David answers this question in Psalm 51:17. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God thou wilt not despise”.
“A broken spirit”, in the original Hebrew is in the passive sense—to allow oneself to be willingly broken, non-resistance, a principle which has its full impact in the complete surrender of our will to the word of God. In a personal sense, God’s will must become ours where rebellion and iniquity once reigned because of sin. This principle of non-resistance must also be extended to our surrender to God’s appointed wise chastening, which are often the consequences of rebellion, so that we might be purified and refined from that evil which lays at the root of all our sinfulness, and be the recipients of God’s mercy. “Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercy is a great: and let me not fall into the hand of man” (2 Samuel 24:14).
“A broken and contrite heart” submits, mentally and physically, and is bruised, wounded, or suffers, according to the will of God. The Hebrew root of the word “bruised” is in fact used to describe the sacrifice of our Lord; “yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him”; “he was bruised for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5, 10). So in a very real sense, this “broken spirit and contrite heart” (the scriptural definition of repentance) is inextricably linked with the exceedingly painful death of the flesh by crucifixion (Galatians 5:24).
“The Clapham Change” pages 19–20, July 31st 1940.
It identifies us with the thief who was crucified with Christ (John 20:20), who came to see in the dying of his Lord the principles of life, and at last allowed his will also to be broken and put his faith in a crucified man saying, “remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom” (Luke 23:40–42). This man feared God. He recognised the just reward for sin of which he confessed, and saw the righteousness of God declared in His only begotten son. He, having faith in the forgiveness of the son of man, was forgiven instantaneously and completely. Though he lingered upon the cross, well after his Lord had died, his Lord’s heart had become his in all contriteness. When the Romans came with a wooden mallet to break his legs to end his suffering, his death with his Lord’s memorialised that Christ came to save sinners, and vividly exemplified the means by which this could be accomplished.
“I am crucified with Christ”, says Paul, “nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”.
If we seek forgiveness as David did for murder and adultery, sins which all Israel came to know, (like the thief crucified for his sins for all to see) then with broken spirit and contrite heart, we too will have to linger upon the cross while the flesh is put to death. Yet in this excruciating process of dying, we live and become more alive, for Christ in his sacrificial love becomes the all-pervading force in our life.
By Christ’s sufferings or his stripes, we are healed (1Peter 2:21–24). This is the fruit which every repentant son and daughter of God shall reap—when the bones which in crucifixion are finally broken and the ordeal ends in the death of the man of the flesh, when those very bones which have been broken shall rejoice (Psalm 51:8), for they have been healed. It is not the man of the flesh which is the product of this healing, but the man of the spirit; that which had been cultivated as a result of repentance or “the broken spirit, the broken and contrite heart”.
These are the sacrifices that God requires from those who have committed sin including those who have sinned by divorcing a spouse who is innocent of porneia, and have remarried. If these scriptural conditions are manifested, do we dare suggest that God will not forgive? Scripture clearly states that such a one when this repentance is manifested is forgiven and mercy is extended. The iniquity is blotted out through faith in the sin covering efficacy of the blood of Christ.
There can be no doubt God will accept the sincerely repentant sinner. The entire divine witness of the combined Gospels testifies to this glorious fact. If God is willing not only to pardon but extend mercy, receiving the repentant sinner back, then why not the ecclesia? The forgiveness of sin removes the barrier to fellowship. Why will the ecclesia in certain cases forgive sin where that sin has been confessed and acknowledged and in certain cases of divorce and remarriage refuse? The apostle Paul as the Lord Jesus’ priest to the Gentiles (Romans 15:16) representing Christ, said to the ecclesia, “To whom ye forgive anything, I also forgive, lest Satan should get an advantage of us” (2 Corinthians 2:10–11). Therefore sins should be forgiven not only by the individual but also by the ecclesia. “Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me but in some measure – not to put it too severely – to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow” (2 Corinthians 2:5–7, ESV). It is contrary to the principles of God manifestation for the ecclesia to exercise the right, in the words of Paul, to inflict “this punishment by the majority” while erecting unscriptural barriers that prevents the ecclesia’s ability to “turn to forgive and comfort”.
Bro. Thomas has reminded us that “the manifestation of the Yahweh name is only initiated not completed in the person of Jesus Christ”. If Yahweh’s character is to be amplified in the characters of true believers, then the time has come for us to “behold the glory of the only begotten of the Father” and see where is the good Shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep (John 10). Is he amongst the ninety and nine righteous persons “who need no repentance”, safe in their peaceful ecclesial enclosure? Or is he out in the wilderness seeking the lost sheep (Luke 15:1–7)? If we are supposed to amplify Yahweh’s character which was made plain in Christ, then should we not follow his example and seek his lost sheep?
