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

Scripture reading: Psalm 50

We come to the end of our meditations on Psalm 50. This Psalm is an application of Psalm 1, that gateway to the covenant. In our singing, we bring the case to a close for God as the people of God. The faithful sing to the congregation made up of the faithful and unfaithful. We must listen so we can sing and we must sing that God will be heard.

Tomorrow we will gather for worship. Too often today, worship is only about praise, joy and our personal happiness. I think we can agree that prayer ought to have elements of joy and appreciation. But is there a place in worship for warning, calling and pleading? In Psalm 50, the words of judgment are clear. The righteous will be blessed and delivered. We find hope.

But not so the wicked man. His end is horrible. Who can deliver us from hell once our lives are over without repentance? Then it is too late. But while we have life and breath, let us love our neighbor as ourselves and call each other to the grace and mercy of God. Let us call them to thankful living. Let us call them to sing the songs of praise with us. But let us also worship God in a way that sounds the warnings against sin and calls us to repentance. Let us sound the good news and the warnings of God.

Suggestions for prayer

Pray that the Lord will use our churches, worship and songs tomorrow to bring people to devote their lives to God.

Rev. Al Bezuyen serves the Covenant Reformed Church of Toronto. This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional.