a broken and contrite heart

Their Hearts Are Far From Me

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A Psalm of Asaph.

1 The Mighty One, God the LORD,
    speaks and summons the earth
    from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
    God shines forth.

3 Our God comes; he does not keep silence;
    before him is a devouring fire,
    around him a mighty tempest.
4 He calls to the heavens above
    and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my faithful ones,
    who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,
    for God himself is judge! Selah

7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
    O Israel, I will testify against you.
    I am God, your God.
8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
    your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I will not accept a bull from your house
    or goats from your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is mine,
    the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the hills,
    and all that moves in the field is mine.

12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
    for the world and its fullness are mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
    or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
    and perform your vows to the Most High,
15 and call upon me in the day of trouble;
    I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

16 But to the wicked God says:
    “What right have you to recite my statutes
    or take my covenant on your lips?
17 For you hate discipline,
    and you cast my words behind you.
18 If you see a thief, you are pleased with him,
    and you keep company with adulterers.

19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
    and your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
    you slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done, and I have been silent;
    you thought that I was one like yourself.
But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

22 “Mark this, then, you who forget God,
    lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!
23 The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
    to one who orders his way rightly
    I will show the salvation of God!” – Psalm 50:1-23 ESV

Asaph, the apparent author of this psalm, was a Levite who headed up a contingent of musicians who provided worship music to accompany the people’s offering of sacrifices before the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple.

David appointed the following Levites to lead the people in worship before the Ark of the LORD—to invoke his blessings, to give thanks, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel. Asaph, the leader of this group, sounded the cymbals. Second to him was Zechariah, followed by Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel. They played the harps and lyres. The priests, Benaiah and Jahaziel, played the trumpets regularly before the Ark of God’s Covenant. – 1 Chronicles 16:4-6 NLT

Asaph’s role in leading the people in worshipping Yahweh must have inspired him to write this psalm. Observing his fellow Israelites as they offered their sacrifices to God gave him a perfect vantage point to witness their hypocrisy and duplicity. Asaph was not a Levitical priest, so he had no authority to address what he believed to be the people’s blatant disregard for Yahweh. This prompted him to write this psalm as an extended speech. from the lips of God Himself.

He opens the psalm with a description of Yahweh’s glory.

The LORD [Yahweh], the Mighty One, is God,
    and he has spoken;
he has summoned all humanity
    from where the sun rises to where it sets. – Psalm 50:1 NLT

What God had to say would be addressed to “all humanity,” not just the people of Israel. This extended audience was intended to make what He had to say all the more convicting for His chosen people. He was about to expose their dirty laundry for all the world to see. And Asaph goes out of his way to establish God’s glory and majesty, describing Him as beautiful and radiant but also surrounded by a consuming fire. God’s splendor is contrasted with His judgment, setting up the bad news the people of Israel are about to hear.

He calls on the heavens above and earth below
    to witness the judgment of his people. – Psalm 50:4 NLT

This will not be a private rebuke, but instead, it will be a public declaration of Israel’s disobedience and well-deserved judgment. Asaph portrays Yahweh as a justifiably angry husband whose wife has committed adultery. They have broken their covenant relationship with Him by refusing to remain faithful and responding to His care and compassion with disinterest and disrespect. In a command laced with sarcasm, Asaph has God call His covenant people to the stand.

“Bring my faithful people to me—
    those who made a covenant with me by giving sacrifices.” – Psalm 50:5 NLT

Asaph recalls the fateful day when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the Book of the Covenant containing God’s laws. He had read every one of God’s commands, making sure the people understood the nature of the commitment they were about to make.

Then Moses went down to the people and repeated all the instructions and regulations the LORD had given him. All the people answered with one voice, “We will do everything the LORD has commanded.”

Then Moses carefully wrote down all the LORD’s instructions. Early the next morning Moses got up and built an altar at the foot of the mountain. He also set up twelve pillars, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent some of the young Israelite men to present burnt offerings and to sacrifice bulls as peace offerings to the LORD. Moses drained half the blood from these animals into basins. The other half he splattered against the altar.

Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people. Again they all responded, “We will do everything the LORD has commanded. We will obey.” – Exodus 24:3-7 NLT

They had repeatedly expressed their intentions to keep the Lord’s commands. But now, Asaph was exposing their failure to live up to their commitment, and he did so by having Yahweh deliver the bad news.

“O my people, listen as I speak.
    Here are my charges against you, O Israel:
    I am God, your God!” – Psalm 50:7 NLT

But what God has to say to His people is surprising. He doesn’t complain about the quality of their sacrifices or their failure to keep the various rituals associated with Temple worship.

“I have no complaint about your sacrifices
    or the burnt offerings you constantly offer.” – Psalm 50:8 NLT

They weren’t guilty of bringing shoddy sheep or blemished lambs. They hadn’t offered improper or inappropriate sacrifices. It wasn’t the quality of their offerings that was the problem; it was the condition of their hearts. Asaph has Yahweh expose the meaninglessness of their repeated sacrifices by declaring His lack of need for them.

