Heartless Worship
The worship of God is a privilege for God’s people. Men & women often forget this fact and they do not honour God as He should be honoured. The Lord does not care about worship from the wrong heart. This psalm is a picture of God’s response to the wrong worship of His people.
It begins with the picture of a courtroom with Almighty God as the Judge (50:1-6). He has summoned the earth and the heavens to be witnesses against those that are in a covenant relationship with Him (50:4-5). He condemns His people first of all, for their heartless worship. They were worshipping God in the right way, as He prescribed (50:8). The problem was they believed that God needed their sacrifices (50:9-13). They believed that God needed their worship, like the pagan gods of the nations around them. God prescribed the sacrifices as a means of dealing with their sin, so that they could maintain their fellowship with Him. God didn’t want the animal, He wanted them! God calls His people to worship Him with a sacrifice of thanksgiving (50:14). This was a public praise that acknowledged God’s provision and care from a heart of faith. They were acknowledging that they needed God, and that He was graciously providing for their needs and protecting them from their enemies (50:15). Worship must come from the heart, a product of living faith. Brethren, worship that is acceptable to God, is to worship in spirit and in truth with the right heart (John 4:22-24). Christ Jesus is The Truth, and the Scriptures reveal his nature and work. Worship Him alone, not through religious activity, but with a heart of humility and thankfulness.
