Hobart Herd Devotional – Psalms 50 – 6-22-20
Two worship choruses came to mind as I was reading the words of this Psalm. “From the Rising of the sun to the going down thereof”, the name of the Lord shall be praised.(vs. 1) “He Owns the Cattle on a Thousand Hills” is an old, old, chorus from my childhood days is found in verse 10. These choruses were meant for worship and praise as we sang them, but in this Psalm they are statements about the lack of true worship of the Lord. Both these verses mention things that God was angry about with His people.
The first was the lack of recognizing Who He was and the respect and honor due His name; and the second was the hypocritical way Israel was worshiping with sacrifices galore and yet they were not truly worshiping with thankfulness from the heart. The first 2 verses set us up with the beauty and glory of our great God. Then comes the complaints that God had against His people. He reminds them in verse 5 that they made a covenant with God for following His commands in obedience.
In verses 7-13, God says that they have overwhelmed Him with their sacrifices as if He needed more animals or ate them for sustenance. But they had failed to offer the sacrifice of their lips in thanksgiving. Psalms 50:14-15, 14 Offer unto God thanksgiving; And pay thy vows unto the most High:15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.(ESV) Oh that I would remember continually to be thankful in my requests and to make my petitions with a heart filled with gratitude and praise. They were reciting His Word with lips and hearts that were filled with sin and ugliness. They were misrepresenting God in the way they spoke and lived. God’s warning was this: Psalms 50:21-22, 21 These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you. 22 “Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!(ESV)
So what is the answer to reclaiming praise and worship that glorifies God? Psalms 50:23, 23 The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”(ESV) We must come to God with a lips and heart filled with thanksgiving and praise, and order our ways in a way that shows our faith and trust in the righteous God of our salvation.
Father, forgive me for acting like Your people of old in the way I treat You in worship. Many times I have come to You with complaints, worries, fears and anger, refusing to recognize with thanksgiving Who You are and What You have done for me. Forgive me for using Your Word and commands without following them from my heart bringing a wrong picture to the world around me. Give me a heart of thanksgiving and make my steps to walk in Your way as one who trusts and has faith in the God of my salvation. In Jesus Name, Amen! Pastor Rob