Psalm 50 - True vs False Faith

The author of Psalm 50 is Asaph, one of David's chief musicians.  God judges people for treating him lightly. First, he speaks to the superficially religious people who bring their sacrifices but are only going through the motions (50:1-15).  They do not honor God with true praise and thankfulness. Second, he chides wicked, hardhearted people for their evil words and immoral lives (50:16-22). He asks the superficially religious for genuine thanksgiving and trust, and he warns the evil people to consider their deeds, lest he destroy them in his anger.

 

Psalm 50:1-4 - "The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets. 2-From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. 3-Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours him, and around him a tempest rages. 4-He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people."

 

This psalm begins as though God is finally ready to judge the evil people on earth. But surprisingly, we read that God's great fury is leveled against his own people (or at least those who claim to be his). God's judgment must begin with his own people.

 

Psalm 50:5-9 - "Gather to me my consecrated ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice. 6-And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for God himself is judge. 7-Hear, O my people, and I will speak. O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God. 8-I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. 9-I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, 10-for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills."

 

God's perfect moral nature demands that the penalty for sin be death; however, a person could offer an animal to God as a substitute for himself, symbolizing the person's faith in the merciful, forgiving God. But, the people were offering sacrifices and forgetting their significance! The very act of sacrifice showed that they had once agreed to follow God wholeheartedly. But at this time their hearts were not in it. We may fall into the same pattern when we participate in religious activities, tithe, or attend church out of habit or conformity rather than out of heartfelt love and obedience. God wants righteousness, not empty ritual.

 

Psalm 50:16-22 - But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips?  17-You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you.

18-When you see a thief, you join with him; you throw in your lot with adulterers. 19-You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit. 20-You speak continually against your brother and slander your own mother's son; 21-These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face. 22-Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue"

 

Some people glibly recite God's laws but are filled with deceit and evil.  They claim his promises but refuse to obey him.  This is sin, and God will judge people for it.  We too are hypocrites when we are not what we claim to be.  To let this inconsistency remain shows that we are not true followers of God.

 

Psalm 50:21 - "These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you"

 

At times God seems silent.  By his silence he is not condoning sin, nor is he indifferent to it.  Instead, he is withholding deserved punishment, giving time for people to repent.  God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked and wants them to turn from evil. But his silence does not last forever - a time of punishment will surely come.