Psalm 50: Sacrifices of Thanksgiving (Part 2)

Psalm 50:23 "The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”

We turn again this morning to Psalm 50 to discuss sacrifices of thanksgiving. I was in a rush to class yesterday and feel as if I did not cover this topic adaquately, and Brad posted a wonderful comment on yesterday's devotional that I would love to answer. Let us then turn to Psalm 50 again this morning and discuss some biblical truths about sacrifices.

God does not need our sacrifices. We must start here. The psalmist tells us in Psalm 50 that God owns the "cattle on a thousand hills" and that he knows "all the birds of the hills" and that "all that moves in the field" is his (10-11). God does not need us to sacrifice anything to him because he already owns all that there is. Perhaps a cross reference from the New Testament might help: "The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything" (Acts 17:24-25). When discussing our correct posture before God, we must start here. God does not need anything from us, for he is God, and if we think otherwise, we will be led down the wrong path.

God does delight in our right sacrifices. Notice the emphasis on the world "right" here. The point of Psalm 50 is to show that not all sacrifices that were made to God in the Old Testament were right. Many of them were simply done out of legalism, that is, they were simply an act without an attitude. Likewise is the same for us. Our sacrifices will only be delightful to God if they spring up from our heart. God will only take pleasure in our sacrifices if they are an act in accordance to the attitude of our heart. However, he will not delight in any sacrifice that is mere ritual (see Psalm 50:8-9). He desires worship, not ritual.

Our right spiritual sacrifices to God benefit us as well. Although this is not necessarily the point of this Psalm, it is good to point out. God does take great delight in our sacrifices although he does not need them, but there is also a great benefit for us in making sacrifices to God, specifically sacrifices of thanksgiving. As discussed in yesterday's devotional, our sacrifices are not dead sacrifices consisting of the slaughtering of animals, but rather living sacrifices that consist of the slaughtering of our sinful desires in order that we might present our bodies to God's service (see Romans 12:1-2). Although these sacrifices glorify God, they are also for our well-being. As we make our bodies living sacrifices to God, we are blessed as we follow his ways and do not follow the pattern of evil (see Pslam 1). Furthermore, offering sacrifices of thanksgiving to God habituates our heart to turn to him more and long for his goodness. Surely right sacrifices are good for both us and God.

So, what can you sacrifice this morning? Perhaps you are holding onto a desire that you just don't want to let go of. Or perhaps you haven't thanked God for all that he's done for you and need to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving this morning. Whatever it may be, I encourage you to do it from your heart. For this is the only way God will delight in your sacrifice.