Psalms 50:12-22

12 "If I were hungry, I would not ask you for food, for the world and everything in it is mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?
14 Let the giving of thanks be your sacrifice to God, and give the Almighty all that you promised.
15 Call to me when trouble comes; I will save you, and you will praise me."
16 But God says to the wicked, "Why should you recite my commandments? Why should you talk about my covenant?
17 You refuse to let me correct you; you reject my commands.
18 You become the friend of every thief you see, and you associate with adulterers.
19 "You are always ready to speak evil; you never hesitate to tell lies.
20 You are ready to accuse your own relatives and to find fault with them.
21 You have done all this, and I have said nothing, so you thought that I am like you. But now I reprimand you and make the matter plain to you.
22 "Listen to this, you that ignore me, or I will destroy you, and there will be no one to save you.

Psalms 50:12-22 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.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Let the giving . . . to God; [or] Offer your thanksgiving sacrifice to God.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.