Psalms 50:1-11

1 The Mighty One, God, Jehovah, hath spoken, And called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.

2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined forth.

3 Our God cometh, and doth not keep silence: A fire devoureth before him, And it is very tempestuous round about him.

4 He calleth to the heavens above, And to the earth, that he may judge his people:

5 Gather my saints together unto me, Those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.

6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness; For God is judge himself. [Selah

7 Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify unto thee: I am God, [even] thy God.

8 I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; And thy burnt-offerings are continually before me.

9 I will take no bullock out of thy house, Nor he-goats out of thy folds.

10 For every beast of the forest is mine, And the cattle upon a thousand hills.

11 I know all the birds of the mountains; And the wild beasts of the field are mine.

Psalms 50:1-11 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.