Hello Carolann. You're referring to Psalm 51:19: "Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar."
Psalm 51 is David's cry out to God because of his sin with Bathsheba (the wife of Uriah). After his acknowledgement of his sin & plea to God for forgiveness, cleansing, & restoration of joy & fellowship, David brings to the fore a wonderful Truth: a Truth about a true & acceptable sacrifice to God. He's stating to God (verse 16), that it would be easy to just bring Him a sacrifice to deal with his grievous sin. Though God required various sacrifices (for various purposes) from the priests, their objective was hardly met because the main inclusion with that sacrifice was missing. And that which was missing is seen in verse 17, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."
Then in verse 19, David states, only "Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar. The sacrifices were meaningless if a true contrition for sin & a broken spirit were excluded. The burnt offering was performed for the acknowledgement of the sins of the people & for a renewed relationship with God. The offering, usually a bullock, was sacrificed by burning on the altar & the priests could keep its skin for themselves. But David writes about the "whole burnt offering", indicating the whole animal can also be sacrificed to the Lord & the smoke from the altar would ascend towards Heaven.
I believe that David was implying that for the sacrifice to be acceptable to God and that the smoke would be a "sweet savour unto the Lord" ( Leviticus 1:9), also required that the sinner's heart was truly contrite, making the sacrifice a "sacrifice of righteousness". David's grief over his sins warranted this true type of sacrifice.
Psalm 51 is David's cry out to God because of his sin with Bathsheba (the wife of Uriah). After his acknowledgement of his sin & plea to God for forgiveness, cleansing, & restoration of joy & fellowship, David brings to the fore a wonderful Truth: a Truth about a true & acceptable sacrifice to God. He's stating to God (verse 16), that it would be easy to just bring Him a sacrifice to deal with his grievous sin. Though God required various sacrifices (for various purposes) from the priests, their objective was hardly met because the main inclusion with that sacrifice was missing. And that which was missing is seen in verse 17, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."
Then in verse 19, David states, only "Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar. The sacrifices were meaningless if a true contrition for sin & a broken spirit were excluded. The burnt offering was performed for the acknowledgement of the sins of the people & for a renewed relationship with God. The offering, usually a bullock, was sacrificed by burning on the altar & the priests could keep its skin for themselves. But David writes about the "whole burnt offering", indicating the whole animal can also be sacrificed to the Lord & the smoke from the altar would ascend towards Heaven.
I believe that David was implying that for the sacrifice to be acceptable to God and that the smoke would be a "sweet savour unto the Lord" ( Leviticus 1:9), also required that the sinner's heart was truly contrite, making the sacrifice a "sacrifice of righteousness". David's grief over his sins warranted this true type of sacrifice.
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