Psalm 50: Lessons Regarding the Fruits of Your Faith That God Desires In Your Walk With Him
Introduction: Here, God lamented that His people had rejected His mercy and grace to rebel against Him. Because He is just, He must discipline His own people. To avoid His discipline, God reveals seven things that He expects from you. These include: (1) reverent submission, (2) the right heart, (3) a living faith, (4) obedience, (5) love, (6) repentance, and (7) gratitude.
First, God warned that He had come to judge His people after they had ignored His repeated warnings and disciple. He does not desire to judge His people. To avoid His discipline, He desires that you show Him reverent submission. Second, God then lamented that His people had worshiped Him with mindless sacrifices. He does not enjoy sacrifice that is offered with the wrong heart or a lack of understanding. God also desires that you worship with a proper heart. Third, God expressed His desire that His people call out to Him as part of their regular walk with Him. He also desires that you live an ongoing life of faith. Fourth, God condemned His people’s rebellion, hypocrisy, and their refusal to accept His discipline. He also desires your obedience. Obedience should come naturally as the fruit of your faith. Fifth, God further called His people out for claiming to love Him while inflicting evil against His people. He also desires that you show His love to others. Sixth, God called upon His people to repent and return to Him. He also desires that you repent of your sins and return to Him. Finally, God called upon His people to show gratitude for all He had done for them. A life of gratitude keeps you on the path leading to salvation. God also desires that you live a life filled with gratitude toward Him.
1. Reverent Submission: God Desires Your Reverent Submission. Ps. 50:1-6.
God will judge His people first. In his first psalm, the priest and prophet Asaph commanded God’s people to submit to the divine judgment of their sovereign God: “A Psalm of Asaph. The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken and summoned the earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting. 2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shone. 3 May our God come and not keep silent; fire devours before Him, and a storm is violently raging around Him. 4 He summons the heavens above, and the earth, to judge His people: 5 ‘Gather My godly ones to Me, those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.’ 6 And the heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is judge. Selah” (Ps. 50:1-6). God had come to judge His peoples because they refused to obey Him with both their hearts and minds. Their walk had become a set of mindless rituals.
Submit your life to God and follow His will1
Asaph’s prophetic description of the exalted Triune God. Asaph was a Levite priest (1 Chron. 15:17) whom David appointed to lead worship (1 Chr. 25:1). When King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to sing praises to the LORD, he commanded that they do so “with the words of David and Asaph the seer.” (2 Chr. 29:30). Thus, he was also a prophet. Asaph prophetically referred to the Triune God with three names to draw emphasis to His power and divinity: “The Mighty One, God, the Lord,” (Ps. 50:1). “A combination of three names of God - viz. El, Elohim, and Jehovah - only found here and in Joshua 22:22. There it is translated ‘the Lord God of gods,’ which is a possible rendering. Separately, the three names seem to mean, ‘The Mighty One,’ ‘The Many in One’ (Cheyne) or ‘The Three in One,’ and ‘The Self-Existent One.’ He who is all these, the psalmist announces, ‘has spoken,’ and called (or, summoned) the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof; i.e. God has summoned all mankind to hear his judgment of his covenant people.” (Pulpit Commentary on Ps. 50) (emphasis original).2 Moses also used multiple names to give emphasis to God’s power (Dt. 10:17). The use of multiple names for God to draw emphasis also appears in the New Testament (1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 17:14). The three references to God’s name foreshadowed the revelation of God’s triune nature.
God is worthy of your respect and submission. Asaph proclaimed that God had “spoken and summoned the earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting.” (Ps. 50:1). All creation will praise the Creator: “From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised.” (Ps. 113:3). “So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west and His glory from the rising of the sun, for He will come like a rushing stream which the wind of the LORD drives.” (Is. 59:19). Thus, believers should give God the respect that He is owed. This includes reverence and submission to His will for you.
