Psalm 50:1 ¶ «A Psalm of
Asaph.» The mighty God, even the LORD, 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. 3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep
silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round
about him. 4 He shall call to the
heavens from 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.
1Chronicles 16:4 And he
appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, and to
record, and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel: 5 Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah,
Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and
Obededom: and Jeiel with psalteries and with harps; but Asaph made a sound with
cymbals; 6 Benaiah also and Jahaziel the
priests with trumpets continually before the ark of the covenant of God. 7
¶ Then on that day David delivered first
this psalm to thank the LORD into the hand of Asaph and his brethren.
So, we have Asaph mentioned in conjunction with David and the
Psalms.
This Psalm opens with one of the great declarations of the Bible
worthy to be repeated in prayer praising God. Here is another.
Psalm 145:3 Great is the
LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
And another that underscores that Christ is the visible image of the
mighty God.
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a
child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his
shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
And we have this from the New Testament;
Titus 2:13 Looking for that
blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ;
God’s glory shone from Jerusalem.
Isaiah 12:6 Cry out and
shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the
midst of thee.
God’s presence preceded by a devouring fire;
Psalm 97:3 A fire goeth
before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.
Daniel 7:10 A fiery stream
issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him,
and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and
the books were opened.
Here is prophesied that God will call and then judge His people.
Although there are many verses regarding this in the Old and New Testaments and
in Revelation I am reminded of these when we are gathered to Him.
2Corinthians 5:10 For we
must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive
the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good
or bad.
Matthew 24:31 And he shall
send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together
his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
1Thessalonians 4:16 For the
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the
air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Verse 6 is repeated later;
Psalm 97:6 The heavens
declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.
Psalm 50:7 ¶ Hear, O my
people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am
God, even thy God. 8 I will not
reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been
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 fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are
mine. 12 If I were hungry, I would not
tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. 13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the
blood of goats? 14 Offer unto God
thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: 15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I
will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
The Psalmist established God’s glory and sovereignty and then
leads to a fundamental of the faith; our need to be thankful and to glorify God.
God, the God of the Bible, is their God, for whom they have their reason for
being as a people separate from other people.
Psalm 81:8 ¶ Hear, O my
people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;
Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and
let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool.
God does not need their sacrifices for we know that our
obedience to God involves placing ourselves in the right relationship with the
one who created us, not in any physical benefit to Him.
Psalm 24:1 ¶ «A Psalm of
David.» The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they
that dwell therein.
In any event every wild beast and every domesticated animal
belongs to Him anyway. We are fooled by this notion of property when all of
life is His. He knows the flying things, fowls, personally.
As Luke writes;
Luke 12:6 Are not five
sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?
Or as Matthew noted;
Matthew 10:29 Are not two
sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground
without your Father.
What we are called to do is seek Him humbly, to seek His mercy in
time of distress, to glorify Him for His mercy and help. We are to walk with
our Lord humbly.
Micah 6:8 He hath shewed
thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do
justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Reality, the world, the universe, belongs to God. It is His
property.
In verse 14 thanksgiving is a sacrifice.
Psalm 69:30 ¶ I will praise
the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. 31 This also shall please the LORD better than
an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.
Psalm 107:22 And let them
sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
Hebrews 13:15 By him
therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the
fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
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