Psalm 50:7-15 (NRSV)
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Verse 7"Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God.
Verse 8Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me.
Verse 9I will not accept a bull from your house, or goats from your folds.
Verse 10For every wild animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.
Verse 11I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine.
Verse 12"If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all that is in it is mine.
Verse 13Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
Verse 14Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.
Verse 15Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."
Devotion
“What do I give a person who has everything?” It’s a dilemma with some occasions. That’s why I find myself turning in another direction. (That’s what the word “repent” means – to turn in another direction.) Most of us have too much, so I give to someone who doesn’t have enough. The joy comes when, together with the birthday person, I rejoice and give thanks that we were able to do what we did.
That’s the captivating rhythm of Psalm 50, a song of thanksgiving. Because I can’t give a gift to God, he shows me a different way: “a sacrifice of thanksgiving,” he says. That means to turn yourself in the direction of others. And in that turning is found the dynamic that powers the whole Christian church on earth. When I realize that life and abundance are gifts to me, I just can’t keep from responding, and it makes me glad.
Prayer
Lord, you call me to prayer. I know that when I pray, my life is changed in a wonderful way. I remember your mercy and I remember those words from Luther’s catechism: “I surely ought to thank and praise, serve and obey you.” In such a life is gladness found. Amen.