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Psalm 51:18-19 "Do good to Zion in thy good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, then wilt thou delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on thy altar."

 

A few verses ago, David just got done saying: "For thou hast no delight in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, thou wouldst not be pleased." (Psalm 51:16), but now he's saying God will delight in burnt offerings when they are "right sacrifice". The difference is all about the state of the soul of the one offering the sacrifice.

 

This Psalm is David's plea for mercy after having taken Bathsheba and arranging for her husband's death. Until Nathan the prophet came to him with the story of the poor man and his lamb, David (somehow?!) did not see how wrong he had been, how much he had sinned. Any burnt offerings offered to God while he was in this state of denial were not right sacrifice, David was going through the motions of the ritual, but not truly offering the best of himself and what he had to God. He was, intentionally or not, holding back, hiding his sin from himself and trying to hide it from God. It would be like if someone hurt you tremendously and, without ever admitting their wrongdoing or asking for forgiveness, kept showing up with flowers and chocolates in an effort to gloss over the whole thing. It actually makes the situation worse; these sacrifices are a little offensive, they come off as people trying to paper over their sin.

 

A prerequisite to right sacrifice, then, is humility. When we humbly acknowledge our sin and weakness to God, and throw ourselves on His mercy, as David does in this Psalm, God is happy to extend it - "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." (Psalm 51:17). In that state, our sacrifice becomes right, as we can't help but want to give back to God the best we gave in praise and thanksgiving for His mercy and love.