“But I do not need the bulls from your barns
    or the goats from your pens.
For all the animals of the forest are mine,
    and I own the cattle on a thousand hills.” – Psalm 50:9-10 NLT

God isn’t hungry. He has no need or insufficiency that requires their provision of food. He is the Creator of the universe who spoke all life into existence. So, He is fully capable of meeting His own needs without their help. But He makes the real problem clear.

“Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God,
    and keep the vows you made to the Most High.” – Psalm 50:14 NLT

Gratefulness and obedience were the missing ingredients to their sacrifices. Bulls and goats were not what God was looking for. The prophet Isaiah records a similar indictment from God, accusing His covenant people of simply going through the motions when it came to their worship of Him.

“What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?”
    says the LORD.
“I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams
    and the fat of fattened cattle.
I get no pleasure from the blood
    of bulls and lambs and goats.
When you come to worship me,
    who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?
Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts;
    the incense of your offerings disgusts me!
As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath
    and your special days for fasting—
they are all sinful and false.
    I want no more of your pious meetings.” – Isaiah 1:11-13 NLT

Asaph was expressing a similar dissatisfaction without the behavior of his fellow Israelites. As he witnessed their repeated sacrifices, he could tell their hearts were not in it. It had all become nothing more than a ritualistic observance that no longer carried any weight and was missing any sincerity or passion. And to drive home his point, Asaph has God be the bearer of bad news.

“Why bother reciting my decrees
    and pretending to obey my covenant?
For you refuse my discipline
    and treat my words like trash.
When you see thieves, you approve of them,
    and you spend your time with adulterers.
Your mouth is filled with wickedness,
    and your tongue is full of lies.
You sit around and slander your brother—
    your own mother’s son.” – Psalm 50:16-20 NLT

From God’s perspective, it was all pretense and posturing. Their sacrifices were meaningless and heartless. The people of Israel were guilty of saying one thing and doing another. Their worship of Yahweh, expressed through their offerings and sacrifices, was all a hypocritical and worthless display. Again, the prophet Isaiah recorded God’s displeasure with this disengenuous behavior on the part of His people.

And so the Lord says,
    “These people say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me
    is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.” – Isaiah 29:13 NLT

In his role as a Levitical musician, Asaph had repeatedly witnessed this egregious behavior and been appalled by it. Now, he was taking the opportunity to highlight it by having the LORD condemn it for what it was – disobedience and disrespect for His glory. To accentuate the gravity of their transgression, Asaph has God declare that His patience has run out. No longer willing to tolerate their breaking of their covenant vows to Him, Yahweh threatens rebuke unless they repent.

“While you did all this, I remained silent,
    and you thought I didn’t care.
But now I will rebuke you,
    listing all my charges against you.
Repent, all of you who forget me,
    or I will tear you apart,
    and no one will help you.” – Psalm 50:21-22 NLT

If Asaph intended to compose a song that would stir the people to change their ways, this one is more of a dirge than a call to contrition and recommitment. It is more depressing than inspiring. Yet, he closes his song with a merciful call from Yahweh, offering the people of Israel an opportunity to do the right thing.

“But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me.
    If you keep to my path,
    I will reveal to you the salvation of God.” – Psalm 50:23 NLT

It was King David who declared the real sacrifice that God required of His people. Having been convicted of his adulterous affair with Bathsheba and his role in the murder of her husband, David expressed the valuable lesson he had learned from this self-induced but highly painful experience.

You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
    You do not want a burnt offering.
The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
    You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. – Psalm 51:16-17 NLT

That is what Asaph longed to see in the people of Israel, and so he composed a song that would lead them to worship God rightly, respectfully, and reverently.

Father, Iit is so easy to just go through the motions when it comes to worshiping You. Showing up to church each Sunday is easy. Making the effort to spend time in Your Word takes discipline, but none of that matters if my heart is far from You. I can do all the right things but miss the point that my heart is not right with You. I don’t want to be hypocritical or duplicitous. I know I can fool others but I can’t fool You. Help me to live openly and honestly before You, displaying abroken and contrite heart when necessary, but also a grateful and fully submissive heart each day of my life. Because You are worthy and well-deserving of my honor, love, time, and attention. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Too Little, Too Late.

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So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.” The woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?” But Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.” The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage.

Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.” And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.”

Then Saul fell at once full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night. And the woman came to Saul, and when she saw that he was terrified, she said to him, “Behold, your servant has obeyed you. I have taken my life in my hand and have listened to what you have said to me. Now therefore, you also obey your servant. Let me set a morsel of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way.” He refused and said, “I will not eat.” But his servants, together with the woman, urged him, and he listened to their words. So he arose from the earth and sat on the bed. Now the woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she quickly killed it, and she took flour and kneaded it and baked unleavened bread of it, and she put it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night. – 1 Samuel 28:8-25 ESV

The scene that takes place in this chapter is fascinating and difficult to understand. Saul had long ago lost access to God’s guidance because of his disobedience. God had removed His Spirit from Saul.

