Psalms 50:1-11

1 (49-1) <A psalm for Asaph.> The God of gods, the Lord hath spoken: and he hath called the earth. From the rising of the sun, to the going down thereof:
2 (49-2) Out of Sion the loveliness of his beauty.
3 (49-3) God shall come manifestly: our God shall come, and shall not keep silence. A fire shall burn before him: and a mighty tempest shall be round about him.
4 (49-4) He shall call heaven from above, and the earth, to judge his people.
5 (49-5) Gather ye together his saints to him: who set his covenant before sacrifices.
6 (49-6) And the heavens shall declare his justice: for God is judge.
7 (49-7) Hear, O my people, and I will speak: O Israel, and I will testify to thee: I am God, thy God.
8 (49-8) I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices: and thy burnt offerings are always in my sight.
9 (49-9) I will not take calves out of thy house: nor he goats out of thy flocks.
10 (49-10) For all the beasts of the woods are mine: the cattle on the hills, and the oxen.
11 (49-11) I know all the fowls of the air: and with me is the beauty of the field.

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.

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