Psalm 50:23 - PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING TO GOD.
Psalm 50:23 (NKJV) Whoever offers praise
glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God."
Psalm 50:23 (NIV) He who sacrifices thank
offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I
may show him the salvation of God."
Psalm 50:23 (NLT) But giving thanks is a
sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my
path, I will reveal to you the salvation of
God.
Psalm 50:23 (ESV) The one who offers
thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who
orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of
God!
INTRODUCTION
All creation is like a majestic symphony or
a great choir composed of many harmonious
parts that together offer up songs of praise to
the Lord. Each part (independent, yet part of
the whole) is caught up and carried along in
swelling tides of praise. This is a picture of how we
as believers should praise God - individually,
yet as part of the great choir of believers
worldwide. Are you singing your part well in the
worldwide choir of praise? [Life Application SB]
COMMENTARY PEARL
Thank God for Who He Is
Anytime you thank someone, you honor that
person.
For example, if I say to my wife,
Honey, Im so grateful for that great
Thanksgiving dinner you made, I just honored my wife.
When I say to her mom, I want to thank you for
having Kay so I could marry her, I am honoring
her mom. When I say to someone, Thank you for
opening the door for me or Thank you for
coming to the service, I am honoring that
person.
An expression of gratitude is a way of
honoring another person.
The Bible says that you also honor God
when you express gratitude to him. God says this
in Psalm 50: Giving thanks is a sacrifice
that truly honors me (Psalm 50:23 NLT).
How is giving thanks a sacrifice? It
takes time to think of things to be grateful for.
So when you give thanks, you are sacrificing
your time.
When my wife does something thoughtful
for me, she likes me to say, Thank you.
But if thats all I ever did, shed begin to
wonder, Does he really love me, or does he just
love me for the things I do for him?
At some point, I have to start moving to
a higher level of thanksgiving"which is not
just thanking my wife for what she does but
thanking her for who she is. Thats a deeper, more
mature kind of thanksgiving.
If the only time your kids thanked you
was when you gave them their allowance, youd
begin to wonder, Do they love me, or do they
just love the money?
If all you do is thank God for letting
you get into this class or for giving you this
food or for all the things he does for you,
its worth asking yourself, Do I really love
God, or do I just love the things that God does
for me?
You must learn to thank God not just for
what he does but for who he is.
When you thank God for who he is, your
prayer might go something like this: God, thank
you that your wisdom is greater than mine. Thank
you that you know what will make me happy more
than I do. Thank you that youre consistent
when Im inconsistent. Thank you for your love
and your mercy, and that youre always fair.
Thank you that even when I dont understand
something, you have my best interest at heart.
That kind of gratitude goes beyond
Thank you, God, for our food to Thank you,
God, for who you are. And its the kind of
gratitude that honors God and gives you deeper
spiritual roots. [Daily Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
COMMENTARY
The soul may ascend nearer heaven on the
wings of praise. God is worshiped with song and
music in the courts above, and as we express our
gratitude we are approximating to the worship of the
heavenly hosts. Whoso offereth praise
glorifieth God. Psalm 50:23. Let us with reverent joy
come before our Creator, with thanksgiving,
and the voice of melody. Isaiah 51:3. SC104
The church is very precious in Gods
sight. He values it, not for its external
advantages, but for the sincere piety which
distinguishes it from the world. He estimates it according
to the growth of the members in the knowledge
of Christ, according to their progress in
spiritual experience.
Christ hungers to receive from His
vineyard the fruit of holiness and unselfishness. He
looks for the principles of love and goodness. Not
all the beauty of art can bear comparison with
the beauty of temper and character to be
revealed in those who are Christs representatives.
It is the atmosphere of grace which surrounds
the soul of the believer, the Holy Spirit
working upon mind and heart, that makes him a savor
of life unto life, and enables God to bless his
work.
A congregation may be the poorest in the
land. It may be without the attraction of any
outward show; but if the members possess the
principles of the character of Christ, they will have
His joy in their souls. Angels will unite with
them in their worship. The praise and
thanksgiving from grateful hearts will ascend to God as a
sweet oblation.
The Lord desires us to make mention of
His goodness and tell of His power. He is
honored by the expression of praise and
thanksgiving. He says, Whoso offereth praise glorifieth
Me. Psalm 50:23. The people of Israel, as they
journeyed through the wilderness, praised God in
sacred song. The commandments and promises of the
Lord were set to music, and all along the journey
these were sung by the pilgrim travelers. And in
Canaan as they met at their sacred feasts Gods
wonderful works were to be recounted, and grateful
thanksgiving was to be offered to His name. God desired
that the whole life of His people should be a
life of praise. Thus His way was to be made
known upon earth, His saving health among
all nations. Psalm 67:2. COL298
CLOSING THOUGHT
How do we prepare for the activities of our
life? When we are going to an important business
meeting, we spend time in putting our presentation
together. When we go on a trip, we take time to
prepare for it. What do we do to prepare to worship
our God? Is our preparation the sum total of
getting dressed and putting on some decent clothes,
with maybe a quick prayer for a good parking
spot? If this is true for you, and it is for most
of us, then shame on us. We absolutely need to
"prepare the way" for worship, for that is when we
most consciously draw near to our Creator to
honor Him. The Puritans taught that proper heart
preparation was mandatory to honorably worship Almighty
God, and that the night before the Lord's Day be
spent in confession and prayer, asking for the
Spirit's power to worship, and in reading His Word.
Decide this day whether your worship of God is at
least worth the same preparation you do for the
other details of your life. [In His Time; Walk
With Wisdom]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
Psalm 50:14 - Devotional Insights.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2011/20110906-1351.html
Psalm 96:1, 2 - Sing To The Lord A New Song.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2011/20110427-1141.html
Psalm 100 - Thanksgiving to Jesus!!!
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2009/20091124-2341.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
