tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657857175981527268.post1723877955766310511..comments2024-03-11T23:07:02.019-05:00Comments on thatjeffcarter was here: Some Problems in Psalm 51Thatjeffcarterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10164244091093015896noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6657857175981527268.post-19853320197704380132013-05-08T17:21:13.510-05:002013-05-08T17:21:13.510-05:00I think that it's important to take the whole ...I think that it's important to take the whole psalm into context. The entire thing is about the despair the writer feels about being in the wrong before God. He is "sinful" and "crushed" before God--compare that to the walls of Jerusalem (remember that this is poetry, so a metaphor is not unreasonable here). If all it would take is to bring a sacrifice, then he would do it, but he knows that an empty sacrifice without a changed heart is meaningless to God. So, he asked God to "cleanse me with hyssop", "wash me", "create a clean heart," etc. Once those things have happened (the walls of Jerusalem have been rebuilt, i.e. the writer's life restored to rightness with God), then the writer can make a sacrifice that actually pleases God.Thoughtful Book Loverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12067923294330258093noreply@blogger.com