1 {A Psalm. Of Asaph.} ùGod, Elohim-Jehovah, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined forth.
3 Our God will come, and will not keep silence: fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.
4 He will call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 Gather unto me my godly ones, those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice!
6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness; for God executeth judgment himself. Selah.
7 Hear, my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify unto thee: I am God, thy God.
8 I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices, or thy burnt-offerings, continually before me;
9 I will take no bullock out of thy house, [nor] he-goats out of thy folds:
10 For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle upon a thousand hills;
11 I know all the fowl of the mountains, and the roaming creatures of the field are mine:
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
13 Should I eat the flesh of bulls, and drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer unto God thanksgiving, and perform thy vows unto the Most High;
15 And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
16 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant into thy mouth,
17 Seeing thou hast hated correction and hast cast my words behind thee?
18 When thou sawest a thief, thou didst take pleasure in him, and thy portion was with adulterers;
19 Thou lettest thy mouth loose to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit;
20 Thou sittest [and] speakest against thy brother, thou revilest thine own mother's son:
21 These [things] hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether as thyself: [but] I will reprove thee, and set [them] in order before thine eyes.
22 Now consider this, ye that forget +God, lest I tear in pieces, and there be no deliverer.
23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me; and to him that ordereth [his] way will I shew the salvation of God.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 50
Commentary on Psalms 50 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 50
Ps 50:1-23. In the grandeur and solemnity of a divine judgment, God is introduced as instructing men in the nature of true worship, exposing hypocrisy, warning the wicked, and encouraging the pious.
1-4. The description of this majestic appearance of God resembles that of His giving the law (compare Ex 19:16; 20:18; De 32:1).
4. above—literally, "above" (Ge 1:7).
heavens … earth—For all creatures are witnesses (De 4:26; 30:19; Isa 1:2).
5. my saints—(Ps 4:3).
made—literally, "cut"
a covenant, &c.—alluding to the dividing of a victim of sacrifice, by which covenants were ratified, the parties passing between the divided portions (compare Ge 15:10, 18).
6. The inhabitants of heaven, who well know God's character, attest His righteousness as a judge.
7. I will testify—that is, for failure to worship aught.
thy God—and so, by covenant as well as creation, entitled to a pure worship.
8-15. However scrupulous in external worship, it was offered as if they conferred an obligation in giving God His own, and with a degrading view of Him as needing it [Ps 50:9-13]. Reproving them for such foolish and blasphemous notions, He teaches them to offer, or literally, "sacrifice," thanksgiving, and pay, or perform, their vows—that is, to bring, with the external symbolical service, the homage of the heart, and faith, penitence, and love. To this is added an invitation to seek, and a promise to afford, all needed help in trouble.
16-20. the wicked—that is, the formalists, as now exposed, and who lead vicious lives (compare Ro 2:21, 23). They are unworthy to use even the words of God's law. Their hypocrisy and vice are exposed by illustrations from sins against the seventh, eighth, and ninth commandments.
21, 22. God, no longer (even in appearance) disregarding such, exposes their sins and threatens a terrible punishment.
22. forget God—This denotes unmindfulness of His true character.
23. offereth praise—(Ps 50:14), so that the external worship is a true index of the heart.
ordereth … aright—acts in a straight, right manner, opposed to turning aside (Ps 25:5). In such, pure worship and a pure life evince their true piety, and they will enjoy God's presence and favor.