6 With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
The second part of verse 8 is one of those greatest-hits verses, but it reads much better in context, where that triad is our analogue of material sacrifices. It has some interesting echos to the living sacrifice of Romans 12; living out mercy, justice and humility is how that living sacrifice rolls.
However, living sacrifices tend not to want to stay on the altar. It is harder to be humble when you're not perfect in every way. Mercy is often in short supply, especially when we are looking to bash perceived enemies.
Easy, it is not. But it is needed nonetheless.
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