Psalm 50

⁵ "Gather My godly ones to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice." ⁶ And the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is judge. Selah. ⁷ "Hear, O My people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you; I am God, your God. ⁸ I do not reprove you for your sacrifices, And your burnt offerings are continually before Me. ⁹ I shall take no young bull out of your house Nor male goats out of your folds. ¹⁰ For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. ¹¹ I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. ¹² If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains. ¹³ Shall I eat the flesh of bulls Or drink the blood of male goats? ¹⁴ Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High; ¹⁵ Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me."

¹⁶ But to the wicked God says, "What right have you to tell of My statutes And to take My covenant in your mouth? ¹⁷ For you hate discipline, And you cast My words behind you. ¹⁸ When you see a thief, you are pleased with him, And you associate with adulterers. ¹⁹ You let your mouth loose in 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 silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes. ²² Now consider this, you who forget God, Or I will tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver. ²³ He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God" (Psa 50:5-23).

We like it when things are clean. We like it when we get an "attaboy", when we sense God smiling on us, when we have a singular view. God, on the other hand, seems often to delight in "mixed" messages. Oh, no, not actually mixed, but not clean.

In this passage we get two themes. One is to the godly; the other is to the wicked. The demand of the passage is that you ask yourself, "Which am I?" It seems, on a church day, like this is a very good question to address.

God explains here that "My godly ones" are those "who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice." The "sacrifice" in view, of course, is the Old Testament sacrifice, but we know that the Old Testament sacrifice was a pre-Christ view of Christ's ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. The question, then, is have you made a covenant with God based on the sacrifice of Christ? If so, look at the message to God's people: "I will testify against you" (v 7). Wait, wait ... against? Yes. What is the accusation against God's people? It's not that we've ignored the sacrifice. It's that we think we're doing something for God. It is that we think we're adding to Him, that we're doing Him favors, that we're making things better for Him or meeting His needs. Instead God says, "If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and all it contains" (v 12). What, instead, does God want of His people? Not that we do Him any favors, but that we be thankful (v 14), that we call upon Him in time of trouble and honor Him (v 15). Today, you know, is a good day to do that.

The next message is to "the wicked". What defines this group? Well, apparently it's not their words. They apparently proclaim that they agree with God's statutes and are in covenant with Him (v 16). God denies it. It's words only. While they claim to agree with God, they "hate discipline" and discard God's words (v 17). They speak evil and lies (v 19), especially against God's people (v 20). This group has nothing but God's wrath. They think that God's lack of response is approval (v 21), but it's actually only the chance to repent (v 22) before judgment occurs. In contrast, God's people are thankful and aim for godliness (v 23).

Which are you? Ask yourself. It could be that you're a child of God, one of the godly ones, in need of reproof. It could be that you're a wicked one, talking the good talk but not walking it, ignoring God's discipline and His word. It's not my job to name names; it's your job to evaluate yourself. Today is a good day for repentance, redirection, and thanksgiving. No, it's not a "clean" messsage, but it's necessary.