Psalms 50:12

 Psalms 50:12 says, If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.  God said that if He were hungry He would not tell people this, because they had nothing to offer Him that was not already His.  Of course, this does not mean that at times God is hungry,  but was only a hypothetical statement of if He were.  No matter what we give to God today, it is already His.  Verse thirteen adds, Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?  God asked if the people of Israel thought God was actually going to eat the things offered to Him on the altar.  We need to understand that God does not use our tithes and offerings to satisfy His own needs.  We offer them to show Him our obedience to Him and to do our part in carrying out His work.  Verse fourteen states, Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:  David called on the people of Israel to offer thanksgiving to God, at all times I believe, and to pay, or fulfill, their vows. As followers of Christ, we should always be faithful to God and fulfill our vows to Him.  We are His at all times, and should live in obedience to that fact.  Verse fifteen adds, And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.  David said God told the people of Israel to call on Him in the day of trouble and He would deliver them.  We need to understand that as Christians there will always be the possibility of trouble in our lives, but also that God has already delivered us from them forever.  Verse sixteen asks, But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?  God asked the wicked why they declared His statutes and proclaimed His covenant when they didn't believe it.  This applies today to those who have a hypocritical worship of God.  They do and say the right things, but they really do not believe in God in their heart.  Verse seventeen adds, Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.  God said these hypocritical worshippers really hated His instruction and cast off His word.  Too many people today come to worship God on Sunday and then do not allow Him to guide them the rest of the week.  We must be obedient to God and live by His instruction continually as followers of Christ.  Verse eighteen continues, When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.  God said that instead of condemning those that broke His laws that the people of Israel had started joining them in doing so.  We cannot overlook or join in the actions of those who go against the teachings of God.  Verse nineteen declares, Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.  God said that the people of Israel had begun to speak evil and lies.  Too often today those who profess to believe in God speak the evil ideas of the world and speak lies about God.  Verse twenty adds, Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son.  God said not only did they speak evil and lies about Him, but they did the same against their fellow Israelites, even their own brother.  We as Christians should never be guilty of doing this.  We are called on to share the gospel and God's word with the world, and need to be careful that we do not begin to proclaim the lies of the world instead.  Verse twenty-one says, These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.  God said that He had allowed the people of Israel to do this, but that now He was going to reprove them and set them straight.  Since God gives us free will, even as Christians, He may allow us to do things that are not in accordance with His word or His will, but He will reprove us and one day He will set us straight if we do.  Verse twenty-two adds, Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.  God called on the people of Israel to consider what they were doing before He had to tear them apart and they were left with no one to deliver them from the evil of the world.  We need consider our relationship with God before it is too late to accept His deliverance through faith in Jesus Christ.  There is no other Deliverer but Him.  Verse twenty-three states, Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.  God said that those who sincerely worshipped Him would be shown His salvation.  God has shown us His salvation through the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and it up to each individual to either accept or reject God's salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.