Sermon for August 10th, 2025
Psalm 50:1-23 (OT p.519)
(Scripture reading incorporated into sermon)
Psummer of Psalms VIII - Psalm 50
Today’s sermon is about sacrifice and gratitude. I’m reminded of the story about a man who was involved in a terrible accident where his face was severely burned. The doctor told the man’s wife that they couldn’t graft any skin from his own body, so the wife offered to donate some of her own skin. However, the only skin on the wife’s body that the doctor found suitable would have to come from her posterior.
This was, of course, very awkward, but there didn’t seem to be any alternative, so the couple agreed that they would keep the source of his new skin a secret between them. The surgery was a tremendous success, and afterwards, everyone was astounded at just how well the man looked.
One day, when reflecting back on everything, the husband was overcome with emotion and gratitude for his wife’s sacrifice. He said, “My dear, I just want to thank you for what you did for me. There is no way I could ever repay you.” The wife replied, “My darling, think nothing of it. I get all the thanks I need every time I see your mother kiss you on the cheek.”
This morning we are beginning (or really, continuing) a short sermon series on the book of Psalms. Normally, I start this series in May or July, but since I was on sabbatical this summer, it’s arriving a little later—and will be a little shorter (just August).
Those of you who have been with us for a few years know that I typically start the series with the Psalm that corresponds to my current age—and earlier this summer, I turned 50, so today we’re looking at Psalm 50. If you’ve ever wanted to delve deeper into the Psalms, this is a great way to start—figure out how old you are (or want to be) and check out your own “Psalm of the year.” Spoiler alert: This approach will suddenly stop working on your 151st birthday!
In a minute, we’ll jump right into Psalm 50. But first, what are the Psalms? And why should we care about them? The Psalms are the prayer book and the song book in the heart of the Bible. The Psalms were written to comfort, to heal, and to stir up the hearts of God’s people. They’ve been read, sung, prayed, and memorized for thousands of years. John Calvin once called the Psalms “an anatomy of all the parts of the soul,” meaning that in them you can find every emotion, every situation, every cry of the human heart laid bare before God. The Psalms were also a central component of the earliest worship services in both the Jewish and Christian faiths.
Alright. Let’s jump into our text. Psalm 50, first movement (verses 1-6):
A Psalm of Asaph. 1 The mighty one, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. 2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. 3 Our God comes and does not keep silent; before him is a devouring fire and a mighty tempest all around him. 4 He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people: 5 “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” 6 The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge. Selah
7 “Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God.
8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds.
10 For every wild animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all that is in it is mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.
15 Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
16 But to the wicked God says, “What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips? 17 For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you. 18 You make friends with a thief when you see one, and you keep company with adulterers. 19 You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit. 20 You sit and speak against your kin; you slander your own mother’s child. 21 These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one just like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you. 22 Mark this, then, you who forget God, or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to deliver.
23 Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me; to those who go the right way, I will show the salvation of God.”
- Neal, Emily, Jeff & Joe—get in here now!
- Father’s day gifts — I don’t really need anything (or else I would have bought it). Love and gratitude (and honor and obedience) are priceless, though.
- ”Not for your sacrifices to I rebuke you.” Our sacrifices (Look, God how much I’ve done for you/the church!) aren’t bad, but they also don’t have the effect on God we think they will. They don’t get us off the hook.
- Sacrifice should be offered in appreciation for what God has already done, in gratitude. It also benefits us more than it does God. But it isn’t transactional. God, If I do this for you, what will you do for me?
- ”Prayer and worship are responses to God by which we orient ourselves toward that which is of ultimate worth.”
- ”A marathon runner who does not train will soon find herself short of breath. A concert pianist who does not practice will soon find his audience dwindling. A person of faith who pays no heed to worship will soon find her life overtaken by concerns that matter little in the great scheme of things.”
