Who Are God's Annointed — Leonard Ravenhill

Psalm 51: David’s Penitence and the Language of Sin

1951. Sometime or another all of us are captivated with the idea that a chapter that we've read suddenly kind of comes to life. You wonder why you've read it so many times and haven't seen what you're seeing today.

Some of you read this I won't say how many years ago it wouldn't be fair. I read it 60 years ago anyhow, maybe 70 but it's a favourite psalm. There are you remember 150 psalms and roughly half of them are written by David.

Out of the psalms he wrote there are 8 penitential psalms but this is the greatest of all penitential psalms. Remember the history of David right here is that he stained on one hand with the murder blood on one hand and on the other hand the black stain of adultery.

And you remember that Shakespeare has, isn't it Lady Macbeth looking at that spot of blood on her hand and she says in her own language this damn spot, all the perfumes of Arabia can't take it out. And now when you think of it, it's awesome today that men have gone to gods of stone and wood crippled with guilt and burdened and anxious because they know inwardly that there's a condemnation and yet they find no relief, I'm amazed.

The church of Jesus Christ drags its feet as it does. We've got the most explosive and the most expensive message the world has ever known that Christ is able to save sinful men. One of the wonders about this psalm, I'm going to leap through it quite a bit but one of the wonders is this, that I didn't find this until about a few years ago.

The psalm is a monologue. There's nobody in it but David have mercy upon me O God according to thy loving kindness, according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions and wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin against thee.

Only have I sinned, and he said no he sinned against Bathsheba. I don't think he did, he sinned with her but it's himself right through the whole psalm blot out my transgressions. Isn't it interesting, he comes asking for mercy whenever did a king do this, you know, kings used to, whether they do now or not, I don't know, they used to believe in the divine right of kings, they could do what they wanted to do like King Uzziah when he managed the government and managed industry and got his army going and raised the economy and did everything with a magic touch and then suddenly decided to go into the temple and minister holy things and God took hold of him for that, when would this have happened before or since.

I'll tell you what Mary Queen of Scots would have done in Scotland, she would have said well this may be true of me but I want to tell you this I'm above the law. James II would have sworn witnesses, hired witnesses to swear away the testimony of Bathsheba.

Mohammed would have produced a revelation authorizing both his crimes. Charles II would have publicly abrogated the 7th commandment. Queen Elizabeth, not the present one, the one 300 400 years ago, she would have suspended Nathan, you know what's wrong with our day, as I answer before God, I believe that evangelism is being killed in America by evangelists.

They're not preaching evangelism. They're preaching forgiveness. Let's look at this, just skipping through quickly. Have mercy upon me O God according to thy loving kindness, according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies.

Blot out my transgressions and notice the different words he has for sin, in verse 1 he calls them transgressions. In verse 2 he talks about iniquity. In verse 2 he talks about sin. You see the wretched evangelism of our day has changed it's vocabulary, there are no adulterers anymore, they're just having an affair.

There's no iniquity, it's just infirmity. There's no wickedness, it's just weakness and therefore it doesn't burn because God won't honour it. This is God's language, we should use it. It's God's kingdom we're effecting.

Hell, Judgment, and the Need for Repentance

Last week I used an illustration, it's lived with me since sometimes when I didn't want it, in the middle of the night, we were dealing with Luke 16 last week, talking about the man in hell, he could see, he could hear he could feel, and there down there in the depths of hell he can see away there into eternity, into Abraham's bosom and he could hear in hell, I believe one of the agonies of hell is they'll be able to see everything that's going on in heaven and there's no chance of getting out.

I wrote a brother the other day a week ago and I said you know we need some bumper stickers with hell has no exit. Mercy called me yesterday and said I've got the bumper stickers for you, I said well I don't know who'll have them.

Oh I'll put one on mine, front and back if you like hell has no exit. The present church doesn't even believe that hell exists. We talk about once saved always saved, why don't we talk about once lost always once, once a man gets into that state he can never get out, I imagine a young man, his daddy and mummy talked to him about God, he heard his mother pray and thought it was sentimental.

He's a big swashbuckling boy, he's going to live his own life do his thing. He wakes up in hell and sees a married servant of the Lamb, he sees his mother with a glorified body, he sees his father with a glorified body.

He sees that multitude which no man can number, they can hear in hell and I guarantee that when that choir of a hundred and forty thousand musicians play they'll hear it in hell. Dear old William Bull died in 1912.