Woe to us, if we have time and time again been delivered from our folly by the good Shepherd, if we should at the last be found safe amongst the ninety and nine, the ecclesial barriers locked against “the lost sheep” while the good Shepherd is not found in our midst because he’s scouring the wilderness looking for that which the ecclesia in their righteousness has judged as “lost”! Whether that sheep is ultimately “lost” or “found” will be for the good Shepherd to declare; but what we ought to have no doubt of, is that the “glory” the Father gave to the Son, he has given to us—a glory “full of grace and truth”, that by this means we might be one, even as the Father and the Son are one, Christ in us, as the Father is in the Son, that we may become perfectly one (John 17:22–23; 1:14). If this unity is to be realized we must remember that the Father sent His Son to “save sinners”. Therefore the Son seeks “the lost sheep” and when he at last is commanded by the Father to return, he will recognise us as truly in him, if we are found doing what the Father asked us to behold in the Son (1 John 1–3).
Bro. Growcott, under the heading “Seeking the Lost Sheep” wrote in July 1971,
"If we approached even approximately close to the fulfilment of the divine requirements for the Bride of Christ, we would need have no fear from the danger and example of re-admitted and repentant sinners, however weak in the faith they might be.
We have shut our eyes to reality, to human needs. This is why we have dried up spiritually. When the original living fire and internal first-love strength of a community starts to dry up, it has to raise harsh barriers to keep the world from being sucked into its vacuum.
Sadly, I find very many Christadelphians more ready to condemn and expel than to take the trouble in compassion to disturb their own comfortable little lives and to actually put aside their own interests and pleasures and get out and really try to help the weak, and share their burdens and problems and sorrows. This has been a great source of shame, embarrassment, and distress to me.
We have been remiss in the past in keeping the clear simple Scriptural teachings of our pioneer brethren on this subject clearly before the Brotherhood…” (Bro. Growcott)
David, who had so pre-eminently been in Yahweh’s presence mentally and morally throughout his life, had by transgression, interrupted that holy fellowship he had enjoyed with Yahweh. The “spirit” here in verse 11 is that right spirit of verse 10; a steadfast, constant spirit of faith which must be in the repentant sinner, so that he through Christ, can enter boldly into God’s presence (Hebrews 10:19–23). This spirit must be a holy (i.e. set apart) spirit, for no other spirit (mind or disposition) will be acceptable in His sight. True repentance therefore, is a manifestation of a holy mind, truly set apart to do God’s will, in contrast to before, when we had gone our own way (Isaiah 55:7). The creation of such a mind will empower us with assured confidence to believe God will, “restore the joy of his salvation and uphold us with his free spirit (or as better translated ‘a willing spirit’)”; a spirit (mind or disposition) that wants to serve God with all the heart and soul, in holy dedication, that brings forth “the fruits of the spirit”, that is not only seen by God, but manifested to the ecclesia and all men.
The greatest of the fruits of this “willing spirit”, this mind of true repentance, is the overwhelming desire to help those who have similarly gone astray, that they might also learn God’s “ways” and “be converted” (verse 13). This is David’s public declaration of Psalm 51. Oh what a repentant heart! His sins, transgressions, iniquity, confession and hope should be memorialised, “to the chief musician” for all Israel to sing!
There is both a grave responsibility and a great blessing associated with the correct appreciation in our personal and ecclesial life, of the principles of grace and truth. But when does a man learn the importance of these principles in his life? Is it not when that man is in the greatest need of it himself? There are two “thens” in Psalm 51 that gloriously illustrate this point which can be further elaborated upon in a brief consideration of David’s life.
“Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners will return to you”. David is pleading, Lord show grace unto me, show me mercy beyond the Law and then I will manifest these saving principles in my life towards others that they may learn of thee and thy ways.
The final “then” of Psalm 51 appears in verse 19. It is associated with Yahweh’s building of the fallen walls of Jerusalem, a glorious allusion to the kingdom age. “Then will you delight in right sacrifices…”—sacrifices that no longer point forward, but point back as memorials to God’s saving work through our great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet the principles remain the same; mercy and truth perpetuated for ever and ever.
The lesson for each and every one of us in our personal and ecclesial dealings with all cases of sin, including those who have divorced and remarried (for reasons other than porneia) and seek forgiveness is that we cannot possibly be associated with this second “then” of the kingdom age, if we are not participants of the first “then”; that is, having ourselves obtained mercy through God’s grace, learnt to extend it to others, guided by Christ’s example and teachings.
Why was David the recipient of God’s mercy and forgiveness and yet so many of his contemporaries were not? Shimei and Joab met their just fate, the latter while he took hold of the horns of the altar, the symbol of God’s power of mercy and forgiveness! Why? Joab never manifested mercy to anyone during his lifetime. Joab’s life and death memorialises the principle, “he shall have judgement without mercy that has showed no mercy”. The sweet Psalmist of Israel died with the sure mercies of God’s grace ringing in his ears. His life memorialised the truth of “mercy rejoicing against judgement” (James 2:13). David’s words and actions reflected God’s judgement upon him. His life teems with examples of how God’s mercy and truth found considered reciprocity in his own dealings with man.
