Psalms 50:21

_THESE THINGS HAST THOU DONE, AND I KEPT SILENCE; THOU THOUGHTEST THAT I WAS ALTOGETHER SUCH AN ONE AS THYSELF: BUT I WILL REPROVE THEE, AND SET THEM IN ORDER BEFORE THINE EYES._ These things hast thou done, and I kept silence. But "our God shall come, and ... not keep silence" (Psalms 50:3). Thou didst mistake my "silence" of long-suffering for "silence" of consent or connivance at thy sin (Isaiah 57:11; Ecclesiastes 8:11; Psalms 55:19). But the long-suffering "goodness of God (was designed not to harden thee in the notion of impunity, but) leadeth thee to repentance" ...

21_These things hast thou done _Hypocrites, until they feel the hand of God against them, are ever ready to surrender themselves to a state of security, and nothing is more difficult than to awaken their apprehensions. By this alarming language the Psalmist aims at convincing them of the certainty of destruction should they longer presume upon the forbearance of God, and thus provoke his anger the more, by imagining that he can favor the practice of sin. The greatest dishonor which any can cast upon his name is that of impeaching his justice. This hypocrites may not venture to do in an open manner, but in their secret and corrupt imagination they figure God to be different from what he is, that they may take occasion from his conceived forbearance to indulge a false peace of mind, and escape the disquietude which they could not fail to feel were they seriously persuaded that God was the...

16-23 Hypocrisy is wickedness, which God will judge. And it is too common, for those who declare the Lord's statutes to others, to live in disobedience to them themselves. This delusion arises from the abuse of God's long-suffering, and a wilful mistake of his character and the intention of his gospel. The sins of sinners will be fully proved on them in the judgment of the great day. The day is coming when God will set their sins in order, sins of childhood and youth, of riper age and old age, to their everlasting shame and terror. Let those hitherto forgetful of God, given up to wickedness, or in any way negligent of salvation, consider their urgent danger. The patience of the Lord is very great. It is the more wonderful, because sinners make such ill use of it; but if they turn not, they shall be made to see their error when it is too late. Those that forget God, forget themselves; an...

Verse Psalms 50:21. _THESE_ THINGS _HAST THOU DONE_] My eye has been continually upon you, though my judgments have not been poured out: and because I was _silent_, thou didst suppose _I was such as_ _thyself; but I will reprove thee_, c. I will visit for these things....

THESE THINGS HAST THOU DONE, AND I KEPT SILENCE - Compare the notes at Isaiah 18:4. The meaning is, that while they did these things - while they committed these abominations - he did not interfere. He did not come forth in his anger to destroy them. He had borne all this with patience. He had borne this until it was now time that he should interpose Isaiah 18:3, and state the true principles of his government, and warn then of the consequences of such a course of sin and hypocrisy. Compare the notes at Acts 17:30. THOU THOUGHTEST THAT I WAS ALTOGETHER SUCH AN ONE AS THYSELF - The idea here is, that they thought or imagined that God was just like themselves in

EXPOSITION THE psalmist announces an appearance of God to his people "out of Zion," and a pronouncement of judgment upon them, which all heaven (Psalms 50:4) and earth (Psalms 50:1) are called upon to witness. The judgment takes the shape of a twofold address; first, to the righteous, who are exhorted to the spiritual worship of God (Psalms 50:14, Psalms 50:15), and warned against putting too much trust in sacrifice (Psalms 50:8); secondly, to the wicked, who are sternly reproved for their hypocrisy, their hatred of instruction

THESE THINGS HAST THOU DONE,.... "These evil works", as the Targum; which they had done over and over again without remorse, with the greatest pleasure, and with promises of impunity to themselves. This is a confirmation of the charge made by the omniscient God, who saw and knew all their actions; AND I KEPT SILENCE; spoke not by terrible things in righteousness, deferred the execution of judgment, exercised forbearance and patience, and gave space to repent; which being despised, they were hardened yet more and more in sin; see Ecclesiastes 8:11. This refers to the space of time between the crucifixion of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem; THOU THOUGHTEST THAT I WAS ALTOGETHER SUCH AN ONE AS THYSELF; either that he did not see the things committed by them in secret, as the things before mentioned, theft, adultery, slander, and detractio

Psalms 50:1. _The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun until the going down thereof. Out of Zion the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people._ To profess to be the people of God is a very solemn thing, for the apostle Peter tells us that «judgment must begin at the house of God.» Those who profess to be his people shall be like the wheat on the threshing floor. John the Baptist, preparing the way for the first coming of Christ, said of him, «whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor.» When he comes again, he will separate the precious from the vile, the true saint from the mere pretender....

Psalms 50 The Demands of a Righteous God _ 1. His coming and His call (Psalms 50:1)_ 2. The God of Israel speaks (Psalms 50:7) 3. The demands of righteousness (Psalms 50:16) Psalms 50:1; Psalms 51:1 belong together. In the first God is described coming to Israel, proclaiming His righteousness and demanding righteousness from His people and in the second Israel makes confession of sin....

L. GOD LOOKS TO CONDUCT RATHER THAN TO SACRIFICE. For the attitude to sacrifice, _cf._ Psalms 40*. PSALMS 50:1. The expected Theophany. PSALMS 50:1. Read _mg._ with LXX. CALLED THE EARTH: since the calling occurs in Psalms 50:4, which is a more appropriate place, read the earth feared. Psalms 50:5. The LXX reads Gather his saints together unto him, those that have made his covenant with him by sacrifice. The last words refer to Exodus 24:5 ff. For saints-' (_hasî dî m),_ see on Psalms 4....