The offering that God wants
This is a Psalm of Asaph.
1It is God, the Lord God, who speaks.
He calls all the people on earth.
He calls them from where the sun
comes up to where it goes down.
2God's light shines in Zion,
the most beautiful of all places.
3Our God comes,
and He does not keep quiet.
A fire burns before Him,
and there is a powerful storm around Him.
4He calls the heaven above
and the earth to be witnesses
when He judges his people.
5He says: ‘Come here,
all of you who believe in Me,
all those who sacrificed
offerings when they
made a covenant with Me.’
6God is the Judge and everyone
in heaven says that He is right and fair. Selah
7God says: ‘My people, Israel,
you must listen to what I say.
I want to be a Witness against you.
I am God, I am your God.
8I want to tell you
that you are doing wrong.
Why do I say this?
Do I say this because you did not
sacrifice burnt-offerings?
No, you did that.
9I do not ask you to
bring Me bulls from your stables
or goats from your flocks,
10because all the animals in the forests
and all the animals
on a 1 000 hills are mine.
They belong to Me.
11I know all the birds
on the mountains
and all the animals in the field.
They all belong to Me.
12If I were hungry,
I would not ask you for food,
because the world and
everything in it belongs to Me.
13I do not eat the meat
and I don't drink the blood
of bulls and goats
that you sacrifice to Me.
14No, the offering that you
must sacrifice to Me, God, is this:
You must thank Me for everything
that I have done and if you have
promised to give something to Me,
the Most High God,
then you must do it.
15You must pray to Me
when you are in trouble.
I will save you and you must
honour Me and glorify my name.’
16But to sinful people, God says:
‘Why do you talk about my laws?
Why do you say you obey my covenant?
That is not_true
17because you hate my laws
and you don't do what I teach you
or what I say.
18You are friends with
every thief that you see
and when you see someone
who commits_adultery,
you go with him and do the same.
19You always want to say
something bad and you don't stop
telling lies about people.
20You say things against
your brother and you accuse him.
21I have kept quiet while you
have done all these wrong things,
but then you thought that I
was pleased with them
and that I had become like you.
But now I rebuke you and I am telling you
that you are doing wrong.
22You who have forgotten Me.
Think about Me and turn to Me.
If you don't,
I will attack you like a lion and
no one will be able to save you.
23The most important offering
that I want from people
who honour Me
is that they must thank Me
for everything. That is how
they must glorify my name.
I will save everyone who does this,
everyone who obeys these words.’
