Before we are sentenced

Many times before a judge sentences a person, he will speak and give his thoughts. Sometimes he is giving calm and reasoned instruction, and other times he sounds very harsh. 

In view of the coming judgment, we must listen to God's final words in Psalm 50:

“Now consider this, you who forget God,
         Or I will tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver.

“He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;
         And to him who orders his way aright
         I shall show the salvation of God.”(vs 22-23)

God seems to us humans to be "hitting them hard," does He not? But He knows that He must get their attention! My grandpa used to say that his old mule didn't pay attention when he pulled on the rope, slapped his hindquarters, or yelled like a sailor at him. But when he picked up that two by four..... (Just kidding)

God is confronting these people with their sin. He is saying that the door of mercy may not always be standing open -- none of us knows when we may die. 

To those who repent, though, God shows the way to live. Check out verse twenty-three again. By sincerely offering thank offerings, or in our day, by thanking and praising God for His goodness and mercy, we honor Him. We prepare the way in our lives to experience more of His deliverance and grace. Repentance was a problem, though, for these people. Why? Well, the hypocrites forgot all about God. As far as who He was, and what He was like. They substituted their own views of God. 

The ritualists were not much better, because they forgot all about thanking God. From the heart. They probably got to thinking that praise was trivial. Commonplace.

It's not!

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. (Hebrews 13:15)

       I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. (Psalm 69:13)

And in our psalm for this week:

Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, (Psalm 50:14)

Psalm 50 warns us; when we stand before our God, what will matter is not that we have performed religious rituals, but that we have worshiped and obeyed God from grateful hearts.