In the days when the psalms were written, “sacrifice” often meant slaughtering a living creature including birds, lambs, rams, bulls; even human sacrifice was practiced. Sacrifice has since come to mean something very different, such as enduring pain and suffering or giving up something one loves or loves to do. However, even in the psalms it is noted that God does not require that kind of sacrifice, but rather the sacrifice of a “contrite heart,” in other words, forgiveness, thankfulness, devotion, true humility and especially loving God and one another.
Insight #20 Healing Verses of the Psalms