Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

We open today with Psalm 50, which is a strong rebuke against people who misunderstand God's heart.

There were Israelites who viewed the sacrificial system

as a trade-off for sinning, like a penalty you pay and then everything is fine again, like some kind of

speeding ticket. But God says that's never been what this is about. In verses 8 through 15, he basically

says, I don't want your bulls and goats and birds. I want your heart. For some of them,

this may have been very confusing, like, then why did you spend so much time telling us about the

sacrifices? They weren't paying attention. And because of that lack of attention, they missed the

very details that would reveal God's heart to them. Instead, they just viewed him as

greedy, as though he needed food to eat like all the pagan gods. Meanwhile, their hearts are far from him.

They're doing wicked things or approving of others who do wicked things or even just sitting by idly

complicit when sin is committed. God rebukes them for this. He wants them to remember

him. And one way to do that is to bring in their gratitude and thanksgiving. Psalm 53 is a lot

like a Psalm we've already covered, Psalm 14, so he won't spend too much time here, but I just want to

point out one thing. This chapter is about the fool,

the person who dismisses God and does his own thing. When that's how a person operates,

removed from the understanding of God's sovereignty and goodness, it becomes easy to think you're

in control of your own future. And if you're in charge, then lots of things can go wrong.

And if lots of things can go wrong,

then that can lead to a lot of fear and striving. First five points to this. It says,

There they are in great terror when there is no terror. But God says there's a way out for a person

like this. The way of salvation and trusting God's goodness

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