Contrition: Bowed down before Almighty God

Last time on Ash Wednesday, we noted from the weeping Prophet, Jeremiah, our great sorrow in being CRUSHED by the enemy – in fact by the hand of GOD on the pestle of Jerusalem’s destruction.

Like Jeremiah we do NOT want to be CRUSHED by any — either the LORD or our enemy.

WE are unaccustomed to the pouring out of our spirit into a mortar of refinement.

YET it is the Lord’s will to refine those whom He will.

Be contrite or be crushed —

humble .. or humbled.

Sad Psalms of Lament

Lamentations, if sung, would be sorrowful elegies similar to some Psalms we would rather not sing. Regardless of the “how” – and we generally know our sin – contrition and humility often escape our notice on the stage of our praise.

Yet even in the Psalms we must observe the same words which the Lord has written for our worship.

Strong’s H1794 – dāḵâ – דָּכָה

to collapse (phys. or mentally):—break (sore), contrite, crouch.

We’ve all seen it — most have experienced it. And the Psalms remind us as the Lord refines us.

O Yahweh, reprove me not in Your wrath,

And discipline me not in Your burning anger.

I am faint and badly crushed;

I groan because of the agitation of my heart.

Psalm 38:1,8 LSB

Psalm 51:

51:17 (WLC 51:19) זִבְחֵי אֱלֹהִים רוּחַ נִשְׁבָּרָה לֵב־נִשְׁבָּר וְנִדְכֶּה אֱלֹהִים לֹא תִבְזֶה׃

• šāḇar rûaḥ
  • broken spirit
• šāḇar dāḵâ lēḇ
  • a broken and contrite heart

Psalm 51:17 from MASORETIC Text

IS that any way to open a post such as this or especially a WORSHIP service?

IN FACT, the contrition of it's context pleads to Elohim for mercy. So was it ordered for corporate worship by the King.

[[To the chief Musician,

A Psalm of David,

when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.]]

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity,

and cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions:

and my sin is ever before me.

Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken [crushed] may rejoice.

Psalm 51:1-3, 8 KJV

We have heard the whole story — confessed in a Psalm of worship!

And the King – David of Israel and Judah – before we reach v. 17 of our opening CALL to Worship today — continues with a more hopeful and familiar plea:

Create in me a clean heart, O God – Psalm 51 stands as an enduring testament to the power of confession, the boundless mercy of God, and the potential for spiritual renewal and transformation.

It reminds us that even in our deepest frailty, God’s love is unfailing.

Psalm 51 commentary

a Plea of the Crushed – Psalm 143

A Psalm of David

O Yahweh, hear my prayer,

Give ear to my supplications!

Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your righteousness! 

And do not enter into judgment with Your slave,

For no one living is righteous in Your sight. 

For the enemy has pursued my soul;

He has crushed my life to the ground;

He has made me inhabit dark places, like those who have long been dead... 

YET in our distress of being humbled (OPPRESSED, an adjective found in other Psalms) — crushed by the Lord we have hope — as nearly every Psalm ends.

Teach me to do thy will;

for thou art my God:

thy spirit is good;

lead me into the land of uprightness.

Quicken [revive] me, O LORD,

for thy name’s sake:

for thy righteousness’ sake

bring my soul out of trouble.

Psalm 143:9–10 KJV

Praying the Psalms in Gethsemane

Picture our Lord, having walked all the paths among evil men toward Gethsemane, full well knowing the charge of His Father in heaven to go forth into the valley of death…

a humble mortal, a crushed man, a prisoner to be betrayed and bound as a spectacle for evil men…

humiliated, struck on the cheek, beaten on the back and hung ignominiously on a tree by the rulers of this world and city.

.. “Sit here while I pray.” ,, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” ..

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping.

excerpt from the Gospel of Mark 14

Psalm 10

1 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,

who are caught in the schemes he devises…

.. He lies in wait to catch the helpless;

he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.

..10 His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength.

11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;

he covers his face and never sees.”

Psalm 10:12-11 NIV

 The Hebrew word for "crushed" can also imply being broken in spirit, indicating the deep emotional and psychological impact of such suffering. 

This aligns with the broader biblical narrative where God is portrayed as a defender of the oppressed (Psalm 9:9). 

The imagery here can also be seen as a type of Christ, who was "crushed" for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5), highlighting the ultimate sacrifice for the redemption of humanity.

BibleHub.com Study Bible commentary

JESUS, the Son of Man, Son of David and Son of God sang and prayed such Psalms in worship in the presence of God the Father.

Do YOU?

Talk of JESUS . com

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