FRAMEWORKS:
Psa 50
(The
objective of these ‘Frameworks' is to provide an easy-to-read
layout of the text in order then to use these individual verses
for meditation. To focus each verse we have also added a subheading
summary as a description of what is happening)
FRAMEWORKS:
Psalm
50: Judgment on Unrighteous Religious Rituals
A
psalm of Asaph.
[Preliminary
Comments: A psalm that focuses on the realities behind
offering sacrifices. The Lord comes to judge [v.1-4] His covenant
people Israel [v.5,6]. It's not so much the sacrifices they bring
[v.7,8] because He does, after all, own everything anyway [v.9-13]
and for the righteous they are the way He has laid down in the
Law to satisfy their consciences when they want to approach Him
[v.14,15] and are expressions of the covenant between them. The
point is that those who offer sacrifices but still continue their
wickedness [v.16-20] will find they are subject to His judgment.
The fact that He has remained silent so far [v.21] should not
reassure them for He will judge the guilty [v.22] and bless the
innocent [v.23]. There is coming an accounting!]
v.1-4
God Almighty comes to judge His people
v.1
The
Mighty One, God, the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to where it
sets.
v.2
From
Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
v.3 Our
God comes
and will not be silent;
a fire devours before him,
and around him a tempest rages.
v.4
He
summons the heavens above,
and the earth, that he may judge his people:
v.5,6
The Righteous Judge calls His covenant people
v.5
“Gather
to me this consecrated people,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
v.6 And
the heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for he is a God of justice.
v.7,8
It's not about their sacrifices as such that He is concerned
v.7
“Listen,
my people, and I will speak;
I will testify against you, Israel:
I am God, your God.
v.8 I
bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices
or concerning your burnt offerings, which
are ever before me.
v.9-13
After all He owns everything so the sacrifices as such are meaningless
v.9
I
have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
v.10
for
every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
v.11
I
know every bird in the mountains,
and the insects in the fields are mine.
v.12
If
I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is
in it.
v.13
Do
I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
v.14,15
Nevertheless He has established the sacrificial system for them
to honour Him
v.14
“Sacrifice
thank offerings to God,
fulfill your vows to the Most High,
v.15
and
call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor
me.”
v.16-20
But [implied] sacrifices are meaningless rituals for the wicked
v.16
But
to the wicked person, God says:
“What
right have you to recite my laws
or take my covenant on your lips?
v.17
You
hate my instruction
and cast my words behind you.
v.18
When
you see a thief, you join with him;
you throw in your lot with adulterers.
v.19
You
use your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue to deceit.
v.20
You
sit and testify against your brother
and slander your own mother's son.
v.21-23
His silence has not been approval, He comes to judge and separate
out
v.21
When
you did these things and I kept silent,
you thought I was exactly like you.
But I now arraign you
and set my accusations before you.
v.22
“Consider
this, you who forget God,
or I will tear you to pieces, with no
one to rescue you:
v.23
Those
who sacrifice thank offerings honor me,
and to the blameless I will show my salvation.”
[Additional
Thoughts: Very often the psalms shed light on various
aspects of life and this one shines the spotlight on those who
would seek to appear righteous by carrying out religious ritual
and yet continue in their various forms of wickedness. Their time
of accounting is coming!]
Continue
to Psa 51