Psalms 51:18 (WEB)

Passage

Do well in your good pleasure to Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem.

Nearby Context

Psalms 51:16 For you don’t delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it. You have no pleasure in burnt offering.

Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Psalms 51:18 Do well in your good pleasure to Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem.

Psalms 51:19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings. Then they will offer bulls on your altar.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "well", "good", "pleasure", "zion", "build", "walls", and "jerusalem". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "well" and "good", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "The sacrifices of God are a broken..." into verse 19's "Then you will delight in the sacrifices...", so "well" and "good" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "well" and "good" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.