Ps. 50: God Would Say...

Psalm 50:23 "He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God."

Asaph takes the psalmist's pen for this 50th chapter. He describes the power and awesome glory that surrounds God, describing God's might. He also assumes the voice of God, speaking to both God's children, and addressing the wicked who reject God.

In addressing His people, God describes His power and greatness. He describes that he has no need for a sacrifice from the people's pens. He has no need to drink of the blood. He already owns "the cattle on a thousand hills." It's all already His. He knows each one. He knows every bird on the mountain. This is not a rebuke though. God did require sacrifices. This is not because God was hungry, and the ludicrousness of the concept is expressed in the text. "If I were hungry, I wouldn't tell you." In other words, the thundering, all powerful LORD God Almighty wouldn't come to mere man to fulfill a need. No. The sacrifices fulfill man's portion of the covenant. "I will deliver you, and you will honor me." They are a demonstration of man's vows to God. They do not provide a fix or nourishment to God.

Then God speaks now to those who have rejected God, and what I would guess are those who are phonies, those who pay lip service to God. Or those who claim to know God. Inherently, the wicked toss aside God's words. They put God's instruction behind them. No better than theives or adulterers, God sees their actions. He may be silent, but he sees their actions. And in this silence, perhaps the wicked were comforted, thinking that God would approve, or somehow missed these sins. Not so. Their day of judgment is coming, and God will rebuke them to their faces. But he offers a way out. "Consider this," God says. Take it to heart, think about it. God sees and knows all, and wants them to turn toward Him. They know they are being evil. But if they don't...it's curtains.

Its an honor to God to sacrifice thank offerings. In a way, these offerings prepare the way for man to receive God, to commune with Him. For God to reach in a save him. God is after the heart, not the blood that runs through it.