The God of gods, the Lord,
has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Zion’s perfect beauty he shines.
(Our God comes, he keeps silence no longer.)
Before him fire devours,
around him tempest rages.
He calls on the heavens and the earth
to witness his judgement of his people.
“Summon before me my people
who made covenant with me by sacrifice.”
The heavens proclaim his justice,
for he, God, is the judge.
“Listen, my people, I will speak;
Israel, I will testify against you,
for I am God, your God.
I accuse you, lay the charge before you.
I find no fault with your sacrifices,
your offerings are always before me.
I do not ask more bullocks from your farms,
nor goats from among your herds.
For I own all the beasts of the forest,
beasts in their thousands on my hills.
I know all the birds in the sky,
all that moves in the field belongs to me.
Were I hungry, I would not tell you,
for I own the world and all it holds.
Do you think I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?
Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God
and render him your votive offerings.
Call on me in the day of distress.
I will free and you shall honour me.”
(But God says to the wicked:)
“But how can you recite my commandments
and take my covenant on your lips,
you who despise my law
and throw my words to the winds,
you who see a thief and go with him;
who throw in your lot with adulterers,
who unbridle your mouth for evil
and whose tongue is plotting crime,
you who sit and malign your kinsfolk
and slander your brothers and sisters.
You do this, and should I keep silence?
Do you think that I am like you?
Mark this, you who never think of God,
lest I seize you and you cannot escape;
a sacrifice of thanksgiving honours me
and I will show God’s salvation to the upright.”
Reflection
I don’t know about you, but this certainly goes against my own personal image of God. My God is a God who loves us and the world; a God who is always with us, guiding us when we lose the way, and supporting us when we suffer; not a God who sits in judgement over us. This perception is a God who dominates and controls; a God who demands and condemns; a God who raises His voice and breathes fire. He tells the Israelites that He does not want sacrifices because He already owns all the animals in the fields and the birds in the skies. They are only giving to Him that which He already owns! He created them as He created us.
I find this psalm hard to read. I remember when I was young – perhaps five or six years old – I and my sister were sent to Sunday School in a Christadelphian chapel (it was the closest to our house), where they also taught us to fear God and His judgements should we be found wanting. Strangely, their emphasis was with the God of the Old Testament and not the New. This image of a wrathful and vengeful God stayed with me for many years. It wasn’t until I was in my early twenties and had begun to go back to church, that I realised that some of the Old Testament was man’s interpretation at the time of what he did not understand and could not perceive.
So, God addresses His people, the nation of Israel. His complaint against Israel is not that they fail to offer sacrifices; Rather, they offer sacrifices constantly, but He does not accept them. He clarifies that He does not “need” to be given animals or birds, since He already owns everything in creation. What He is ultimately looking for, is a relationship with them. He wants them to seek Him out, recognising that He is their Creator and their Redeemer. He wants instead, sacrifices of thanksgiving; recognition that He will be the one to rescue them if they ask for His help. He will show His salvation to those who hear Him.
Prayer
God our Creator and our Redeemer, help us to recognise that you hold all creation in the palm of your hands. Watch over us in all that we do and say, not just today but every day until the end of time and then we shall see you and recognise the love that you have shown for us and for all your people. Amen.