The Acceptable Sacrifice

John Bunyan was a leading Puritan preacher during the 17th century. Bunyan was also well known for being a prolific Christian author and The Pilgrim's Progress is regarded as one of the most famous books of Christian literature ever written. The Acceptable Sacrifice is a devotional in which Bunyan provides an exposition of Psalm 51:17 in order to show the Christian reader how a broken heart can be kept strong and why having one is so acceptable to God.

An unabridged edition, to include: Preface - The Text Opened In The Many Workings Of The Heart - The Doctrine, Assertion, Demonstration, And Conclusion, That A Broken And Truly Contrite Heart Is An Excellent Heart - What A Broken Heart, & What A Contrite Spirit Is - The Necessity There Is That The Heart Must Be Broken - The Reasons Why A Broken Heart Is Esteemed By God Such An Excellent Thing - Advantages That A Christian Gets By Keeping His Heart Tender - The Use - Objections Answered (with footnotes)

In John Bunyan's book, Acceptable Sacrifice, he addresses the question, what can man bring to God which will be excellent and acceptable in His sight? Bunyan's answer may surprise us -- a broken and contrite heart. This is the "acceptable sacrifice" of the title. In this moving exposition of Psalm 51:17, the last work which he prepared for the press, Bunyan shows from Scripture why a broken heart is so acceptable to God. He characterizes the unbroken heart of man, showing why it must be made contrite, and explains the nature of the change which is involved. He also guides the reader in discerning whether this change has taken place, and shows how the heart, once broken, can be kept tender. - Banner of Truth.

In “Acceptable Sacrifice,” John Bunyan's words are delivered with compelling conviction as he passionately portrays the beauty of the only sacrifice that is acceptable to God. With carefully crafted words he describes the wonder and majesty of a heart broken before the Lord. The broken hearted are not forsaken or ignored, for they are 'His jewels, His beloved.' Bunyan reminds readers that returning to their first love (the love of Christ) is always the best move in times of distress. “Acceptable Sacrifice,” which, outside of the Bible, is one of the best books ever written, will help Christians to regain that first love. Anyone who wants to follow God with all their heart, or to have a clearer understanding of how the grace of God not only saves us but enables us to follow Him even to the cross, should read this book, where Bunyan shows how Christ works in our lives and brings us to the full joy of knowing God (as opposed to simply knowing that He exists).

Apart from The Acceptable Sacrifice and the Last Sermon, which are edited from first editions of 1689, texts of the other six works in the present volume are based on those in Doe's 1692 Folio. The most ambitious of these is a lengthy commentary on the first ten chapters of Genesis.