RITUALISM
WITHOUT GODLINESS NEVER PLEASES GOD
Psalm
50:3
Our
God comes; he does not keep silence;
before
him is a devouring fire,
around
him a mighty tempest.
The
God of heaven has a right to judge, and He will. The writer reminds us that the
Lord will judge empty worship. He has never been pleased with men who practice
empty ritualism, with hearts that are far from Him. We should continually be
checking our hearts.
The
psalmist reminds the readers of this with God’s own words of rebuke for their
rebellion:
Psalm
50:16-18
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 If
you see a thief, you are pleased with him,
and
you keep company with adulterers.
The
children of Israel went through their prescribed rituals many times, but had
set aside the words of God. They rebelled against the discipline of the Lord
and communed with God’s enemies.
Psalm
50:19-21
19
“You give your mouth free rein for evil,
and
your tongue frames deceit.
20 You
sit and speak against your brother;
you
slander your own mother's son.
21 These
things you have done, and I have been silent;
you
thought that I was one like yourself.
But
now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.
Their
mouth spoke evil and they assumed that God’s silence implied His approval.
Psalm
50:22-23
22
“Mark this, then, you who forget God,
lest
I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!
23 The
one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
to
one who orders his way rightly
I
will show the salvation of God!”
What
is the solution to a rebellious heart? A change of ways! The one who sets his
life in order and is grateful to God. Those are the ones whom God approves, the
ones whom God saves.
We
are not very different from the children of Israel: we, too, go through our practices
of worship with our hearts far from God. We, too, go through seasons of
rebellion and think that God’s silence in some way lessens the gravity of our
rebellion.
God’s
standards are not to be overlooked! We should be alarmed by our seasons of
rebellion. If we go through times of disdain for God’s teaching and do not feel
the heavy hand of God on our lives, then we should question our relationship
with God. God is not indifferent to our sin and is not looking for people that merely
give Him lip service. Oh, we can deceive man, but we can never deceive God!
One
of the greatest warning signs to us is a lack of gratitude. Our dissatisfaction
exposes our hearts. Those who know God should be grateful for His presence and
sovereignty in their lives. True worship will always be accompanied by true gratitude.
Discontent
not only exposes our rebellion, but it is the easy path to sin.
Dissatisfaction, bitterness, anger, ungratefulness never produce godliness, for
they are sin.
Have
you checked your heart, even better, have you asked to someone close to you if your
words and attitudes show gratitude to God, or complaint?
If
you are like me, you have all kinds of excuses for your attitude. We blame it
on others, on circumstances, on our health, even on the weather. We tend to not
take personal responsibility.
The
wonderful thing is that we can confess our sin, ask God for help, change our
ways, and return to godly worship. God demands our worship, He deserves our
worship, but He looks at our heart and desires our heart to be devoted and
submitted to Him.
May
our praise be sincere and apparent today! We have every reason to be grateful
for the privilege to call God our Father. We are His children forever! Jesus
has changed our lives and His Spirit continually works in us! TRUE PRAISE
BEGINS IN OUR HEARTS!
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