"If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:
And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me."
Psalms 50:12-15
Earlier in this psalm, God says "Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice" (verse 5), which seems to be his audience for the following verses. And to those people (which probably would have included most of his dedicated followers at the time, so similar to members of his church now) he explains that sacrifice is symbolic. The offerings and payments that he really wants aren't animals and cash. The covenant, or vow, is the primary thing, and acknowledgement that we need the Lord through thanks and praise, which could also be interpreted as humility and faith, for those are expressions that we would never make if we didn't believe that God was there and that he was worth talking to. :)
As our traditional day of Thanksgiving approaches, let's remember what our relationship with God is really about. It isn't about appeasing a hungry deity who somehow can't feed himself. It's about keeping our promises, and giving God the credit he deserves. Those are things that are needed in any relationship, but are supremely important in our relationship with God. Let's give thanks for the help and blessings that surround us, and remember to give God the credit. Let's call upon him and repay his kindness by fulfilling our covenants and keeping our promises to him, that we will change and do better and follow his commandments, etc.
Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:
And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me."
Psalms 50:12-15
Earlier in this psalm, God says "Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice" (verse 5), which seems to be his audience for the following verses. And to those people (which probably would have included most of his dedicated followers at the time, so similar to members of his church now) he explains that sacrifice is symbolic. The offerings and payments that he really wants aren't animals and cash. The covenant, or vow, is the primary thing, and acknowledgement that we need the Lord through thanks and praise, which could also be interpreted as humility and faith, for those are expressions that we would never make if we didn't believe that God was there and that he was worth talking to. :)
As our traditional day of Thanksgiving approaches, let's remember what our relationship with God is really about. It isn't about appeasing a hungry deity who somehow can't feed himself. It's about keeping our promises, and giving God the credit he deserves. Those are things that are needed in any relationship, but are supremely important in our relationship with God. Let's give thanks for the help and blessings that surround us, and remember to give God the credit. Let's call upon him and repay his kindness by fulfilling our covenants and keeping our promises to him, that we will change and do better and follow his commandments, etc.
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