Psalm 50
v.5
“Gather to me my consecrated ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
v.14
“Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High,
v.23
He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies Me; And he who orders his way, I shall show the salvation of God.”
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me - That is, he truly honors me; he is a true worshipper; he meets with my approbation. The word here rendered “offereth” is the same which is used in Psalm 50:14, and means “he that sacrifices:” here meaning, he that presents the sacrifice of praise. So the Septuagint: “the sacrifice of praise glorifies me.” So the Vulgate. The idea is, that the worship which God requires is “praise;” it is not the mere external act of homage; it is not the presentation of a bloody sacrifice; it is not the mere bending of the knee; it is not a mere outward form: it is that which proceeds from the heart, and which shows that there is there a spirit of true thankfulness, adoration, and love.
And to him that ordereth his conversation aright - Margin, as in Hebrew, “that disposeth his way.” Or, more literally, “To him that “prepares” or “plans” his way;” that is, to him who is attentive to his going; who seeks to walk in the right path; who is anxious to go in the road that leads to a happier world; who is careful that all his conduct shall be in accordance with the rules which God has prescribed.
Will I show the salvation of God - This may mean either, “I, the author of the psalm as a teacher” (compare Psalm 32:8); or, “I” as referring to God - as a promise that “He” would instruct such an one. The latter is the probable meaning, as it is God that has been speaking in the previous verse. The “salvation of God” is the salvation of which God is the author; or, which he alone can give. The “idea” here is, that where there is a true desire to find the way of truth and salvation, God will impart needful instruction. He will not suffer such an one to wander away and be lost. See the notes at Psalm 25:9.
The general ideas in the psalm, therefore, are
(1) that there is to be a solemn judgment of mankind;
(2) that the issues of that judgment will not be determined by the observance of the external forms of religion;
(3) that God will judge people impartially for their sins, though they observe those forms of religion; and
(4) that no worship of God can be acceptable which does not spring from the heart.
But that same afternoon we were told by the doctor that my husband had cancer. The next night there was bleeding from another source which had nothing to do with that lump. We were filled with fear and resentment and worry, and it was all terribly real for both of us. It necessitated our coming to Christ for a refuge.
You can imagine the dialogues I began having with God at that point.
“Lord, haven’t we been through this before? You took husband #1. Now surely, you wouldn’t take Ad, would you?”
And it was as if the Lord said, “I might. Trust me.”
So I had to begin all over again, I thought. Learning lessons that I really thought I had learned well enough for.
I was saying, “Lord, did I flunk the test? Do we have to go over this again?”
And the answer was, “Yes. You have to go over it again.”
Now where do you turn? What do you do? You cry. You pray. You ask why? But there’s a much better thing to do that is stated in this verse I read you.
Now, there are a good many circuitous routes to learning to know God, but there are some shortcuts. And I’m here to suggest that gratitude is one of those shortcuts. Just start thanking God in advance because no matter what is about to happen you already know that God is in charge. You are not adrift in a sea of chaos. So, what is there to be grateful for in the midst of suffering? Well, God is still love. Nothing has changed that. God is still God. He’s sovereign. He’s got the whole world in His hand. He knew that my husband was going to get cancer on that particular day or that we would find out about it on that particular day. Before the foundation of the world, he knew that. So, He wasn’t taken by surprise. Love still wills my joy. Now, I can always thank God for all of those things. Those are the facts along with those other horrible things with which we can hardly cope. It prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.