10 Create [j]in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew [k]a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will [l]be converted to You.14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation;
Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, [m]open my lips,
That my mouth may declare Your praise.
16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.18 By Your favor do good to Zion;
[n]Build the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then You will delight in [o]righteous sacrifices,
In burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then [p]young bulls will be offered on Your altar.
There’s a recurring theme here that reminds me very much of something James would write about centuries later. It’s the age old “debate” about faith vs. works, although I’m not sure how much of a real debate it is vs. a misconception we tend to fall into. David writes it as “you do not delight in sacrifice”, but rather “a broken and contrite heart” He will not despise.
We see this elsewhere in the Old Testament, where the people had become so focused on the ritual of their faith, that their actual faith had been left far behind. Paul told the Ephesians that we are saved by faith and not by works, but James would then remind us that faith without works is dead.
So David rightly puts faith and humility and repentance first. Then, he says, God will “delight in righteous sacrifices, in burnt offering…” We cannot save ourselves, otherwise Jesus would not have come to this earth to pay the price for us (once and for all). God rescues us regardless of our merits, but due to the condition of our heart. When we turn away from our selfish ways, as David did, and put our trust wholly in him, then God can do a miracle in us.
The result of that miracle though, is naturally some good works. And likely some sacrifice, though not of the burnt persuasion! If you just continue on your merry way, indulging your flesh however you like, that’s no miracle of salvation, nothing to cause “joyful singing”. True salvation is a life change, a miracle that only God can do, but which requires our full participation and cooperation.