Your unrepentant sin cannot be in God’s presence. God’s holiness at Zion will be “the perfection of beauty.” (Ps. 50:2; 48:2; Ezek. 16:14). But His holiness is also a “fire [that] devours before Him,” (Ps. 50:3). Sin cannot be in His holy presence, “for our God is a consuming fire.” (Heb. 12:29; Ex. 15:7; 24:17; Dt. 4:24; 9:3; 33:2). Even Aaron’s sons died in God’s holy fire when they made improper sacrifices (Lev. 10:2). Thus, sinners in Zion (Jerusalem) will be terrified to be in His presence with unrepentant sin: “Sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling has seized the godless. ‘Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with everlasting burning?”’ (Is. 33:14). “Behold, the name of the LORD comes from a remote place; His anger is burning and dense with smoke; His lips are filled with indignation, and His tongue is like a consuming fire; His breath is like an overflowing river, which reaches to the neck, to shake the nations back and forth in a sieve, and to put in the jaws of the peoples the bridle which leads astray.” (Is. 30:27-28). “Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;” (2 Thess. 2:8). Thus, every believer should try to lead a holy life.
Judgment begins with God’s people. Asaph was clear that God made the angels of heaven witness His judgment against God’s peoples: “He summons the heavens above, and the earth, to judge His people: . . , those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” (Ps. 50:4-5). “I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today, . . .” (Dt. 4:26). “Listen, heavens, and hear, earth; for the LORD has spoken: ‘Sons I have raised and brought up, but they have revolted against Me.” (Is. 1:2). He must judge His own people because He is a fair and “righteous” “judge.” (Ps. 50:6). The New Testament is also clear that God will judge His people before judging others: “For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; . . .” (1 Pet. 4:17a). Although believers in Christ will not lose their salvation because of disobedience, they still be held accountable for their actions: “But as for you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you as well, why do you regard your brother or sister with contempt? For we will all appear before the judgment seat of God.” (Ro. 14:10). “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad.” (2 Cor. 5:10). Thus, every believer should live in reverent submission to Jesus.
Judgment will then extend across the Earth. After judging God’s people, God will then act with fairness to judge the Earth: “[A]nd if it [judgment] begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Pet. 4:17b). “Those who contend with the LORD will be terrified; against them He will thunder in the heavens, the LORD will judge the ends of the earth; and He will give strength to His king, and will exalt the horn of His anointed.” (1 Sam. 2:10). “Before the LORD, for He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in His faithfulness.” (Ps. 96:13). “because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:31). The prospect of others being judged should cause every believer to share the hope that Jesus offers all.
2. The Right Heart: God Desires That You Worship With A Proper Heart. Ps. 50:7-15.
Ritual worship with the wrong heart is meaningless to God. God then condemned His people. They offered perfect ritual sacrifices but without the right heart or understanding: “7 Hear, My people, and I will speak; Israel, I will testify against you; I am God, your God. 8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices, and your burnt offerings are continually before Me. 9 I will not take a bull from your house, nor male goats from your folds. 10 For every animal of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know every bird of the mountains, and everything that moves in the field is Mine. 12 If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is Mine, and everything it contains. 13 Shall I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of male goats?” (Ps. 50:7-15). God did not need sacrifices for food the way pagan gods allegedly needed to be fed. He is the Creator of the universe: “nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;” (Acts 17:25). Instead, it is mankind who needs God. Worship allows our souls to be in fellowship with Him.
God desires that you worship Him with the right heart. Throughout the Bible, God condemned acts of worship that were done without the right heart or while disobeying God in more important matters: “Samuel said, ‘Does the LORD have as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than a sacrifice, and to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.”’ (1 Sam. 15:22). “You have not desired sacrifice and meal offering; You have opened my ears; You have not required burnt offering and sin offering.” (Ps. 40:6). “For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offering.” (Ps. 51:16). “To do righteousness and justice is preferred by the LORD more than sacrifice.” (Prov. 21:3). ‘“What are your many sacrifices to Me?’ Says the LORD. ‘I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle; and I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats.”’ (Is. 1:11). “For I desire loyalty rather than sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” (Hos. 6:6). “Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “You have not desired sacrifice and offering, but You have prepared a body for Me; You have not taken pleasure in whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin. . . After saying above, ‘Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them’ (which are offered according to the Law),” (Heb. 10:5-6,8). If you are going through the motions when you worship, repent and change your heart for God.
