesus illustrated the profundity of this truth when He told the story of the two men who were praying—one a Pharisee--and the other a tax collector (a despised figure in Scripture—tax collectors were Jews who worked for the Roman government and were hated by Jews and Romans alike). The Pharisee boasted of his accomplishments—he tithed and fasted twice a week. He was part of the religious “who’s who” and reasoned that God must be pleased with everything he brought to the table. The other man, he wouldn’t even lift his head to God—but bowed his head in deep anguish, beating his breast and saying, “God have mercy on me, a sinner!” Jesus tells us that it was not the Pharisee who went home justified in the sight of God, but the man who knew the utter helplessness of his state.

David illustrated the reality of this truth after he had been confronted by Nathan the prophet over his adultery with Bathsheba—Psalm 51 is the record of his confession and repentance—and how great and glorious a repentance it is! He knew his guilt—the futility of trying to glance over or minimalize his sin is not present in his prayer! No, he is broken, completely broken, and at the end of himself. He knows how bad his sin is—he has sinned against Bathsheba, against Uriah, and even implicated a general in his devious plot. There was a pregnancy, murder, and the death of a child—all because of David’s sin. But he knew and well understood that though he did sin against all of them, the ultimate offense was against God (Psalm 51:4). He knew that God was the one who had established him as king, and it was God who had blessed the work of his hands and made him fruitful and gave him success wherever he went.

God bless David for His repentance! And thank the Lord that He had it preserved in His Word! Oh how many a man or woman of God has read the words of this prayer and found themselves in it! And how many more sinners will turn to the page and shed tears in godly sorrow, breathing the air of joyous relief knowing that the party sinned against has already provided a wondrous and divine pardon through the sacrifice of His one and only Son!

My brother or sister, no matter where you are and no matter what you’ve done, turn to the page of Psalm 51 and mark it well so that you may go there in your time of need! Be ready to pray the words of the broken, with a full and honest heart, turning away from sin and asking for Jesus’ blood to cover your sin! And God will do it! He will forgive you and restore to you the joy of your salvation! Forgiveness has been granted and heaven is assured! Rejoice in its truth! Amen.