I never saw him, yes I did, I saw him once when I was a tiny child. Now a friend has a picture of him, on the refrigerated door, that's a cold place for a man who preached hellfire all his life. He was a remarkable man and one day he decided he would go to Australia because they'd had revival of the Salvation Army in Australia and remember the the Salvation Army made in its whole existence from the time he inaugurated it under God to the time he died, never had as much money as some of the gospel corporations around here.

The lifeblood of modern evangelism is not the Holy Ghost or the blood of Christ, it's money. God hastened the day when America goes bankrupt except for the fact that Paul would suffer more. That's the only thing that keeps me from praying, God, smash the banks they're going to smash anyhow within the next five years a hundred a hundred banks closed in America last year.

A hundred and thirty will close next year. We're told a lady wrote to me today from the inter-first bank in town here, she said I suppose you know that we're laying off two thousand people across the nation, they're laying about fifty off down at the inter-first in town.

The conditions are very bad and they're getting worse, but here's a boy he can't get out. He sneered, he recued his mother and father. He drank rich liquors and wines while he was living, there isn't a spot of water in hell, and his mother is there drinking wine, the wine of the kingdom.

He wouldn't listen to her now she can't listen to him. Are you going to tell me that the fundamental church of America believes in hell. I won't believe you, try. Do you think we're an empty seat here tonight.

If all the believers around here really believed in hell, we'd be here storming heaven to get God's glory down. It's an eternal separation. There are three different words here for sin. Verse one again transgressions and verse two iniquity and then at the end of that verse sin by the same token.

There are three different words for washing or cleansing, verse one is blot out, that's erase something like a blackboard and it's completely obliterated, you know I think many of us well some of us didn't have a very bad history anyhow but some of you have a bad history.

One of the things is you find it hard to forgive yourself and some of your neighbours find it hard to forgive but every day you ought to send a hallelujah to heaven. He forgives and he forgets. Usually it occurs when God forgives he forgets, when God forgives he forgets, he'll no more remember.

Our sin doesn't matter how much you may have sinned enough to damn a million people. He forgave it and it's thrown into the sea of his forgetfulness. I told you about the man in England a rough boy and he was always disturbing the church.

You know he didn't know it was supposed to be quiet supposed to be Methodist and it was a morgue but he kept shouting hallelujah if anybody touched him he ripped the air. You know one day he went to see his preacher.

The new preacher sent for him and said come into my office. You know you disturb people. On Sunday nights we had a man in our church like that. He was great, I loved him. He was a funny looking guy. But you know when he was getting he'd go oh everybody jump.

You know there's old Joe, there's old Joe. Well glory. We need some folk like that. You know some people are quiet like me and some are noisy. So this fellow went into the office of the preacher and the preacher said I've got a friend in there.

Now be quiet, be quiet. He said read this book. So he was reading an encyclopedia and he thought that boy he won't find a thing there to praise God for. Well that was what he thought. Ten minutes after the fellow shouted the biggest hallelujah he'd ever heard.

The preacher said what's wrong with you. That's not a bible, it's not a hymn book. It's not a history of the church. What are you shouting hallelujah for he said it says that off the shore of the Philippines there's a hole in the sea.

They've never measured the depth of it. Some parts of the ocean have 26 ,000 feet of water. They can't find the bottom, they can't get a plumb line to go to the bottom hallelujah. What's a hallelujah for he said because the Lord has cast my sins beyond the depth of the sea.

And if the devil tries to get me, get drowned anyhow. Maybe his theology wasn't very good. But boy I'll tell you what, it's great when you know it isn't it. Nobody can rake them up not even bring them up.

They're fully paid for Jesus paid it all in that sense for us. Anyhow he goes on you see there are three prayers in this marvellous marvellous psalm. We could stay a week on it. We won't. I promise you the first is a prayer of a sinner have mercy upon me.

Oh God have mercy. I love the old hymn that says depth of mercy. Can there be mercy still reserved for me. How many times did you hear the gospel before you accepted it. I'm sure I heard it hundreds of times.

And there's a patient loving God wanting to invade my life. And me stupid little me shuts an almighty God out of my life. If I'd obeyed him the first time I heard the gospel I'd be a hundred miles further up the road spiritually than I am tonight.

