1 The Mighty One, God the LORD,
Has spoken and called the earth
From the rising of the sun to its going down.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God will shine forth.
3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.
4 He shall call to the heavens from above,
And to the earth, that He may judge His people:
5 "Gather My saints together to Me,
Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice."
6 Let the heavens declare His righteousness,
For God Himself is Judge.
Selah
7 "Hear, O My people, and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you;
I am God, your God!
8 I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices
Or your burnt offerings,
Which are continually before Me.
9 I will not take a bull from your house,
Nor goats out of your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is Mine,
And the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the mountains,
And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.
12 "If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.
13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
Or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God thanksgiving,
And pay your vows to the Most High.
15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me."
16 But to the wicked God says:
"What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
17 Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
18 When you saw a thief, you consented with him,
And have been a partaker with adulterers.
19 You give your mouth to evil,
And your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother's son.
21 These things you have done, and I kept silent;
You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And set them in order before your eyes.
22 "Now consider this, you who forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces,
And there be none to deliver:
23 Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God."—Psalm 50
The Hebrew word for thank offerings is todah, from the verb yadah, “to acknowledge, thank.” Such an offering could not be given unless the offerer had experienced God’s work on his behalf. If he was in distress and called on God, the Lord would answer. —Walvoord
We cannot give God anything because He owns it all. Anything we could offer in sacrifice to Him, He already owns. Thankfully, God doesn’t want our gifts or our empty ritual. God wants us. He wants our worship…our sacrifices of thanksgiving…to be from hearts that are genuinely devoted to trusting Him. It is at this juncture that our thanksgiving offerings are accepted because they come from a believing heart that has cried out to Him in faith and has experienced His help and deliverance. It is our faith…our crying out to Him in our day of trouble…that pleases Him and honors Him.
Beloved…we glorify God by being delivered by Him. It is very hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that my God really desires that I come to Him for help. It goes against my ingrained habit of never wanting to bother or burden anyone. But our God bids us to come. So be a burden…be a bother…cry out to Your God and experience His glorious sustaining and delivering grace.
The OT sacrificial system pointed forward to Christ. His was the ultimate and final sacrifice that truly took away the sins of the world. Beloved…Glorify God by trusting Him…not only at the moment when you first believed but also every moment thereafter.
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."—Matthew 11:28-30
29 But I am poor and sorrowful;
Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.
30 I will praise the name of God with a song,
And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.—Psalm 69:29-30
14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.—Hebrews 4:14-16
14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.—2 Corinthians 4:14-15
Hear the words of Jesus in John 4:
23 But a time is coming and is already here when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit [from the heart, the inner self] and in truth; for the Father seeks such people to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
