Psalms 50:4-14

4 He doth call unto the heavens from above, And unto the earth, to judge His people.

5 Gather ye to Me My saints, Making covenant with Me over a sacrifice.

6 And the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself [is] judge. Selah.

7 Hear, O My people, and I speak, O Israel, and I testify against thee, God, thy God [am] I.

8 Not for thy sacrifices do I reprove thee, Yea, thy burnt-offerings [Are] before Me continually.

9 I take not from thy house a bullock, From thy folds he goats.

10 For Mine [is] every beast of the forest, The cattle on the hills of oxen.

11 I have known every fowl of the mountains, And the wild beast of the field [is] with Me.

12 If I am hungry I tell not to thee, For Mine [is] the world and its fulness.

13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls, And drink the blood of he-goats?

14 Sacrifice to God confession, And complete to the Most High thy vows.

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.