You know every meeting is full of tragedy. I don't care whether people come to the altar or not. I'm no longer mesmerised by altars. We've killed the church, we've killed we've killed ministry with altar calls, I told you what the precious men said in the 1500's where that wonderful man preached that message on the sinners in the hands of an angry God.

Do you know he actually preached 500 messages. They're still in print. And there's only one of them that's full of wrath, the others are full of love and full of mercy and full of grace. But those preachers got together.

Gilbert Tennant was one, his son was Gilbert George Whitfield Davenport, a whole host of mighty men in America. We don't pay tribute to them. We pay tribute to film stars and sports people. But they made a covenant together.

And remember they never staged a revival ever, that brother could have waited. Why preach his message on the sinners in the hands of an angry God, and remember it wasn't staged, it wasn't advertised. It was in the ordinary course of preaching when the Holy Ghost came in that phenomenal thing and shook America.

But they made a covenant together, as I say they didn't stage it. Jonathan Edwards could have said we're going to have a revival. But you know Mr. Whitfield is the greatest preacher since the Apostle Paul.

He'll arrive he'll arrive in about four days, do you know what happened. The navigation instruments were not very good in those days. And they missed the port they were after they missed it by 150 miles.

That's a long way to swim isn't it a hundred and fifty miles off course. And if they'd announced that Whitfield was coming he wouldn't have been there anyhow. But the Holy Ghost came. But those men covenanted together that they would not pluck, I like the figure that we will not pluck unripe fruit, we're getting people saved who don't know they're lost.

You have to sing an emotional chorus because the Holy Ghost hasn't stirred them so we stir them emotionally. Oh we're insisting on repentance. I made up my mind I keep a little book in which I have a lot of notes you should read them.

You'd think they were Solomon's, I mean you'd think they were someone else's. And when I put the other morning about two o 'clock I was in my office. I put this down. There is no repentance, true repentance without restitution.

Remember the man in the scripture that said if I've done anything wrong I'll pay fourfold back, we're always raising that storm about abortions and that's ok. But I'll tell you what, there are far more spiritual abortions than physical abortions in America.

In natural birth you have three things, you have conception gestation and birth. And you have the same thing in true revival. And you can't speed it up. What I liked about, I'm reading a kind of brief history of revivals in America right now the times when men would go into meetings and they'd be stricken tormented.

You don't get that anymore. Come the Lord loves you just as you are. Well why get changed. If he loves you just as you are. If you're a prostitute, stay a prostitute. He still loves you. If you're a drunken, if you beat your wife up don't beat her as hard but still beat her.

Come on have some sense. God doesn't love you as you are. He's angry with the wicked every day. Mercy is open to them. But they rebel and they pile up their rebellion. They pile up their judgements. I like to hear the Welsh people sing.

I think they're the best singers, congregational singers in the world. And they have a great hymn. And when I read this first verse where David is his as a supplicant I think of the hymn. They sing great God of wonders, all thy ways display thine attributes divine but countless acts of pardoning grace above all other wonders shine.

Who is a pardoning God like thee. Or who has grace so rich and free. Say this quickly when what was Leonard Bernstein a few years ago was the conductor of the New York Philharmonic. Somebody brought him a piece of dog-eared manuscript and said play this, he's a brilliant concert organist a pianist.

And he's alright. I can't, you can, you won't. I can't, you can, I can't, why not you say this is 200 years old. It was written in some man in the loft of a great cathedral. If I could get behind him and catch his spirit how he played it.

I don't know how he played it. I need the spirit of the man. Well how do you get the drift if you want to say that about this psalm, it wouldn't pulsate with life unless the Holy Ghost who wrote it inspires it.

But when you see this man he's a king. What does he say, have mercy upon me. I acknowledge my transgression. My sin is ever before me, look he looks out of the window and he sees a soldier a handsome young man standing there with a not with a gun but standing there with a sword to defend his king.

And when he sees that smart young man he remembers that he sent the best captain that he had in the army to his death so he could steal his wife. He looks through the window and he sees his sin. A baby cries and he remembers the child he fathered to Bathsheba.

His sin goes in his ears, his sin goes in his eyes, we try to get people reconciled to God and they don't know they've been enemies against God. I'm not a wicked man. I'm not a vile man. The biggest sin in the world is not adultery as rotten as it is and all that corruption.

