How shall we please and worship God?
Certain verses of the Bible stick in my mind. Like “remember the cucumbers!” and “the cattle on a thousand hills.” Both of these deal with our trust toward God: our doubting His ability to provide, and the Bible stating that God is the owner of EVERYTHING.
Austrian cows have a decent life- winter in shelter down in the valleys, and summer wandering the sweet floral grasses of the Alpine slopes. Fresh air, fresh fodder. Farmers fetch the cows down in early autumn, and the most productive animals process through the villages with gorgeous head-dresses of flowers- they are the local heroes!
How shall we please and worship God? The “cattle on a thousand hills” quote is found in Psalm 50, which reminds us that worship is a matter of the heart , the attitude towards the Lord. Human beings worship. They may worship God, or worship something in God’s place. Psalm 50 has the Lord explaining that “just” offering our praise and our sacrifices misses the mark. God needs no barbecue! He honours the worship offered but requires more: lives of integrity and compassion, justice and mercy. Keeping our promises is important, and showing our trust to be real by calling ON the Lord when in trouble or danger.
Exercise: Read this extract from Psalm 50- and prayerfully examine the religious practices we engage in, and assess the true level of trust and obedience in our hearts toward God. Are we offering what God requires, or only what we believe will keep God on “our side”? It’s an important distinction.
‘Listen, my people, and I will speak;
Psalm 50 v7-15
I will testify against you, Israel:
I am God, your God.
I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices
or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know every bird in the mountains,
and the insects in the fields are mine.
If I were hungry I would not tell you
for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
Sacrifice thank-offerings to God,
fulfil your vows to the Most High,
and call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honour me.’
The Reflectionary 