Psalm 50

“You thought that I was just like you” (v21).  This is a dangerous human fault:  we think God excuses sin, because we do.  The Israelites were sacrificing animals without understanding that God didn’t need anything; he wasn’t an idol to be pacified.  “For the world is Mine, and all it contains” (v12).  The sacrifices were simply symbols of repentance and trust: “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving … and call upon Me in the day of trouble” (v14-15). 

God isn’t a human who can be fooled.  He is the “Mighty One” (v1) who summons “the heavens above, and the earth, to judge His people” (v4).