A good employee will try to do what his boss expects of him. He learns what they want, and then does what is necessary to please the boss. It is best to know what your teacher or professor wants, as well as your parents or spouse. When you know what they want and expect, and then do that, they should each be happy. How about God? Do we know what He wants? We might think that we do, but then find out that wasn’t it. In our Scripture today, a portion of Psalm 50, the Lord tells us what He wants from us. Let’s look into what God’s Word, the Bible, has to say.
As our Scripture passage opens, the Lord God speaks to His people. He is not too happy, as He testifies against them (vs. 7). They might have wondered why God was angry. They could point to all of the sacrifices that they had given to Him over the years (vs. 8). Bulls, goats, lambs, these were continually offered as sacrifices, and God wasn’t complaining about that. However, He didn’t need that. He wasn’t about to go into the people’s barns and cattle stalls to take animals for sacrifice for Himself (vs. 9).
All of the creatures of the earth are God’s, and if He had any need, He could just take of His own bounty. Have you ever seen, either in person or in a photo, a vast herd of cattle? They are scattered all across a vast field of grass, maybe stretching out towards some hills in the distance. If you were to count them, they could easily be several hundred. Yet here, as we read on in our psalm, the Lord says that the cattle upon a thousand hills belongs to Him. God has no needs. He has no deficiencies that we need to fill with our service (vs. 10-12). Unlike the pagan gods, Yahweh doesn’t need us to “feed” Him every day. Those who followed the pagan religions would bring food, drink, and other items to their pagan altars in order to provide their myriad of gods and goddesses with food and supplies for the day. Yahweh never needs anything like that from us. As He tells us, He doesn’t eat the flesh of sacrificial animals (vs. 13).
So what does God want from us? As our Scripture passage today continues, He tells us what He is looking for from His children (vs. 14). God wants a thankful heart from His people. He has given everything we have to us. Look around you right now. Do you have a roof over your head? Did you have something to eat today? Are there clothes on your back? Are you able to pay your bills? All of that was provided for you from the Lord God, and we should be thankful to Him for giving them to us. If it wasn’t for Him, none of us would have anything.
God also said that He wants us to keep the vows, the promises that we have made to Him. How many of us have made any number of promises to God over the years, especially when we are in any sort of trouble. “Dear Lord, if You will only get me out of this problem, I will do ……” we often pray. Maybe we promise to attend church more faithfully, or give more to the church and to charities. We promise Him all sorts of things, but then when He delivers us, we frequently forget. God wants us to keep our promises to Him. True worship does not consist of mere sacrifice, but of sacrifice offered with thanksgiving and faithfulness.
As our passage closes, God makes a promise to us (vs. 15). God promises His children that when troubles come their way, and they call upon Him, He will deliver them. Troubles will come. We can expect them. However, we do not need to despair, for God is with us to help and strengthen us. God lovingly provides whatever we need from His limitless resources and power.
Everything we work for here on earth doesn’t really belong to us. It all comes from God. All our possessions are His. Will we thank Him for them, or will we get swelled with pride, thinking our cleverness and ability got them? And will we willingly share our bounty with others, so that their lives might be better? Thanksgiving, love, and faithfulness is what the Lord God really wants.
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