Make your worship authentic and without meaningless rituals. The Old Testament can seem foreign to many. People no longer offer animal sacrifices. But God’s message about proper worship remains relevant to believers today: “God spoke to their ritualism first, because it was under ritualism that they excused the sin described later in the psalm and thought themselves approved before God. . . . The practice of sacrifice under the Old Covenant might easily become a mere ritual and empty formality. The one bringing the sacrifice might forget the principle of transferring sin to an innocent victim and how the lifeblood had to be poured out in death as a substitute . . . Believers under the New Covenant no longer offer animal sacrifices, but they are still tempted to practice their Christian duties in a spirit of ritualism. This must be actively avoided; God is not pleased by our ritualism. . . . With a little thought, it’s easy to see how ritualism does not please God. He has no need for the meat of sacrificed animals; . . . When we sacrifice to God, we don’t give Him something He doesn’t have; our sacrifice is for our sake and not His. Ritualism defeats its work for our sake.” (David Guzik on Ps. 50) (italics in original).3
3. A Living Faith: God Desires That You Live an Ongoing Life of Faith. Ps. 50:14-15.
God desires that you make your walk with Him an ongoing, living faith. Instead of offering up meaningless rituals and sacrifices, Asaph urged believers to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving: “14 Offer God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and pay your vows to the Most High; 15 call upon Me on the day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you will honor Me.” (Ps. 50:14-15). “The glorious God cares nothing for pomp and show; but when you call upon him in the day of trouble, and ask him to deliver you, there is meaning in your groan of anguish . . . God prefers the prayer of a broken heart to the finest service that ever was performed by priests and choirs.” (Charles Spurgeon on Ps. 50).
Offer sacrifices of righteousness for Jesus4
Make your life an ongoing living sacrifice for Jesus. Asaph urged believers to “Offer God a sacrifice of thanksgiving . . .” (Pr. 50:14). Today, instead of offering animal sacrifices, God wants you to make a your life an ongoing living sacrifice to Him: “Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” (Ro. 12:1). This includes a life filled with gratitude and praise for all that God has done for you: “Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name.” (Heb. 13:15). Your worship and service should not be limited to Sunday mornings. It should be a daily act of loving devotion.
Be faithful to keep your vows before God. Asaph urged believers to “pay your vows to the Most High;” (Ps. 50:14). Moses urged believers to keep their vows before God: “If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or takes an oath to put himself under a binding obligation, he shall not break his word; he shall act in accordance with everything that comes out of his mouth.” (Nu. 30:2). “When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly require it of you, and it will be a sin for you.” (Dt. 23:21). Jesus did not make this law irrelevant. Instead, even under the New Testament, Jesus urges believers to fulfill their vows: “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the LORD.’” (Matt. 5:33). This can include wedding vows, promises to recommit your life to Jesus, and promises to abstain from strongholds of sin or addiction.
Make your faith a living act by calling out to God in times of trouble. God promised that if believers would only “call upon Me on the day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you will honor Me.” (Ps. 50:15). As evidence of a relationship with Him, God wants you to either pray to Him when you need help or praise Him when times are good: “Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.” (Jam. 5:13). When you do so, God promises to hear your prayers: “In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God for help; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry for help before Him came into His ears.” (Ps. 18:6). “For on the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; He will hide me in the secret place of His tent; He will lift me up on a rock.” (Ps. 27:5). If you are in need, never feel that you are a burden to God. Likewise, if things are going well, give credit where credit is due.
4. Obedience: God Desires That You Live a Life of Spirit-Led Obedience. Ps. 50:16-18.
God desires your Spirit-led obedience and a walk that is free of hypocrisy. God called out the teachers, priests, and leaders who preached God’s law while failing to follow it: “16 But to the wicked God says, “what right do you have to tell of My statutes and to take My covenant in your mouth? 17 For you yourself hate discipline, and you throw My words behind you. 18 When you see a thief, you become friends with him, and you associate with adulterers.” (Ps. 50:16-18). The Jews wanted the blessings under God’s Covenant (Dt. 28:1-14). But they were unwilling to follow the rules that they preached.
God knows when your obedience is not from your heart or a show for others to see. The Jews failed to heed the message that God gave through Asaph. Thus, He repeated His warning through Isaiah: “Then the Lord said, ‘Because this people approaches Me with their words and honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of the commandment of men that is taught;”’ (Is. 29:13). But God’s people again refused to heed God’s warnings. Thus, Jesus repeated this warning: “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you, by saying: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. ‘And in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”’ (Matt. 15:7-9; Mk. 7:6-8). Being a hypocrite can cause great damage to God’s efforts to entice sinners to repent and return to Him. If non-believers see believers as hypocrites, they may reject what Jesus offers.
