The Bones You Have Broken

I love Psalms. It contains some of the most intimate moments between a human and his glorious Creator. While reading through the Psalms, I came across a verse that caused me to read it again, and again. And again.

Psalm 51:7-8 reads: Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 

Make me hear joy and gladness,That the bones You have broken may rejoice.

I encourage you to read the Psalm, but David has been praying for repentance in the earlier verses. This Psalm is a Psalm of mercy. This Psalm is a Psalm of brokenness.

What's a hyssop? It is a small brush. However, the hyssop is a sign of cleansing. It's what the Israelite used to rub blood on their door posts in Egypt. It is what the priests dipped in blood when they wanted to clean something. The hyssop is a representation of Jesus, which washes us with His blood.

David had a deep desire to be washed from his sin. He longed for that "joy and gladness" that he knew holiness produced. Do you know that incorrigible joy?

The final line in verse 8 is what blew me away: "That the bones you have broken may rejoice." 

God breaks bones. Physiologically speaking, bones provide a framework for our flesh. Spiritually speaking, I would say that "bones" can be anything that provides a framework for our fleshly nature.

Brokenness is when we are so humbled by our God that our only possible reaction is to fall before Him in utter abandonment, surrendering anything we haven't yet for the Glory of our Lord. It's ironic that the same pain that brings David to his knees is what he wishes would glorify God. 

It's ironic that the same pain that God uses to bring us to our knees is what He desires would praise Him.

It's ironic that the same pain that Jesus suffered to bring us to Himself is what we praise and celebrate Him for.

In the harrowing and unfading pain of the cross we all find the most precious of treasures. From the darkest and deepest suffering that any human has every endured came the best gift that has ever been given to mankind. See the contrast? 

The more the brokenness, the most Christ is glorified.

The single most influential goal of a Christian is to bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ. How this truth is expressed depends on God's plan for each of our lives, but I can grantee it involves a good amount of broken bones. 

Jesus was smothered for the sake of our relationship, would I do the same? Will the bones God breaks in my life glorify him?