God's salvation for your soul

Serve the Lord sincerely

In the ESV translation, Psalm 50 has the inscription 'Serve the Lord sincerely'. But it is remarkable that the Psalm is mainly and largely a warning to those who "do not serve the Lord sincerely." They do serve Him, but apparently not in the right way. Most of the Psalm is God's reproach to His people for offering Him sacrifices, but meanwhile not wanting to listen to His commandments and act (50:16-22). That is why their sacrifices mean nothing to God; He does not need them (50:7-13). After all, all animals are already His and their service is only a formal service.

But the Psalm contains a few special texts that are worth highlighting and that are about the opposite. Rather, they are about serving the Lord sincerely and giving us insight into some of its specific features.  

In the first and most direct sense, they refer to the believing remnant of Israel who will soon be delivered from the great tribulation by God Himself. But we may also make an application for ourselves because they encourage us to have a living relationship with our Lord and Savior.

A relationship of sacrifices

The lyrics in question are as follows.

• Gather Me My favorites, who make a covenant with Me through sacrifices (50:5)
• Offer thanks to God and keep your vows to the Most High. call on Me in the day of trouble; I will help you out and you will honor Me (50:14-15)
• He who offers thanks will honor Me; to whomever walks in the right way, I will show God's salvation (50:23)

A Covenant of Sacrifices

It starts with verse 5

“(…) My favorites, who make a covenant with Me through sacrifices”.

The relationship between God and 'His favorites' is based on the Sacrifice, which God Himself has provided. As Abraham said:God will provide Himself with the lamb for the burnt offering(Genesis 22:8). The Sacrificial Lamb, our Lord Jesus Christ, is the ground for our relationship with God. God gave His Son so that sinners might be forgiven and saved (see for example John 3:16; 1 John 4:9,10).

But in our text it is presented the other way around. The initiative does not come from God, but from the 'favourites'. They make the covenant with the Lord and enter into a relationship with Him. Anyone who has accepted the Lord Jesus as the atoning sacrifice for himself may on that basis go to God and honor and thank Him for it.

You start a relationship at a certain point, but after that you also have to maintain that relationship. You maintain your relationship with the Lord through sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, “(…) spiritual sacrifices pleasing to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).

Today you can hear Christians talking about their relationship with God or often even an "intimate relationship." But if you listen carefully you hear little or nothing about Christ the Crucified. Then something isn't right, isn't it? God's Word mentions it in this Psalm 'a covenant of sacrifices' and Paul writes in several places that we should only care about our Lord Jesus Christ.

“I will not at all boast of anything but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . ” (Galatians 6:14).

Our relationship with God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ can only be maintained when we offer our daily sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving!

Sacrifice thanks to God

That it is God's desire that we offer peace offerings to Him is also apparent from verse 14, where we read the call “Sacrifice thanks to God (…)”. When God commanded His people to offer sacrifices to Him, it was not because of those animals. He was not hungry (see 50:12), so He needed those animals. But the sacrifice also had the purpose of involving their hearts. To put it this way:

God is not waiting for their sacrificial animals, but for the thanks of their hearts!

He wanted them to realize who the great and holy God is, yet so merciful and loving that He wants to dwell with sinful people. “Therefore you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength..." (Deuteronomy 6:5).

The relationship with God is based on making sacrifices of thanksgiving to God, but it also involves taking care of them—His "favorites"—and saving them when they call on Him.

“call on Me in the day of trouble; I will help you out and you will honor Me” (Psalm 50:15).

Seeing the Salvation of God

When soon in the great tribulation trouble comes upon the people of Israel, He will look for 'favorites'those are those who offer Him thanks and honor Him. Those who know that the Lord Jesus is the real Messiah and then call on Him to save them (50:15). They know Him, they believe in Him, know Who He is and what He did on the cross of Calvary. Therefore they honor and thank Him.

And because they do, He will come to deliver them from the distress. Because that's what it says in the last verse[2]:

“He who offers praise honors Me, and prepares the way that I may show him God's salvation." (RSV, Psalm 50:23).

Perseveringly thanking and honoring Him is seen as paving a way for the Lord to meet them with His salvation!

But also for us it is God's 'commission' to thank Him, 'God's will' as Paul says:

“Thank God in everything. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonicenzen 5:18)

When we give thanks for the cross of Calvary, we are defined by 'the salvation of God' and in particular the Person who is that Salvation, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When He comes, our salvation is complete.

Salvation for the soul

When we offer sacrifices of thanksgiving to the Lord Jesus and God our Father, it is the desire of God's heart. It is 'God's food' (eg Numbers 28:2), and as it were a 'condition of life' for God. But when we concern ourselves with the Lord Jesus and His Cross, isn't that also the highest and the best thing we can do for our own heart and soul? If we are concerned with 'God's salvation', wouldn't that also be beneficial to our own hearts?

I think there is nothing more beneficial to the human soul than to continually offer our sacrifices of praise and thanks to God our Father and the Lord Jesus.

How many people – including Christians – are walking around with what we now call psychological complaints? I am becoming more and more convinced that the only remedy is to learn to offer sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to God the Father and the Lord Jesus. It is something we must do and continue to do, despite the burden of our souls. Then, as it were, we pave a way through which God's salvation can reach and restore our souls. Then you can say it afterwards with the psalmist:

“. . . for the Lord has been good to me. Yea, O Lord, thou hast delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my foot from stumbling. . . . I will offer thee an offering of thanksgiving, and call upon the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 116:7-8;17)

Abundance for our souls is the result, as we also read in Psalm 63:4-6

“My lips will praise You. So will I praise You in my life, in Your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be filled as with fat and abundance; my mouth will boast with lips singing joyfully”

Paul calls on the Philippians and us to maintain that living relationship with the Lord Jesus when he writes:

“Rejoice in the Lord always; I say it again: Rejoice. (…) Do not be anxious in anything, but let your desires in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving become known to God; and the peace from god, which passeth all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4,6-7)