“Those who offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving honor me” (Psalm 50:23)
The psalmist confesses, “Those who offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving honor me” (Psalm 50:23). Offering sacrifices was central to the life of the Israelites. Offering animals like sheep and oxen was an important part of their life. When God gave the Israelites the sacrifical laws, He had also spoken of the meaning of sacrifice as well.
However, the darkened hearts of the Israelites neither understood nor desired to understand sacrifice. They treated the sacrifices as mere rituals, like the pagans, performed out of habit. To such people, God continually revealed that when sinners come before a holy God, there is only “death,” shown through the sacrifices.
God desired that the Israelites would approach sacrifice not as a ritual act, but with a heart that knew the holy God and remembered the grace by which unworthy sinners were chosen and accepted. He wanted them to give thanks for that grace and become His Witnesses among the Gentiles as those who had received the Grace of God.
The purpose of the sacrifices was not the performance of the ritual itself. No matter how many sacrifices were made, they could not solve the core problem of sinful existence. But God wanted His people to know Him—the One who kept inviting them near Him through sacrifice. He wanted them to live as His people, giving thanks that He had made them part of His kingdom, and to reflect His glory through their lives. This is what it means to offer a sacrifice of true thanksgiving—and such thanksgiving glorifies God.
》 Scripture Prayer
| Psalm 50:1-23(NIV) 1 The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to where it sets. 2 From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. 3 Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages. 4 He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people. 5 “Gather to me this consecrated people, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” 6 And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice. 7 “Listen, my people, and I will speak; I will testify against you, Israel: I am God, your God.” 8 “I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.” 9 “I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens,” 10 “for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.” 11 “I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine.” 12 “If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.” 13 “Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?” 14 “Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High,” 15 “and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” 16 But to the wicked person, God says: “What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips?” 17 “You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you.” 18 “When you see a thief, you join with him; you throw in your lot with adulterers.” 19 “You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit.” 20 “You sit and testify against your brother and slander your own mother’s son.” 21 “When you did these things and I kept silent, you thought I was exactly like you; but I now arraign you and set my accusations before you.” 22 “Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you.” 23 “Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me, and to the blameless I will show my salvation.” |
》 Pray that the Word may become the Conclusion.
1. Forgetting God’s grace leads to a lack of gratitude. There is no greater crisis than a heart that has lost thankfulness toward God. Let us pray that we may be restored before the grace of the cross so that thanksgiving may overflow again in our lives.
“Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me, and to the blameless I will show my salvation.”(Psalm 50:23,NIV)
2. Giving thanks to God in every circumstance is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus. Let us pray that all the saints facing hardship and adversity would choose gratitude, and that their hearts may overflow with peace, comfort, and thanksgiving.
“Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High,”(Psalm 50:14,NIV)
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