Repent?

“Repent, all of you who forget me, or I will tear you apart, and no one will help you. But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭50‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

These two passages seem odd in a Psalm, and so what is the context of the remaining verses?

This is a psalm written by Asaph. In it he is acting as a priest,  as if He is speaking for God. There seem to be contradictions, eg., “Bring my faithful people to me— those who made a covenant with me by giving sacrifices.”Psalms‬ ‭50‬:‭5‬ NLT‬‬

“I have no complaint about your sacrifices or the burnt offerings you constantly offer. But I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens. Psalms‬ ‭50‬:‭8‬-‭9‬,‭NLT‬‬

“Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High. Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”Psalms‬ ‭50‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The psalm also includes a judgement of the wicked who make sacrifices but act corruptly.

How does this psalm apply to us? It makes us aware that God sees the intentions of the heart and looks for an opportunity to tip it out into the light. I had this very thing happen today. One of my flatmates takes objection to my jibes at a long time friend of mine. I replied that is the Aussie way of ‘taking the mickie’ out of people. However, the Lord prodded me and made me see that sometimes those jibes are laced with poison, in other words offence. Oops! I confessed my sin and repented. My biggest concern is why it happens. I need to discover the deeper truth and let it cleanse me so that I do not go there again. Amen!