Psalms 50 - Introduction

L.

The one great corruption to which all religion is exposed is its separation from morality, and of all religions that of Israel was pre-eminently open to this danger. It was one of the main functions of the prophetical office to maintain the opposite truth — the inseparable union of morality with religion. This psalm takes rank with the prophets in such a proclamation. It makes it under a highly poetical form, a magnificent vision of judgment, in which, after summoning heaven and earth as His assessors, God arraigns before Him the whole nation, separated into two great groups; sincere but mistaken adherents to form; hypocrites, to whom religious profession is but a cloak for sin. The rhythm is fine and fairly well sustained.

Title. — Asaph was a Levite, son of Berachiah, and one of the leaders of David’s choir (1 Chronicles 6:39). He was also by tradition a psalm writer (2 Chronicles 29:30; Nehemiah 12:46). It is certain, however, that all the psalms ascribed to Asaph (73-83) were not by the same hand, or of the same time (see Introduction to Psalms 74); and, as in the case of the Korahite psalms, probably the inscription, “to Asaph,” only implies the family of Asaph, or a guild of musicians bearing that name (1 Chronicles 25:1; 2 Chronicles 20:14; Ezra 2:41).