The Normalcy of the Spirit 405
possess a contrite spirit; others He cannot save for it requires
contrition to know His mind. People who cover their faults and
excuse themselves do not have a repentant spirit; hence God cannot
save them to the uttermost. How we need a spirit susceptible to the
correction both of the Holy Spirit and of man, a spirit willing to
concede to having lived below par. And then we shall daily
experience the salvation of the Lord.
A Broken Spirit
“The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit” (Ps.
51.17).A broken spirit is one which trembles before God. Some
Christians do not sense any uneasiness in their inner man after they
have sinned. A healthy spirit will be broken before God—as was
David’s—upon once having sinned. It is not difficult to restore to
God those who have a broken spirit.
An Afflicted Spirit
“But to this man will I look: to the afflicted and contrite in
spirit, and who trembleth at my word” (Is. 66.2 Darby).The spirit with which God is delighted is an afflicted one because
it reverences Him and trembles at His Word. Our spirit must be kept
in continual reverential fear of the Lord All self-reliance and self-
conceit must be shattered; the Word of God must be accepted as the
sole guide. The believer must possess within him a holy fear: he must
have absolutely no confidence in himself: he must be as one whose
spirit is so stricken that he dare not raise his head but humbly follows
the command of God. A hard and haughty spirit always impedes the
way of obedience. But when the cross is working deeply a believer
comes to know himself. He realizes how undependable are his ideas,
feelings and desires. Hence he dare not trust himself but trembles in
all matters, acknowledging that except he be sustained by the power