God wants your obedience. God lamented that His people had knowingly rejected God’s Word to practice the evil that they preached against: “ . . . you throw My words behind you.” (Ps. 50:17b). “But they became rebellious and revolted against You, and threw Your Law behind their backs and killed Your prophets who had admonished them In order to bring them back to You, and they committed great blasphemies.” (Neh. 9:26). In case any believe that God’s feeling about obedience are limited to the Old Testament, Paul repeated this warning in the book of Romans: “you, therefore, who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one is not to steal, do you steal? You who say that one is not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who loathe idols, do you rob temples?” (Ro. 2:21-22). “Love must be free of hypocrisy. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.” (Ro. 12:9). “Hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the gate!” (Amos 5:15a). Are you rebelling in any area of your life?
Obedience is the fruit of your faith. According to the Apostle Paul, you are a slave to whatever you serve: “[Y]ou are slaves of the one whom you obey . . ” (Ro. 6:16(b); Gal. 4:7-9). Jesus’ “disciples” were the “disciplined ones” in keeping His Commandments. As bondservants or freed slaves, they were obedient out of love, not obligation. Whether you follow Jesus and His Commandments out of love instead of obligation is a test for whether you really know God (1 John 2:3). Satan has placed your flesh at war with God’s Spirit (Gal. 5:19; 1 Tim. 1:10). In the end, you must pick which you will serve: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.” (Matt. 6:24). Is your obedience visible for others to see as a fruit of your faith? Or, is your flesh prevailing in your walk with God?
God wants you to accept His discipline when He corrects you. God lamented that His people rejected the discipline that God used to try to bring them back to Him: “For you yourself hate discipline.” (Ps. 50:17a). “And you say, “How I hated instruction! And my heart disdainfully rejected rebuke!” (Prov. 5:12). “One who loves discipline loves knowledge, but one who hates rebuke is stupid.” (Prov. 12:1). “And admonished them in order to turn them back to Your Law. Yet they acted arrogantly and did not listen to Your commandments but sinned against Your ordinances, which, if a person follows them, then he will live by them. And they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck, and would not listen.” (Neh. 9:29). God only disciplines out of love to restore your walk with Him: “So you are to know in your heart that the LORD your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son.” (Dt. 8:5; Heb. 12:6).
Jesus wants your complete obedience and submission. Jesus’ death was a one-time sacrifice that forever fulfilled the need for sacrifices for sin (Heb. 10:14). But God still tells believers to be obedient (e.g., Dt. 6:3-4; 9:1; 20:3; Josh. 1:7). Today, you are no longer “under the Law” in the sense that you must comply with it to be saved (Gal. 5:18; Ro. 7:6; 8:3). By “fulfilling” the Law, Jesus freed believers from the impossible task of trying to obtain salvation through the Law (Matt. 5:17). But Jesus also says that if you love Him you will keep His Commandments: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (Jo. 14:15, 21; 15:10; 1 Jo. 5:3; 2 Jo. 1:6). Before God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses at Mount Horeb, He revealed His name to be the great “I AM” (Ex. 3:13-15). Jesus later revealed that He was the great “I AM.” (Jo. 8:57-58). Thus, Jesus gave the Ten Commandments to Moses at Mount Horeb. Whether you follow His Commandments out of love is also a test for whether you really know Him (1 John 2:3; 1 Cor. 7:19). Do you follow His Commandments out of love and not obligation?
5. Love: God Desires That You Live a Life Showing His Love to Others. Ps. 50:19-20.
God desires that you show your love for Him by loving others. God questioned how His people could profess their love for Him while simultaneously inflicting evil upon others: “19 You let your mouth loose in evil, and your tongue harnesses deceit. 20 You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son.” (Ps. 50:19-20). Those who slander others do so out of vengeance and a lack of forgiveness. You cannot claim God’s forgiveness when you cannot bring yourself to forgive others. Nor can you claim to represent God when you practice evil against others and thereby misrepresent God.
Your love for others should be the fruit of your faith. Your faith should always be expressed through God’s love: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.” (Gal. 5:6). Love is the greatest gift and the most powerful expression of your faith: “But now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor. 13:13). Thus, in your prayer life and in every other aspect of your life, you should be motivated out of love for the plight of others: “I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (Jo. 13:34). Is there love in your heart for the needy, the oppressed, and those who do not know Jesus?