The biggest sin in the world is to say I run my life and not God as I say. Jesus did not come into the world to make bad men good, that's a fringe benefit. He came to make dead men live. There are some very admirable men.

I know some men I'd rather trust they're unsaved, I'd rather trust them in business than Christians. But this man is having a terrible time. He didn't sit down and dictate this. I don't know how he wrote it.

I'll tell you how he didn't write it, he didn't write it in a lounge chair drinking orange juice and eating the grapes of escrow. This man is writhing on the floor. This paper I have is Indian paper and it's beautiful type.

But this wasn't written with his hand. If you can take the figure of speech here. It's written in black ink on paper. It was written in blood and in tears. He didn't punctuate it with commas, periods and all the rest, he punctuated it with sobs and cries and groans.

This man is prostrate. He's lashed with conscience. He's a load of guilt, he's condemnation. A baby scares him to death because he fathered when he shouldn't father. He sees a soldier polishing his uniform and he knows that he sent the best man that was in the army to his death.

You find people do that they'll commit sin and then they'll tell a lie to cover up their sin. It's the way of the transgressor all the time. But again I say this man is is stricken. But I tell you what, when God redeemed him he was just as marvelous for God.

Remember the Psalms he wrote. He wrote the 23rd Psalm. It's a lovely Psalm. Where does it fit into his own history. He says he went down into the valley of the shadow of death. I haven't read this, I dug it up myself.

It may be wrong but I'm sure it's right. I believe the valley of the shadow of death. When he went down there to fight Goliath and Goliath says I'll break you over my knee and feed the birds with you all.

Israel is looking on. The king of Israel is looking on. Jonathan is looking on. The kings of the captains of the army are looking on. And here's a boy, never had a moment of military training. Dear God I wish half the preachers in the country hadn't been to cemeteries seminaries.

They get so confident and cocky with their Greek and their Hebrew. And what have you got. I know a little Hebrew. I knew one in New York used to repair my pants. I know a little Greek. He keeps a station on 8th Avenue where I park my car.

That's all Greek and Hebrew. I know we used to have a man testify in the open air. He would say I haven't been to college. But I have the blessed knowledge that my sins are all forgiven. And I'm on my way to heaven.

That's as good as Shakespeare ever said. I acknowledge my transgression. My sin is ever before me against thee. Only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest and be clear when thou judgest.

Behold I was shaped in iniquity and in sin. Did my mother conceive me. I said there are three different words in the first two verses for sin. There are three different words for cleansing. In the first two verses there are three prayers in this psalm.

Restoration, Brokenness, and the Joy of Salvation

The first prayer is the prayer of a sinner. Have mercy upon me. The second prayer is the prayer of a backslider. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. Of course there are no backsliders anymore. You know that of course there are about 50 million people in the nation out of fellowship.

But you can't find backsliders anywhere. They buried their grandfather. He was the last backslider in their church. They haven't done any sins. Don't you think the church today is lively as it is. Professor to be is in a big delusion.

The devil cheated us. What do you do with a man like this. He's broken hearted because three times he mentioned brokenness. The Methodist used to sing a hymn. Blessed are the men of broken heart who mourn for sin.

With inward smart. We don't mourn for sin. People just come in. We whisper in their ear. Just tell the lord you're sorry. They come to the altar damned. And they say a prayer and go out damned. Except a little after that they get baptized and tithed.

And of course that fits you for the kingdom of God. They stress works. We're not saved by works. But boy if you die untithed you go straight to perdition. That's what they imply. Anyhow isn't it make me to hear joy and gladness.

Verse 11. Cast me not away from thy presence. Take not thy holy spirit from me. Come on now. Who's the most miserable man in the world tonight. A man begging at the street corner. A blind man. The man they showed on TV the other day or a couple of weeks ago.

They dragged him out of the debris. There in the in Mexico City. They had to amputate his legs. He left his legs behind in the debris. They sawed his legs off and one of his arms is broken. And now he's no legs.

And there he's handicapped for life. The most miserable man in the church is a man in the world is a man that God has walked out on. Oh I don't believe he ever will. Well then you don't believe the scripture.

Why does David cry here. Take not thy holy spirit from me. Because he'd seen a king by the name of Saul and he was anointed and he was filled with the Holy Ghost. And he prophesied. But he died a suicide.

