Psalm 50 is an unusual psalm in that it carries a strong prophetic call to repentance. It is significant I think that it is placed before Psalm 51 (a penitential response to conviction of sin) in the psalter. There are only two other psalms that do a similar thing: Psalms 81 and 95. These psalms summon God’s people to worship, but the place of worship also becomes the place where God voices his complaints against his people and his warnings to them. In Psalm 50, God complains about his people using religious practice as a veneer over their sinful lives. The most important expression of worship is to listen to God. Often when I reprimand my kids for their bad behaviour, they respond by impatiently repeating the word “sorry”. They do this because they just want to give me what they think I want and make the moment pass as quickly as possible. But this isn’t what I want. I want them to listen to me explain to them why their behaviour is a problem. Incessantly repeating the word ‘sorry’ is their way of avoiding this revelation. There were Old Testament sacrifices that were designed as a way of saying “sorry” to God. The offering of these sacrifices was of course a good thing, but only if the person bringing the sacrifice was genuinely sorry. You can only be genuinely sorry if you allow God to show you what is so sorrowful about yourself. If we do this, then we open ourselves to the most wonderful gift that God has for us: grace. God’s grace is the cause of the deepest joy in worship.
Ask God to show you if there is anything if your life that grieves him.
Read Psalm 50