Now the Spirit of the LORD had left Saul, and the LORD sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear. – 1 Samuel 16:14 NLT

Now, when Saul finds himself facing the threat of war with vastly superior Philistine army, he is at a loss as to what to do and decides to seek God’s advice and help. But God is not talking. And not only that, Samuel, the prophet of God, is dead. To make things even worse for Saul, Abiather, the sole remaining priest who had escaped Saul massacre of the all the priests of Nob, had taken the high priest’s ephod with him and was not residing with David. The ephod contained the Urim and Thummim, which was used to seek God’s will (1 Samuel 23:6-12). So Saul was out of luck and out of options. Which led him to do the unthinkable and unholy. He sought out a medium or a witch. While Samuel had been alive, he had persuaded Saul to remove those who practiced witchcraft, divination and sorcery from the land. God had given the people of Israel very clear orders concerning these matters when they had entered the land of promise:

When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. – Deuteronomy 18:9-12 ESV

God knew the danger of these practices and had forbidden them among His people. He had other plans for them. He was to be their only source of wisdom and direction.

“You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this.

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen…” – Deuteronomy 18:13-15 ESV

But once again, Saul disobeyed God. He sought out a medium, in an attempt to get divine help in his time of need. He was desperate and allowed his fear to get the best of him. But not wanting everyone to know what he was doing, Saul disguised himself and went to visit the medium or witch at night. He attempted to cover his actions through deceit, not wanting the people to know what he was doing. And when the medium was reticent to assist him out of fear for her life, Saul assured her that nothing would be done to her – in direct defiance of God’s command.

What is very fascinating about this story is that the woman was actually able to conjure up Samuel from the dead – or so it would appear. This passage does not validate the practice of necromancy or communication with the dead. It would be wrong to use this story as a proof that seances really do work. What this woman and those like here really were doing was conjuring up evil spirits. Their practice was demonic. But in this case, God supernaturally intervened and allowed the spirit of Samuel to appear. Even the woman was shocked at what she saw. “When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed” (1 Samuel 28:12 NLT). Whatever appeared before her was unexpected and disturbing to her. Even she couldn’t believe her eyes. That the vision she saw was Samuel, the dead prophet, was clear to her and to Saul. And the message Samuel gave was clearly from God.

What Samuel had to say to Saul was not good news. If this had been an evil spirit, it would have lied to Saul, telling him what he wanted to hear and giving him false counsel. But Samuel told Saul exactly what was going to happen, and it was anything but comforting.

“Why ask me, since the Lord has left you and has become your enemy? The Lord has done just as he said he would. He has torn the kingdom from you and given it to your rival, David. The Lord has done this to you today because you refused to carry out his fierce anger against the Amalekites. What’s more, the Lord will hand you and the army of Israel over to the Philistines tomorrow, and you and your sons will be here with me. The Lord will bring down the entire army of Israel in defeat.” – 1 Samuel 28:16-19 NLT

This was clearly a case of too little, too late. While Samuel had been alive, Saul had ignored his counsel. He had repeatedly refused to accept the prophet’s advice, instead choosing to disagree with God’s word concerning David and stubbornly attempting to derail what God had ordained. It is vital to note that there is no remorse or repentance associated with any of Saul’s actions. When he found himself faced with the overwhelming threat of annihilation at the hands of the Philistines, he did not call out to God in repentance. He did not confess his sins. Oh, he fell on his face, but only out of fear over what he had heard the prophet say. At no point does Saul admit his wrong and beg God to forgive him. He is stubborn to the end. He wanted God’s guidance and protection, but remained unwilling to live his life according to God’s will.

How often do we find ourselves in difficult circumstances and forced to call out to God? The very One whom we have refused to show proper honor and respect in the good times becomes our go-to source in the bad times. We get in trouble and suddenly our prayer lives take on a whole new significance. We cry out. We beg God to save us. And there is nothing wrong with crying out to God. In fact, we are commanded to call on God in times of trouble. But it is important that God desires for us to come to Him humbly and with a heart of repentance. Saul knew this. He had heard those very words from the mouth of the prophet years earlier.

“What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.” – 1 Samuel 15:22 NLT

Years later, when David had become king, and after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba, he would write the following words:

You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
    You do not want a burnt offering.
The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
    You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. – Psalm 51:16-17 NLT

Saul would find himself face down in the dirt, but his prideful heart would remain unrepentant and stubbornly unwilling to confess his disobedience toward God. Sorrow over sin is not the same as repentance. Fear of the circumstances facing us is not the same as a reverent fear of God. Saul wasn’t seeking a relationship with God, he simply wanted deliverance from his problems by God.

 

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson