Psalms 50:15-23

15 1Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall 2rescue you, and you will 3honor Me."
16 But to the wicked God says, "What right have you to tell of My statutes And to take 4My covenant in your mouth?
17 "For you 5hate discipline, And you 6cast My words behind you.
18 "When you see a thief, you 7are pleased with him, And you 8associate with adulterers.
19 "You 9let your mouth loose in evil And your 10tongue frames deceit.
20 "You sit and 11speak against your brother; You slander * your own mother's son.
21 "These things you have done and 12I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will 13reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.
22 "Now consider this, you who 14forget God, Or I will 15tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver.
23 "He who 16offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who 17orders his way aright I shall 18show the salvation of God."

Psalms 50:15-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 50

\\<>\\. This psalm is called a psalm of Asaph; either because it was composed by him under divine inspiration, since he was a prophet and a seer, 1Ch 25:2, 2Ch 29:30; or because it was delivered to him to be sung in public service, he being a chief musician; see 1Ch 16:7; and so it may be rendered, "a psalm for Asaph"; or "unto Asaph" {o}; which was directed, sent, and delivered to him, and might be written by David; and, as Junius thinks, after the angel had appeared to him, and he was directed where he should build an altar to the Lord, 1Ch 21:18. The Targum, Kimchi, and R. Obadiah Gaon, interpret this psalm of the day of judgment; and Jarchi takes it to be a prophecy of the future redemption by their expected Messiah; and indeed it does refer to the times of the Gospel dispensation; for it treats of the calling of the Gentiles, of the abrogation of legal sacrifices, and of the controversy the Lord would have with the Jews for retaining them, and rejecting pure, spiritual, and evangelical worship. {o} Poal "ipsi Asaph", Tigurine version, Vatablus; "Asapho", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so Ainsworth.

Cross References 18

  • 1. Psalms 91:15; Psalms 107:6, 13; Zechariah 13:9
  • 2. Psalms 81:7
  • 3. Psalms 22:23
  • 4. Isaiah 29:13
  • 5. Proverbs 5:12; Proverbs 12:1; Romans 2:21, 22
  • 6. 1 Kings 14:9; Nehemiah 9:26
  • 7. Romans 1:32
  • 8. 1 Timothy 5:22
  • 9. Psalms 10:7
  • 10. Psalms 36:3; Psalms 52:2
  • 11. Job 19:18; Matthew 10:21
  • 12. Ecclesiastes 8:11; Isaiah 42:14; Isaiah 57:11
  • 13. Psalms 90:8
  • 14. Job 8:13; Psalms 9:17
  • 15. Psalms 7:2
  • 16. Psalms 50:14
  • 17. Psalms 85:13
  • 18. Psalms 91:16

Footnotes 4

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