"For You will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."
In Psalm 51 David does not disparage the Old Testament ceremonies; rather, he reveals how in and of themselves, the blood offered by the priests avails nothing. Without true sorrow for sin, sacrifices would not cover the guilty person's transgression. Likewise, Jesus has not made atonement for those who do not exhibit repentance in their lives (Heb 10:26).
False repentance, attrition, is being is the sorrow we have for the consequences of our sin without being ashamed of violating God's holy standards.
True repentance, contrition, realizes our transgressions are heinous because they violate God's holy character. God will never despise those who express contrition; He forgives all those who repent in humility (Ps 51:17)
If you have a contrite heart you can be assured that you have been forgiven. If you are sorry that you might get caught, you are in danger of having a false repentance. Ask the Spirit to produce real sorrow for sin in your heart today.
-From the November issue of Tabletalk Magazine, produced by Ligonier Ministries
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