READ:
Psalm 50-51
These two psalms make a beautiful set
of songs describing and explaining sacrifices God finds acceptable. Psalm 50
begins with a powerful description of God. Here we see raw power, fierce glory
and strong justice in the very being of God Almighty.
God speaks to the people about their
sacrifices. He says he has no problems with what they are sacrificing but He
wants to remind them of something very, very important: they are not
sacrificing animals so He can have them. No. That’s how we sacrifice for
people: We give up what we have so others can have. But God says He doesn’t
need anything we have to offer because He already owns it all. Our sacrifices
should be about the attitude He desires to see in each of us.
God wants to see our hearts sacrificed
to Him. One thing He doesn’t take for Himself, but waits for us to offer Him,
is our hearts. Verse 14 says He wants us to sacrifice thanksgiving to Him. God
makes it very clear. Thankfulness is of utmost importance to Him.
As we continue in the chapter we see
there is a lot God says to the wicked we can learn from as well. We can see
from these verses how important it is to God that we accept His discipline,
treat God’s voice with great value, stand against immoral behavior, guard our
tongues and speak truth.
Sometimes we believe God is not
punishing sin today like He did in Bible Times. We read of people who were
killed for lying, or were swallowed up by the earth, or somehow immediately
punished for sin. Perhaps we have begun to believe God no longer punishes sin
the same way, so we think we’ll get off easy. Verse 21 reminds us though, even
if God is silent, His holiness will still exact an account and a price for our
sin.
Verse 23 says God loves a heart full of
thanks toward Him. This is the sacrifice He loves. We don’t need an altar, or a
herd of bulls and goats and sheep. All we need is to have a heart that offers
thanks!
Psalm 51 grows this idea of sacrifice a
little deeper. The psalm begins with a prayer of confession and repentance,
which is a solid example of what someone with a broken spirit might do. God is
specifically looking for people like this. They see the sin inside and
recognize what they have been saved from, realize that without God condemnation
is the only option. When we have a broken spirit we desperately long for
forgiveness and restoration, and eagerly walk in repentance because we know
firsthand the pain of our sinful nature.
This is what God is looking for: hearts
that are fully devoted to Him in confession, repentance and thankfulness.
JOURNALING
AND PRAYER
1. Ask the Lord if you have been
consistently offering Him sacrifices of Thanksgiving. Confess any sin of
withholding thanks. Spend 5-10 minutes writing down all the things – both good
and difficult – you can be thankful for. Then pray a prayer of thanks from the
depths of your heart. (Optional: Pray out loud standing up with hands raised in
worship, or kneeling in humble submission.)
2. Ask God how you are doing in these
areas, then confess sin if necessary, and thank Him for helping you in the
areas you are doing well.
a. Accepting His discipline
b. Treating God’s voice with great value
c. Standing against immoral behavior
d. Guarding your tongue
e. Speaking truth.
3. Ask God if you have been taking your
sin lightly, excusing it, or indulging in it because you don’t see an immediate
punishment. Ask Him to show you specific areas or sins where this may be a
tendency. Confess if necessary. Pray a prayer of commitment to remember God’s
holiness and ask Him to convict you quickly of sin so you can confess and
repent.