Without love, your faith is not rooted in God. If you are unmoved by others, the Bible asks: “how does the love of God remain in him?” (1 Jo. 3:17; Jam. 2:16; Dt. 15:7). Are you showing your appreciation for God’s love by loving your brothers and sisters?
6. Repentance: God Desires That You Repent of Sin and Return to Him. Ps. 50:21-22.
God desires that you use His mercy, grace, and discipline to repent of your sins. God delayed judgment upon His people to give them time to repent. But God’s people misused His kindness as an opportunity to allow their sins to grow: “21 These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought that I was just like you; I will rebuke you and present the case before your eyes. 22 Now consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you in pieces, and there will be no one to save you.” (Ps. 50:21-22). Even though your disobedience will not cause you to lose your salvation, God will still hold you accountable for your actions. There is no sin or evil that you can hide from God.
Don’t use God’s delayed judgment as a license to sin. God is slow to judge sin because He wants all to come to repentance: “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:9; Ex. 34:6; Is. 30:18) God was upset with His people because they had taken advantage of His patience to sin more: “These things you have done and I kept silent;” (Ps. 50:21). Solomon warned against using God’s delayed judgment as an excuse to allow your sins to grow: “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of mankind among them are fully given to do evil.” (Ecc. 8:11). Paul also warned against rejecting the mercy and grace that God offers through His delayed judgment: “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and restraint and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” (Ro. 2:4). In other words, don’t misuse God’s mercy and grace as a license to sin: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?” (Ro. 6:1). Are you continuing to do what you know is wrong?
God allows you to suffer the consequences of sin to bring you to repentance. Although God does not want any to suffer, it is sometimes His only way to bring you back to Him: “I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.” (2 Cor. 7:9-10). David’s suffering always led him back to God: “But as for me, my prayer is to You, LORD, at an acceptable time; God, in the greatness of Your mercy, answer me with Your saving truth.” (Ps. 69:13). God disciplines you when you rebel in your walk because He loves you and wants to guide you back with his rod (Heb. 12:6). If He has caused you to suffer, He may be protecting you from an even worse sin (Ro. 6:15). Repent of any hidden sin in your life.
7. Gratitude: God Desires That You Live a Life of Gratitude Toward Him. Ps. 50:23.
God desires your appreciation for all He has done for you. God concluded that those who sacrificed with a grateful heart would find the path leading to salvation: “23 He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; and to him who sets his way properly I will show the salvation of God.” (Ps. 50:23). Your gratitude is not what brings about your salvation. It is instead what keeps you on your walk and makes your worship sincere. If you are grateful for what Jesus did on the cross, you will desire to obey Him.
Make gratitude a regular part of your walk with God. The psalms are filled with examples of prayers and songs of appreciation for you to follow: “Let’s come before His presence with a song of thanksgiving, Let’s shout joyfully to Him in songs with instruments.” (Ps. 95:2). “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courtyards with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.” (Ps. 100:4). “Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praises to our God on the lyre;” (Ps. 147:7). “But I will sacrifice to You with a voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay. Salvation is from the LORD.” (John. 2:9). Are you giving regular thanks for all that God does for you?
Gratitude keeps your worship authentic. The remedy for the sin of mindless worship is also gratitude: “Only genuine praise from a life of trust and obedience will prevent worship from becoming formalistic and hypocritical. Offering the sacrifice of praise was the measure of a living faith; without it the worship would become hollow, and in time hypocritical. But this injunction in Psalm 50 is not limited to the Old Testament. The writer of Hebrews to the Christians likewise instructs them to offer the sacrifice of praise that would truly glorify the Lord and benefit other people (Heb. 13:15-16).” (Allen Ross, A Commentary of the Psalms: Volume 2 (42-89), Kregel Academic (2013) p. 178).
Praise God in every context. Praise and gratitude should not be limited to only the good times. As our example, David praised God in both good and bad times. For example, when Saul was trying to kill David, David wrote in one of his many psalms that he would always praise God: “A Psalm of David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed. I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” (Ps. 34:1). Likewise, when Daniel learned that the king had signed an order that would result in him being thrown in the lion’s den, he continued in his regular praises for God: “Now when Daniel learned that the document was signed, he entered his house (and in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and offering praise before his God, just as he had been doing previously.” (Dan. 6:10). As another example, Paul worshiped even when he was jailed for his faith: “always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father;” (Eph. 5:20). Do you worship God in both good and bad times?