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PSALM 50 - Sacrifice of Thanksgiving 21 Dec 2019
The psalm today explains a few tough lessons. First of all, some human behaviour displeases God:
- When I detest the teaching of God and ignore his word (17)
- When I make friends with a thief (18)
- When I feel at home with adulterers (18)
- When my conversation is devoted to wickedness (19)
- When my tongue is inventing lies (19)
- When I am slandering my brother (20)
Not everyone has the right to recite his statutes (16)
Thanksgiving
To the upright I will show God's salvation.
Honour to me is a sacrifice of thanksgiving.
Psalm 50
1 [Psalm Of Asaph]
The God of gods, Yahweh, is speaking,
from east to west he summons the earth.
2 From Zion, perfection of beauty, he shines forth;
3 he is coming, our God, and will not be silent.
Devouring fire ahead of him, raging tempest around him,
4 he summons the heavens from on high,
and the earth to judge his people.
5 'Gather to me my faithful,
who sealed my covenant by sacrifice.'
6 The heavens proclaim his saving justice,
'God himself is judge.' Pause
7 'Listen, my people, I am speaking, Israel,
I am giving evidence against you, I, God, your God.
8 'It is not with your sacrifices that I find fault,
those burnt offerings constantly before me;
9 I will not accept any bull from your homes,
nor a single goat from your folds.
10 'For all forest creatures are mine already,
the animals on the mountains in their thousands.
11 I know every bird in the air,
whatever moves in the fields is mine.
12 'If I am hungry I shall not tell you,
since the world and all it holds is mine.
13 Am I to eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 'Let thanksgiving be your sacrifice to God,
fulfil the vows you make to the Most High;
15 then if you call to me in time of trouble
I will rescue you and you will honour me.'
16 But to the wicked, God says:
'What right have you to recite my statutes,
to take my covenant on your lips,
17 when you detest my teaching,
and thrust my words behind you?
18 'You make friends with a thief as soon as you see one,
you feel at home with adulterers,
19 your conversation is devoted to wickedness,
and your tongue to inventing lies.
20 'You sit there, slandering your own brother,
you malign your own mother's son.
21 You do this, and am I to say nothing?
Do you think that I am really like you?
I charge you, indict you to your face.
22 'Think it out, you who forget God,
or I will tear you apart without hope of a rescuer.
23 Honour to me is a sacrifice of thanksgiving;
to the upright I will show God's salvation.'
Excerpt from THE NEW JERUSALEM BIBLE, copyright (c) 1985 by
Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division
of Penguin Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.
There is no hope for those who ignore the word of God.