What did he see him. Do he saw him go here. He go there. He tries to find deliverance. He can't the last thing he does. He's cringing at the feet of a dirty filthy spiritist medium and says bring up Samuel.

And Samuel came up. The only genuine appearance I think ever in history. And what did the king say to him. He said I've sinned. And he said yes you have sinned. He thought oh no no no. Kings have a special permit.

But the spirit said Samuel said you have sinned. But here he is wandering around. God has taken his spirit from him. It says clearly. Do I believe that happened. Yes I do believe it does. Not often. But I believe it does.

I used to take teams of young men around England college fellows and they were all much smarter than me happened to help them if they weren't. We had one young fellow who had been saved from a spiritist medium's home.

He had been a spiritist medium. God miraculously saved him. I've seen that fellow when we used to preach mid days and mid nights catching people coming out of the legitimate theatres or movie houses. I've seen that young fellow hold a crowd spell bound for an hour while he just told his testimony of deliverance.

He was marvellous. I sat at the feet as we say so very often as a figure of speech. I sat at the feet of Dr. G. Campbell Morgan maybe one of the greatest expositors ever. And yet this young fellow when he had the anointing could out preach Campbell Morgan.

But he got slack. He back slid. You know where everybody starts. Yes a deacons run away with a woman. He back slid. No that's the fruit of his back sliding. He back slid months ago in his prayer life.

In his devotional life every back slider starts there. So if you're chilling off in your experience of prayer if Jesus isn't as real and as wonderful if the word isn't sweeter than the honey in the honeycomb get on your belly and groan.

I saw that young man as I say move audiences. There were six of us. We would pray usually preach. I'd preach one night. The others would preach. Finally he quit. He had a church and then he got into some company that was rich and he got into a high state of living.

The last thing I heard about him was he took off his clerical collar and banged it on the table after a Sunday night service and he walked out and he became a terrible drunkard smoking drinking sinning women.

Sure. I would almost cringe when he preached about holiness and the majesty of God. And yet that guy goes and sells out. Did he go to hell? That's not my business. I'm telling you you can lose the anointing of God.

In fact I guarantee 90 of the preachers in the country have lost it if they ever had it. The anointing of God is the hardest thing to get this side of eternity. And it's the most difficult thing to keep.

We begin to develop our own personality our own eloquence our own style instead of having the thundering anointing of God that makes people tremble. As I read about these men tenants and others that preached and people would go home and weep the whole night through and fast the next day and weep the next day.

And they couldn't be consoled. You couldn't whisper a scripture into their ears until God put the fire of condemnation out through the blood of Jesus Christ. They were the most miserable men on earth.

Holiness, the Church, and the Living Presence of God

Now God help us. We've got homosexuals in pulpits. We're ordaining homosexuals. Sin doesn't appear sin to the church. Never mind to the man outside. The word says there's no fear of God before there are.

There's no fear of men in the world. There's no fear of God in the church. How many people tiptoe into the sanctuary expecting to meet God. Did you come here to meet God tonight. I preached a good sized congregation last Sunday night.

I went there in Irving Texas the other side of Dallas. I asked them did you come here to hear a sermon about God. Or did you come to meet God. He says restore him to me. Oh come on. Haven't you just read the charts.

You know King Saul was up here and he's lost his job. Number one is David. He's selling all the records. People in the street are clapping their hands and singing. Saul has slain his thousands but David is tens of thousands.

Come on. You're number one up on the charts. You're the greatest king. You've subdued the Philistines. You've subdued all your other enemies. Don't get too worried. Just about a little trivial break in your devotional life.

A bit of coldness. But once a man has tasted the fire of God he'll never be content till he gets back there. Right. And an old preacher in England used to say if you've had the fire you won't be content with the smoke.

Restore him to me the joy. The Methodists again I have to quote them because I was raised a Methodist went to a Methodist college. But he used to sing a lovely song. The joyful news of sins forgiven. One of the preachers every Sunday morning gives you a little bit of scripture there.

What we have seen and heard with confidence we tell. But the old Methodist hymn says what we have seen and heard with confidence we tell and publish to the sons of men the signs infallible with joyful news of sins forgiven of hell subdued.

And you can't get a squeak out of anybody. You say I didn't live a very bad life. I mean I wasn't lifted out of a horrible pit. I've got news for you. You were going to a horrible pit worse than all the pits in the world put together.

