Psalm 50:7-15 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 50:7-15 on biblegateway.com
Verse 7"Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God.
Verse 8Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me.
Verse 9I will not accept a bull from your house, or goats from your folds.
Verse 10For every wild animal of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.
Verse 11I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine.
Verse 12"If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and all that is in it is mine.
Verse 13Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
Verse 14Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.
Verse 15Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."
Devotion
Many a seminarian has smiled at the humorous double entendre present in the phrase, “I will accept no bull from your house” that is part of our text for today. But seriously, it points to the truth that we often try to make ourselves look better than we are—isn’t that what so much of social media is about? We try to wow others with what we know, how we live, what is trending—but God sees beyond our ‘need’ for a few moments of fame. God sees us as God’s own creation, all of the world is God’s creation and not one part of it is better than another. Rather humbling when we think we are so amazing! God longs for our prayers and thanksgiving, not our social media posts. God sees the real us and loves us, just as we are, every day. And that, my friends, is no bull!
Prayer
Thank you, God, for seeing us and loving us just as we are. Help us to see and love others in that same way. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.