Observance

A new-to-our denomination member asked a question in return to my “See you tonight.”  “You’ll be back tonight?  How bad can you be on a Sunday afternoon to need another service?”  I explained that I found Sunday evening services to be educational, enlightening and enjoyable, neither cleansing nor a chore.

My reading last night included Psalm 50, which reminded me of that conversation:

Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. (Psalms 50:14-15 KJV)

In the previous verses, David asks questions from God’s viewpoint, including:

If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? (Psalms 50:12-13 KJV)

The answer, of course, is “No.” God does not require sacrifice for His sustenance.  He does not feed upon the offerings, nor does He need cattle – all are His.  I like the way Matthew Henry’s comments describe how legalistic people can be:

They thought God was mightily beholden to them for the many sacrifices they had brought to his altar, and that they had made him very much their debtor by them, as if he could not have maintained his numerous family of priests without their contributions;

Before my Bible reading last night, I attended Sunday evening services and listened to one of those called by God to serve Him in another land. He spoke of the ‘marriage’ between church and missions, how they complement each other, as a husband goes into the field to plant and tend while the bride remains at home providing meals and daily activity to allow him to continue working.

It wasn’t a sacrifice for me to spend my Sunday evening listening to this man trod the same paths as Paul.  God owes neither the missionary or me a debt for our attending that service.  We do so for His glory, to give thanks to Him and to honor the vows we’ve made to serve Him, that His will might be accomplished.

Some don’t.

Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God. (Psalms 50:22-23 KJV)

I wonder, when David wrote this, did he want to tear apart those who forget God?  Did he feel an anger, a desire to show the salvation of God?  If so, I’ve felt a bit of his frustration.  Never to the point of tearing apart anything but an argument, but the strong desire to share the salvation offered in His word.

Maybe David got that message across to his son:

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13 KJV)