Saul obtained mercy at David’s hands on several occasions, leaving him to God’s judgement. This and many other examples laid up for David in heaven a treasure of mercies such that when David himself so desperately needed to be the recipient of God’s forgiveness, Yahweh, who cannot be unjust, immediately blotted out David’s sin upon confession. Yahweh’s mercy had to be accompanied with that necessary chastisement, which greatly refines the fruits of the broken and contrite heart. The incident with Bathsheba, David’s repentance and the revelation in his life of God’s mercy, became the defining elements of David’s life.
Before the incident with Bathsheba David could say, “The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanliness of my hands hath he recompensed me” (Psalm 18:20). But after his great sin he said, “I will make mention of thy righteousness, even thine only” (Psalm 71:16).
This David, his own hand now greatly weakened because of his failings, a man smitten and acquainted with grief and the knowledge of his own weakness, tolerated the hardness and unmercifulness of Joab, the bitterness and cursing of Shimei, the treachery of Absalom, and the despicable behaviour of Amnon. David bore the consequence of his sin, which was heralded by the death of the child Bathsheba bore to him as a result of their adulterous union; a death which became a harbinger of what would be repeated again and again—the violation of Tamar, the death of Amnon, the public disgracing by Absalom of David’s concubines, the death of Absalom and Adonijah—which bore testimony to the truth that “the sword shall never depart…”. Thus David’s sin haunted him. His terrible regret and remorse particularly for those caught up in the consequences of his sin, feelings which the Joabs of this life cannot perceive, testified to David’s contrition.
There are always consequences that go hand in hand with our iniquity. We may also find that “the sword does not depart” for the remainder of our lives. Let us not add to the grief and burden of those who have transgressed and yet have repented with godly sorrow of their iniquity. Very often it is not a question of Yahweh having to punish us for our sins, but rather we are punished by the choices that we have made. Regrettably there are many Shimeis and Joabs who continually remember the failures of others, and unmercifully curse and belittle. They cause sorrow through their utter inept appreciation of their own accursed state. They cause to stumble, those who have already been ravished by sin, sadly often self-inflicted because of weakness, an experience we all share to varying degrees.
The wonder of the life of David, though he failed a great test, was that he faithfully submitted to God’s chastening and became a man more fully transformed into the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, more so, ironically, than he was before his sin. This is something which we all should deeply consider, for a restored, forgiven, chastened man, has the potential of greater love and service than an illegitimate son untouched by God’s hand.
David and Bathsheba had another son and it is recorded that God loved him. Yahweh sent a message by that very same prophet, Nathan, to inform them of this, and the child was called Jedidiah (beloved of Yahweh) and Solomon (peace). Why should God not only choose, but love this son above David’s other offspring?
We wonder if it had been left to man’s judgement, whether we would have picked the son of a union founded upon sin, a union, legitimised only by murder, to be the one through whom the promised seed would descend? Indeed would man’s jurisprudence have allowed David to remain married to Bathsheba at all?
Both David and Bathsheba learnt the need for true repentance and the need for divine mercy and forgiveness. We do not truly realise to what extent we need to learn these lessons, until we enter the trials of David and Bathsheba. This is the key and mystery to the whole matter; the means by which Yahweh brings good and blessedness out of the midst of perversion, iniquity, sin, torment, sorrow and pain; even as David goes and comforts his grieving wife (2 Samuel 12:24) and as a direct consequence a son of promise is conceived; a son who is a symbol to David and Bathsheba (and all those who have suffered the consequences of their sins) of God’s utter forgiveness and restoration to fellowship. They together represent the bride of Christ who comes to know their true need of salvation and as a consequence of receiving God’s grace, reciprocate His mercy and truth to their fellow man.
Let us therefore heed the words of David’s greater Son to “go, and do likewise” (Luke 10:37).
Your brother in Christ Jesus the only Son from the Father full of grace and truth, on behalf of the Brisbane Berean Christadelphian ecclesia.
The Importance of Self Sacrifice in Seeking Reconciliation
Justice, mercy and truth—Matthew 5:25–26
Christ’s Law of the Heart with Respect to Adultery (Matthew 5:27–32)
The Breaking of Bread in Simon’s House
The enacted parable of Christ’s healings
The Lord’s preaching of the forgiveness of sins
Mercy and Truth must meet together
The responsibilities of those who have been forgiven
What God considers as true repentance―David the divinely appointed example
Is adultery a continual state after remarriage?
What are the Sacrifices that Characterise True Repentance?
Seeking the Lost Sheep—Bro. Growcott’s Lament
The Holy, Right and Willing Spirit―the Mind of the Repentant Sinner (Psalm 51:10–13)
“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall receive mercy”―The Final Lesson of Psalm 51
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