You're going to an eternal hole a place called hell. There's no way out. I'd love to say I'd love to be in a crusade. I'd love to be in a town where there came a deluge of Holy Ghost conviction where people can't sleep at night.

They don't want to buy. They don't want to sell. They don't want to go to a restaurant. They don't want to buy new clothes. They suddenly realise that they are bound for eternity either eternal life or eternal death.

That that isn't ours anymore. It wouldn't be if we preached properly. It wouldn't be if we prayed properly. It wouldn't be if we fasted properly. We're trying to become millionaires by paying a dime. And God says no again.

Revival will only work one way. And that's God's way. It says restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. I guess I've told you before the place where I met my precious wife. I preached on this psalm in 1937.

And a woman came to the altar. The tent was almost empty. She crawled practically up to the. She was the ugliest woman I've seen and I've seen some ugly women in my time. But anyhow she was ugly. She was dressed in black.

She was wrinkled as a prune and she had all the signs of death about her. She knelt down and I said can I help you? She said my name is Mrs Shepherd. I said so what. Mrs Shepherd. This has been a wonderful night.

I said well I didn't think it was super. The tent was nowhere near filled. You don't realise. No I don't. 40 years ago I was one of the outstanding officers in the Salvation Army. And I went home after a meeting and I had an argument with my partner.

We'd quarrelled over the hymns and finally I said well I'll have my way. And she wanted her way. I went home after a meeting so angry. I took off my uniform and I just cut it to pieces. I took off my skirt and I cut it in strips.

I took my straw Salvation Army bonnet and I put it on the fire. And then I took my bible. I ripped all the pages out. Then those big eyes began to weep. Tears were bouncing off my craggy cheeks. She said Mr Raymond tonight.

God spoke to me the first time in 40 years when I walked out on God. I went to hear William Booth and he could thunder hell fire but he never moved me. I heard the holy man Colonel Brangle. He never moved me.

I heard Commissioner Lawley outstandingly powerful in the Holy Ghost. He never moved me. I've been to meetings. I've heard the world's great preacher. No one's ever moved me. But she said when you read the psalm tonight restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.

I said God that's it. I've never really smiled in 40 years. I've never had any joy in 40 years. I'm sour. I'm bitter. I'm antagonistic against God. I love nobody. I've opposition against everyone. I said well let's pray.

And we prayed and she surely cried. That was about 9 o 'clock Saturday night. I said well remember we have a prayer meeting in the morning at 7. I stayed on after that crusade to try and put that church together as it were.

And you know that woman was the first at the prayer meeting. I've gone to the church at 7 o 'clock Sunday morning and she'd be ankle deep in snow. She was never late for a meeting and she would say over and over again oh that verse became so real.

With joy shall he draw water from the wells of salvation. The joy of sin's forgiven. The joy of being reconciled to God. The joy of having an eternal home in heaven. I noticed the other week they announced on radio J .B. Priestley an English playwright writer of popular books.

He made a statement once when I was in England about about the 1930's and he said I drove my car up to a great church of England a monolith beautiful like a miniature Westminster Abbey. And I drew my car to the side of the road and watched people go in.

There was one man and 10 women and he said when they went in they looked as though they were going to the dentists. He said I waited till they finished and when they came out they looked as though they'd been.

I don't think every meeting should be exciting in the sense that we mean use a common word. I think it should be inspiring. We can be broken with joy as well as with sorrow. What do you sing. Visions of rapture now burst on my sight.

What do you mean when your eyes are closed. You mean when you get a revelation of the glory. That's yet to be. As I've said before if I could push the door of heaven open just an inch and you could look in and see.

You'd never backslide your prayer. Life would never go cold. You'd never say Lord. It's getting hard brother one side inside eternity. We'll be embarrassed how little we really really really suffered and prayed and worshipped God let me leap over here a minute.

He prayed the prayer of a sinner. He prayed the prayer of a backslider. He's trying to get back to God. But look at verse 16. It says thou desirest not sacrifice. Why not. There's another way to God but sacrifice.

You have to bring different sacrifices for different sins. You have to bring them. But he says you don't desire sacrifice. And he's still under the old economy of blood sacrifice. What's he saying. Thou desirest not sacrifice.

God desires more than sacrifice. What does he do. He desires a broken and a contrite heart three times. He mentions brokenness here in verse eight. Make me to hear joy and gladness that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.