Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent; A fire shall devour before Him, And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, And to the earth, that He may judge His people: Psalm 50:3, 4
God is the Judge
Asaph describes God’s courtroom, where the wicked are indicted. The glorious Judge takes His seat to judge His covenant people. They are examined on two issues: formalism in worship and wickedness in their relationships with others. The psalmist vision is to warn God’s people away from those actions which will most surely be judged.
Call on God (50:15). The Heb. Phrase means to ask God for something and expect Him to act.
God’s instruction (50:16). Talking God’s Word means nothing; it’s living by God’s Word that counts.
Psalm 50, a wisdom psalm, is the first of 12 poems attributed to Asaph, one of the music leaders appointed by David. This psalm contrasts the distinctions of the righteous and the wicked in the eyes of God, a constant theme of the wisdom writers. True wisdom in biblical thought is based on the “ear of the Lord,” a proper response to the awesome nature of God.
50:1, 2 The Hebrew text uses the three terms the Mighty One, God and the Lord as a stunning introduction to this poem. This language suggests a grand display of God Himself in the midst of His people. Out of Zion: The glory of God shines from His sanctuary in Jerusalem. The Mighty One, God the Lord, Has spoken and called the earth From the rising of the sun to its going down. 2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth.
50:3-6 Our God shall come: This prophetic language speaks of the coming kingdom of God. God Himself is Judge: See 75:7 for a powerful development of this idea. This is the point of this psalm; God is the great Judge. When used of God, the Hebrew word for Judge has connotations of royalty. Thus this wisdom psalm is also a royal psalm, because it speaks of the coming of the great King who both rules and judges.
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent; A fire shall devour before Him, And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him. 4 He shall call to the heavens from above, And to the earth, that He may judge His people: 5 “Gather My saints together to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” 6 Let the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is Judge. Selah
50:12-15 If I were hungry: The God of Israel does not hunger for food; however, He does “hunger” for righteousness of His people. Call upon Me: Sacrifice in the Bible was for the good of the people. The Lord
The Lord designated the sacrificial system as a place when He would shower His mercy on those He loves.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness. 13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats?
50:16-20 As in the case of 1:4, the attention of the psalm turns from the righteous who need instruction to the wicked who merit judgment. This section announces God’s judgment not against the nations, but against the people of Israel who heard but spurned God word. You give your mouth to evil: God offered truth, but these people chose falsehoods. They had seen the light but preferred to lve in darkness (John 3:16-21). Your own mother’s son: There was no sense of decency remaining in these wicked persons; even normal bonds of family relationships were disregarded.
But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to declare My statutes, Or take My covenant in your mouth, 17 Seeing you hate instruction And cast My words behind you? 18 When you saw a thief, you consented with him, And have been a partaker with adulterers. 19 You give your mouth to evil, And your tongue frames deceit. 20 You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son.
50:22, 23 In the climax of the revelation of the coming judgment in this psalm, the Lord offers an opportunity to repent and receive forgiveness. This is an indicator of His grace. The Lord wants to save, His warnings are another expression of His mercy.
“Now consider this, you who forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, And there be none to deliver: 23 Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.”
⇒ Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shined. God is living God. He hates formalism. A dead worship.
50 1 A Psalm of Asaph. The Mighty One, God the Lord, Has spoken and called the earth From the rising of the sun to its going down. 2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth. 3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent; A fire shall devour before Him, And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him. 4 He shall call to the heavens from above, And to the earth, that He may judge His people: 5 “Gather My saints together to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” 6 Let the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is Judge. Selah
7 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you; I am God, your God! 8 I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices Or your burnt offerings, Which are continually before Me. 9 I will not take a bull from your house, Nor goats out of your folds. 10 For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. 12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness. 13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls, Or drink the blood of goats? 14 Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High. 15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
16 But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to declare My statutes, Or take My covenant in your mouth, 17 Seeing you hate instruction And cast My words behind you? 18 When you saw a thief, you consented with him, And have been a partaker with adulterers. 19 You give your mouth to evil, And your tongue frames deceit. 20 You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son. 21 These things you have done, and I kept silent; You thought that I was altogether like you; But I will rebuke you, And set them in order before your eyes. 22 “Now consider this, you who forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, And there be none to deliver: 23 Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.”
