Psalm 50 caught my attention in my reading today. The Psalm has to do with God Himself being judge. In the midst of the Psalm, beginning about v. 8, He says, "I am not finding fault in your worship or your sacrifices. You are constantly bringing Me your burnt offerings. But, I know all these creatures and they are all available to me." Then it turns, and He basically says He is more interested in a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving and His people performing their vows to the Most High. He is saying He would much rather have a "banquet of praise and a feast of promises".
So, what the Lord is saying to them, and I believe to us, is that He is looking for Praises and Promises in our worship. Our Lord is blessed by our praise and thanksgiving, but only if it leads us to obedience, the keeping of our vows before Him. Often we've said that if our worship does not lead us to obedience to all He has commanded and expects from us both little and large, then our worship is lacking in authenticity. It is not real. It is simply noise and show.
It is easy to do the things that make it appear we are praising and giving thanksgiving to God. But, unless it is from a heart of humility seeking to be obedient to Him in all things, it falls far short of the worship He desires. May our worship be full of heartfelt "praises and promises". mjm
