◄ What Does Psalm 50:23 Mean? ►

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!"

Psalm 50:23(ESV)

Verse of the Day

Our faith in God pleases Him while our thanksgiving glorifies Him, and the one that glorifies the Father is the true worshipper who worships Him in spirit and truth. Genuine thanksgiving to the Lord is a freewill offering, a sacrifice of praise, a living sacrifice, a gift of love which is a sweet-smelling savour to the Lord our God.

Such an offering is not merely to be an external display of reverent homage or a gesture of pious religiosity, but an inner spirit of genuine gratefulness, a heart overflowing with adoration that springs from the man or woman that is deeply in love with the Lord. Indeed, no act of thanksgiving nor any form of worship that does not spring forth from the inner being that loves the Lord is acceptable to Him.

The whole of Psalm 50 is a song that shows forth the greatness of God, His never-ending righteousness, and His long-suffering grace, but it is also one that is a severe rebuke to His people, Israel, for their disinterested complacency and hypocritical attitude into which their external acts of sacrifices had fallen. Man may look on the externals, but God looks on the heart, and He knows the inner thoughts and the hidden attitudes of the mind, which can so often mask insincerity in the worship of a double-minded man.

God, Who judges the hearts of all, is not mocked and warns all that are so inclined to cleanse their hearts, alter their ways, and dress themselves in the robe of Christ's righteousness in sincerity and truth. And so we read: "He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honours Me; And to him who orders his way aright, I shall show the salvation of God."

It is never too late for any believer who has adopted a form of complacency or put on a necklace of hypocrisy to change his ways, for God is gracious and long-suffering. But He also warns us to recognise the error of our attitude, change our ways, and return to Him.

Our faith in God pleases Him, while our genuine thanksgiving glorifies Him. Let us be those that glorify the Father through a sacrifice of praise as, day by day, we worship Him in spirit and in truth.

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, I confess that I have not always had the right attitude of true thanksgiving toward You. I pray that from now on, my life would be a living sacrifice that is pleasing to You and glorifies Your name. Help me to identify and correct any wrong attitudes within my heart, and begin anew to worship You in spirit and truth. In Jesus' name, AMEN.