Psalm 50
God Shines Forth
Sometimes we need a jolt, a word that knocks us out of our well worn ways. Or a light that guides us away from the dark of ignorance or sin. This Psalm is God’s words to his people, seeking to draw us back to him in full-hearted worship.
(We are now one third through the Psalter!)
A psalm of Asaph.
1 The Mighty One, God, the LORD,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to where it sets.
2 From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God comes
and will not be silent;
a fire devours before him,
and around him a tempest rages.
4 He summons the heavens above,
and the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 ‘Gather to me this consecrated people,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.’
6 And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for he is a God of justice.7 ‘Listen, my people, and I will speak;
I will testify against you, Israel:
I am God, your God.
8 I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices
or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
9 I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird in the mountains,
and the insects in the fields are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?14 ‘Sacrifice thank-offerings to God,
fulfil your vows to the Most High,
15 and call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honour me.’16 But to the wicked person, God says:
‘What right have you to recite my laws
or take my covenant on your lips?
17 You hate my instruction
and cast my words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you join with him;
you throw in your lot with adulterers.
19 You use your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue to deceit.
20 You sit and testify against your brother
and slander your own mother’s son.
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.22 ‘Consider this, you who forget God,
or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
23 those who sacrifice thank-offerings honour me,
and to the blameless I will show my salvation.’
This Psalm is a summons from God. Here he is calling on all his people across the globe to draw near to him, to hear and heed his word.
There is an ongoing danger of forgetting who we approach when we gather to worship. The opening verses of this Psalm (1-6) are the jolt we need to knock us out of what has become ordinary and remind us of how extraordinary worshipping the Triune God truly is.
The one we hear speaking to us is the one who spoke the whole universe into being. He is the One who reigns supreme. His authority has no equal. His divine rule covers every square centimetre of the cosmos.
God is light, and in him is no darkness at all (1 John 1.5). He is perfectly pure and unyielding in his righteousness. His holiness is unrelenting and his glory cannot be dimmed. In himself, God is light. But his light has also shone forth from his throne in the heavenly city. That radiance is seen perfectly through the Son of God, through whom we mere mortals catch a glimpse of God’s shining splendour.
This holy God of light, who is summoning his people, calls them as their just Judge. In his presence, no sin can stand tall. All evil and corruption and hypocrisy melts before him. He assembles his people to judge his people. But as we will see, it is not the final sentence. This is a word sent out to the people so that they may turn back to the living God in true worship.
There are two heart conditions God’s word seeks to expose and heal.
First, it is mindless religion (7-15).
God here is not chastising but correcting. He says he doesn’t bring any charges against them. They have not abandoned or rejected God. The problem is their understanding of God is flawed. He therefore wants to lead them into all truth.
He reminds them that what they give to God in sacrifice is not something he doesn’t already own. God is Lord of all. It is an important reminder that every furnishing in our house, every fruit growing in our gardens, all the money in our bank accounts ultimately beyond to God. We are but stewards of his gracious gifts. So God doesn’t need to be given anything because he already owns it all already.
He also reminds them that he doesn’t need their sacrifices to keep him going. God is light and has life in himself. He is not dependent on the world. The world and all who are in it are dependent on him.
In reminding the people of God this, he is drawing their attention once more to the reality that God does not need our worship. We are not doing him a solid by giving ten percent of our income. We aren’t filling him up. Worship actually reminds us we are creatures and God alone is the Creator! He doesn’t need us. We need him.
Therefore, they are exhorted to give thanksgiving offerings for in that way, they remember that everything comes from the hand of God. His grace fuels our gratitude.
The second heart attitude is more serious. It is hypocritical religion (16-21).
They are those who gather in the temple and say all the right words. Yet their conduct during the week denies it all. They hear the Ten Commandments but do not heed them. They steal from others. They commit adultery. They lie. They bear false witness against their own kin. They have become like the world.
They have been mistaken in the character and nature of God. God has remained silent for some time. But God’s silence is not affirmation. It is not an approval. They think because he has not yet punished them, then God must be like them.
But God’s silence is ending. He has exposed their hypocrisy and sin. And here is their final warning. If they do not repent, they remain condemned before God and nothing will be able to rescue them.
But those who come to God with full-hearted worship, they will enter into the salvation of the Lord. Not because they have earned it. But because we know God holds out grace to all.
This Psalm ends on a note of hope. The rebels can become the righteous through the God who shines forth through his Son, who have his life, so that we might be brought into the light.
Glory be to God the Father, who is the just Judge and will not be silent.
Glory be to God the Son, who is the light of the world, shining forth on his people.
Glory be to God the Spirit, who guides and governs us through the word of correction and grace.
Ever three and ever One.