Psalm 50
Psalm 50
The mighty one, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
Our God comes and does not keep silence,
before him is a devouring fire,
and a mighty tempest all around him.
He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
"Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!"
The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge.
"Hear, O my people, and I will speak,
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
I will not accept a bull from your house,
or goats from your folds.
For every wild animal of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know all the birds of the air,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
"If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and all that is in it is mine.
Do I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?
Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and pay your vows to the Most High.
Call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."
But to the wicked God says:
"What right have you to recite my statutes,
or take my covenant on your lips?
For you hate discipline,
and you cast my words behind you.
You make friends with a thief when you see one,
and you keep company with adulterers.
"You give your mouth free rein for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
You sit and speak against your kin;
you slander your own mother's child.
These things you have done and I have been silent;
you thought that I was one just like yourself.
But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.
"Mark this, then, you who forget God,
or I will tear you apart,
and there will be no one to deliver.
Those who bring thanksgiving as their
sacrifice honor me;
to those who go to the right way
I will show the salvation of God.
God cares more about coming to Him with thanksgiving and worship than anything physical we can give Him. He desires our faith more than our money. He wants our hearts more than anything we own.
He delights in us and wants nothing more than for us to delight in Him as well.
It is so easy to feel like we aren't doing enough right now...
...enough work...
...enough family time...
...enough fellowship.
Times like these can be so isolating. But we have hope. We have the joy of knowing that He will always be enough for us and asks only that we come to Him with thanksgiving.
He could have demanded thousands of laws for us. He could have demanded endless bloody sacrifices - but He only demanded one; He sent His Son to die for us so that we would never have to worry about being enough ever again.
Today, even though I feel like I am failing my students or that I am not doing enough for them, I will choose His joy. I will come to Him with thanksgiving and rejoice in His love. I will share this love with my kids. And maybe that's all I get done today, but that is more than enough.
He simply wants thanksgiving, and after all He has done for me, how easy it is to worship Him with a full and thankful heart.
The mighty one, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
Our God comes and does not keep silence,
before him is a devouring fire,
and a mighty tempest all around him.
He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
"Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!"
The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge.
"Hear, O my people, and I will speak,
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
I will not accept a bull from your house,
or goats from your folds.
For every wild animal of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know all the birds of the air,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
"If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and all that is in it is mine.
Do I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?
Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and pay your vows to the Most High.
Call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."
But to the wicked God says:
"What right have you to recite my statutes,
or take my covenant on your lips?
For you hate discipline,
and you cast my words behind you.
You make friends with a thief when you see one,
and you keep company with adulterers.
"You give your mouth free rein for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
You sit and speak against your kin;
you slander your own mother's child.
These things you have done and I have been silent;
you thought that I was one just like yourself.
But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.
"Mark this, then, you who forget God,
or I will tear you apart,
and there will be no one to deliver.
Those who bring thanksgiving as their
sacrifice honor me;
to those who go to the right way
I will show the salvation of God.
God cares more about coming to Him with thanksgiving and worship than anything physical we can give Him. He desires our faith more than our money. He wants our hearts more than anything we own.
He delights in us and wants nothing more than for us to delight in Him as well.
It is so easy to feel like we aren't doing enough right now...
...enough work...
...enough family time...
...enough fellowship.
Times like these can be so isolating. But we have hope. We have the joy of knowing that He will always be enough for us and asks only that we come to Him with thanksgiving.
He could have demanded thousands of laws for us. He could have demanded endless bloody sacrifices - but He only demanded one; He sent His Son to die for us so that we would never have to worry about being enough ever again.
Today, even though I feel like I am failing my students or that I am not doing enough for them, I will choose His joy. I will come to Him with thanksgiving and rejoice in His love. I will share this love with my kids. And maybe that's all I get done today, but that is more than enough.
He simply wants thanksgiving, and after all He has done for me, how easy it is to worship Him with a full and thankful heart.
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