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Gramps,
I know what the phrase “a broken heart and contrite spirit” means, but
am having trouble putting it into words to share with someone outside the
church. Can you advise? Thanks! Robi, from Texas |
Robi,
“A
broken heart” denotes contrition and sadness. In the context of the scriptures
it could imply that we are truly and profoundly sorry for the sins that we have
committed. The dictionary definition of “contrite” is “grieving and
penitent for sin or shortcoming.” The phrase, “a broken heart and contrite
spirit” in the scriptures many be defined as a synonymous parallelism—
repeating the same concept with different words. This is a very familiar
structure in the Bible, and appears to be a characteristic literary from of the
ancient Hebrew.
Gramps