Psalm 50:9-12
9 I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and its fullness are mine.
How often have you heard the statement, “God owns the cattle on a thousand hills?” I would guess that you have heard this portion of Psalm 50:10 several times if you have been in the church much over your life. But in what context is it often used as compared to its biblical context?
It seems that, when I hear this verse used, it is invariably being offered to remind us that God is rich and can support us. A missionary might use this verse to say that he knows that God will provide for his mission. A pastor in a building program might use this verse to remind a church whose faith is wavering that God can provide the finances they need. Even a poor person might simply quote the verse as a way to say that at least our heavenly Father is not poor.
However, a look at the passage in greater detail offers us a different contextual view. God is speaking to the people of Israel and reminding them that he does not need them. He does not need their offerings. Though he is glad for those who offer sacrifices with sincere hearts, he wants to be sure that none of those who offer sacrifice think they are doing him a favor.
At the time that this psalm was written, many of the false religions around Israel offered sacrifices of meat to idols. The people actually believed that they were “feeding” the god they worshipped. They believed that the food that they were burning was somehow offering sustenance to their deity. The people thought they were helping out.
God wants his people to understand that under no circumstances are they responsible for his sustenance. He does not need them. They are not doing him a favor by worshipping him. He has all he needs. He would not ask them for food if he were hungry—not that he could ever be hungry. God already owns the cattle on a thousand hills; he does not need theirs too.
What would a right context for using “the cattle on a thousand hills” then be? How about as a call to humility? Our worship does not prop God up. Our giving does not make possible a mission or ministry that God could not do without us. God is infinitely strong and infinitely resourceful. He does not need us. That is what this phrase is about.
But, does this interpretation of the verse, even if correct in context, not prevent people from giving and going? I would argue that it does not. It does, however, change our motivation.
One illustration that I often have used is that of a child helping his father paint a wall. Could the dad paint the wall without the little one? Of course he could. In fact, the dad could paint the wall faster, better, and with less mess if he did not choose to involve the child. However, out of love for the child and out of a desire for relationship, the dad lets his little one fling paint, mess up brushes, and leave bare spots. He will fix it later. The child, if thinking at all, knows that dad did not need help. But the child is also thrilled, knowing that working with dad is a great joy.
The fact that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills reminds us that God does not need us. Thus, if he chooses to allow us to pray, to give, to go, and to share the gospel, he is loving us. If he allows us to give to support the building of a new building, to put on a VBS, or to pay the salary of a pastor, he is being kind to us. Of course God could do all this without us. But the fact that he lets us be involved is a sweetness. It is our heavenly Father letting us stand beside him on a project. And, we, rather than being indignant that he does not need us, can grin like little kids knowing that we have gotten to spend time with Dad, and we got to have a part in the work that he is doing. This is a motivation to participate in mission, ,but with confidence and joy and not with guilt.
Pastor Travis Peterson 