Psalms 50:4-14

4 He summons heaven and earth to judge his people:

5 "Gather around me, my godly people who have made a pledge to me through sacrifices."

6 The heavens announce his righteousness because God is the judge. Selah

7 "Listen, my people, and I will speak. Listen, Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God!

8 I am not criticizing you for your sacrifices or burnt offerings, which are always in front of me.

9 [But] I will not accept [another] young bull from your household or a single male goat from your pens.

10 Every creature in the forest, [even] the cattle on a thousand hills, is mine.

11 I know every bird in the mountains. Everything that moves in the fields is mine.

12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, because the world and all that it contains are mine.

13 Do I eat the meat of bulls or drink the blood of goats?

14 Bring [your] thanks to God as a sacrifice, and keep your vows to the Most High.

Psalms 50:4-14 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.