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Psalms

Psalm 50

By Pastor Doug
The judge of the righteous and the wicked.
A Psalm of Asaph.

 1 The Mighty One, God the LORD,
         Has spoken and called the earth
         From the rising of the sun to its going down.


The Mighty One is El Elohim.... Yahweh.  He is alone is God and when He speaks it is heard all all over the globe.  From rising to the setting sun is to say from the east to the west.  He is the Most High Judge and he is holding court.  All the world is called to attention.



 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.
God speaks and everyone hears.  Now in verse two he will shine forth and the entire world shall see.  Zion is the perfection of beauty.  It is God's dwelling place among his people.  When He comes it won't be an occasion that can be missed by men.  He shall come with fire before Him because our God is a consuming fire.  There will be the tempest all around when he comes.  The fire devouring before him is the picture of judgment on the move and the tempest is the overwhelming and awesome power of the Lord made manifest before men.


         
 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  
The angels of heaven and all the people of the earth are called as witnesses to God's righteous judgments of sin.  God calls to have his saints gathered to him.  This is the harvest and the separating of the wheat from the tares.  God's people are His saints and those who are his by sacrifice.  Every knee will bow..... some will complain.......many will attempt to justify themselves.  Others may believe God to be unfair.  However, all the heavens will declare His righteousness.  He is the judge.  Who can question Him or second guess Him?


         
 7 "Hear, O My people, and I will speak,
         O Israel, and I will testify against you;
         I am God, your God!


You don't want to ever be in the place where God testifies against you.  This is "I AM" speaking to his chosen people. 



 8 I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices
         Or your burnt offerings,
         Which are continually before Me.


God wouldn't rebuke them for failing to sacrifice.  They continued in this as if it were a sacred rite. Their burnt offerings were offered religiously, but their hearts were far from God.


 


 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.
God's people offered these sacrifices as if they thought God needed these sacrifices; as if God were short of animals.  God said he has all the animals He needs.  Did they really think they could please God with an animal sacrifice?  They failed in obedience in so many ways and then responded with an animal sacrifice that they felt would make all things right again.  God didn't want their sacrifices, He wanted their hearts.  He wanted a relationship with His people.


         
 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."


The pagan religions taught that their god was pleased when he came down and at the sacrifice offered to him.  Did these people think they could satisfy the hungers of the Living God as if He were a man whose stomach was growling?  If God were hungry, He wouldn't tell them.  The entire creation and the fullness of it are all His.  He lacks nothing of substance.  The command from God is not the flesh of bulls or blood of goats in, and of itself.  They needed to bring their sacrifice with thanksgiving.  They needed to act upon the vow made to the Most High.  That vow is to love Him, serve Him, be loyal to Him.  There is a vast difference between a cold, dead sacrifice and bringing your offering to the Lord with thankfulness for his provision for your life.  We look to God knowing we are blessed to be His people and we long to serve Him.  Then, when the day of trouble comes, we are in relationship with our Father in heaven who said that the world is His and the fullness thereof.  He is sovereign and He will deliver you knowing that you will glorify His name.
         
 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.


God spoke first to His people.  Now he speaks to the wicked.  These are the people who rejected Him and refused to bow a knee before Him and call Him Lord.  These are people who lived their lives for themselves in evil pride all the while thinking that God was unfair.  Now that it is time for judgment God asks them what right do they have to declare His statutes or claim His covenant.  They hated His instruction and ignored His word.  Instead of abiding in God they abided with thieves and adulterers.  Their mouths were full of evil, deceit and the spoke it against their own family.


 


All the while they lived their evil lives.  God kept silent.  They assumed it was okay because God said nothing.  They thought God would be understanding and tolerant of their evil.  After all, everyone was doing it.  But God is very clear.  His standard of holiness will not be broken.  He rebukes those wicked men and set them in order.  He put them in their place before the eyes of all heaven and earth.  And all heaven and earth declare His judgments righteous.


         
 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.


Again, God makes Himself very clear.  Isn't it amazing how so many teachers can get this wrong?  They teach that God is all forgiving and tolerant and everyone will find their place with God regardless of anything.  That's not what this sounds like.  This sounds like those who forget God and offer their vain sacrifices are in trouble.  God wants the praise of His people.  He wants men and women who love Him and seek to be obedient to Him.  Those are the people God will respond to.  They are the ones who will see the salvation of God.