Psalm 51:1-18: Sacrifice
During Lent people often talk about the things they've given up as a sacrifice. That offering can seem like a burden. Sometimes that's good, sometimes that's not. It's good when we part with something that matters so that we can deepen our faith. It's not when in doing so, we act as if we're doing God some kind of favor, one that deserves praise and acknowledgment. The psalmist, along with the prophets and others in Scripture, not to mention Jesus, knew this reality. They knew that it was all too easy for people to fake sacrifice, to look like they were doing something for God but in reality were doing something to boost their own reputation righteousness. Here, in verses 17 and 18 and Psalm 51 we are told what God really seeks from us: not an animal on an altar, but real introspection and an honest accounting of our sins. "Had you desired it, I would have offered sacrifice, but you take no delight in burnt-offerings. The sacrifice o
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