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Psalm 51:17
This verse echoes the beatitude in Matthew 5:4: "Blessed are those who mourn." It mentions one of the sacrifices that God accepts: the contrite spirit, the broken heart. What is mourned here is spiritual in nature, and the sorrow is likewise spiritual, a kind of contrition or remorse. Those who mourn like this are desperately sorry for their own sins and unworthiness. It is pointed directly at one's own heart, in which we see great sin, and because sin inhabits our heart, we know we are unworthy. People who have a contrite spirit feel grief for how much they have contributed personally to the world's evils. They have a sense, like David, of sin in themselves and how deeply rooted it is, and its continuing presence breaks them. Their sorrow goes beyond sad. It is an abiding sorrow that it is there, and they are upset, even angry, at themselves that it keeps coming out when they want to be rid of it and spiritually clean. But it keeps popping up because of their own weakness, bad habits, and rebellion. They want it out and work to get it out, yet it keeps showing up, like a fabric stain that just cannot be washed out. When we clean a stained piece of clothing, and it is wet and soapy, we think it looks good. We tell ourselves we finally managed to rub the stain out! Then we let it dry, and . . . it is there still. How frustrating! Yet, those who possess an internal disposition of brokenheartedness, of a contrite spirit, will be comforted through God's complete redemption.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Those Who Mourn
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