Psalm 50:16-23 NKJV
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
17 Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
18 When you saw a thief, you consented with him,
And have been a partaker with adulterers.
19 You give your mouth to 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 kept silent;
You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And set them in order before your eyes.
22 “Now consider this, you who forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces,
And there be none to deliver:
23 Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God.”
Luther, in his summary of the Psalms, writes: “This Psalm teaches us, in the teeth of all hypocrites and all the worship of hypocrites, what is true worship, and which are acceptable sacrifices in the sight of God. For hypocrites consider their works, and merits, and sacrifices as of such high value, that they think God ought to acknowledge the benefit of their services; and they imagine that he has need of them.”
“Whereas, on the contrary, the Holy Spirit declares with a loud voice by the prophets, what the true worship of God is; namely, that of the First Commandment: which is, to worship God, and adore him; and to acknowledge that we receive all things from his hand, and that all glory is due to him!”
In order to have that true worship, of which Luther speaks, namely, that of the First Commandment — having nothing take the place of God and acting in faith toward Him and love toward our neighbor — there must be a mortifying of the old Adam toward itself. Christians are to be like-minded with one another because the doctrines of men divides hearts, but the Word of God unites them, even though the works are of many kinds.
The glorification and worship of God is to take place in one spirit. In fact, we can do nothing more fitting for God than to glorify and worship Him and thank Him for His goodness and benefits, which is also the true and only worship of God. As God says in Psalm 50 today: “Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.”
St. Paul’s inspired words to the Church in Rome come to mind: “Now may the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded with one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mouth and one mind glorify the God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 15:5-6)
Let us pray: O Lord, by Your beloved Word continue to renew our minds to rightly glorify and worship You. Amen