Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ps 50.1 and following. Indeed, Psalm 49 reminded all the inhabitants of the world of the fragility and vanity of wealth and honor, these two poles of attraction for men of all times. In Psalm 50, God turns to Israel his people to show them the futility of sacrifices. Nor can they redeem the soul, nor can they “make perfect those who approach.” Through a single sacrifice, God sealed His covenant with Israel (Heb 10:1-10). In return, what He now expects from all of His own is praise (Hebrews 13:10-17). Short verse 15 summarizes the story of our deliverances: First prayer; then the divine response assured to us; finally, thanksgiving (you will glorify me) – which we often forget. Let’s put our trust in God; Let’s invoke Him and He will fulfill His promise! In verses 16 to 22, God warns the wicked, but the wicked man, while having his mouth full of pious words, denies them in practice and hates correction. Let’s be careful not to look like him! Let’s also note the magnificent introduction which gives, as often, the theme of the psalm: God speaking to the earth to reveal to it his splendor in the Person of Christ, sovereign judge and glorious king in Zion.
Car this magnificent psalm presents the Lord entering into judgment with the house of Israel in the last days. The throne of judgment is erected and then the books are opened, and two separate counts are read there, as we will see later. The residue is removed from this judgment by a single word, simple and characteristic: they “made a covenant with me by a sacrifice”. God does not give a detailed account of what they have done or suffered for Him; but he speaks of them as believers, as sinners who have put their trust in the savior’s blood and sacrifice. That is enough. In the same way Jesus, commending the saints to the care of the Father, speaks of them under this one and the same character: “They really knew that I came out of your house, and they believed that you sent me” (John 17).
That is why Jehovah then makes known his grievances against Israel. He accuses him of ignoring what true worship is (in his speech in Athens, Paul accuses the Gentiles for the same reasons: Acts 17). This accusation can be summed up in this: the religion of man treats God as someone to be served and appeased, instead of treating him as the blessed giver who himself carries out reconciliation. This is the immense difference between human religion and divine religion. For the religion of God is based on grace, the religion of man over works. Israel had covered the altar with sacrifices, without considering God as the one who delivers. This is the first count read in the books when the court session is opened. Then a second is put in charge of them: it concerns their life and their practical walk, as the first concerned their religion and their worship. He condemns their conduct as similarly misguided. They were religious but at the same time “wicked. »
On this, Jehovah addresses a word of warning, reproach, and exhortation, so that Israel may beware in time, before the judgment comes and there is no way to escape. Let them learn the religion of praise and the walk in righteousness whose happy consequence will be to put them on the path of salvation and glory. For it’s good, we can say by reading this psalm, that the heart be strengthened by grace, not by meats: In the sanctuary of God grace is found, in that of man meats and carnal observances. If it’s in the sanctuary of God that we enter, we will do so with praise, and we will leave to walk on a path of righteousness that leads to salvation, or kingdom, as seen here. If it is in the sanctuary of man that we enter, we will be filled with a “spirit of servitude,” occupied with “meats” or ceremonies, without the true dedication to God of a renewed heart. The truth of God will free our conscience, and make us happy in him according to the immense riches of his grace, and obedient in the ways of righteousness. Man’s lie, or man’s religion, will keep us in servile fear, and leave us unregenerated.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
God appears to pronounce His judgment:
· Power of God, general references
1 Ch 29:12 Wealth and glory come from you, you dominate over everything, strength and power are in your hand, and your hand has the power to enlarge and strengthen all things. 2 Ch 25:8 If you go with them, even if you would do acts of valour in battle, God will make you fall before the enemy, for God has the power to help and bring down. Jb 26:12 By his strength he lifts up the sea, by his intelligence he breaks its pride. Ps 62:12 God spoke once; Twice I heard this: It is that the strength is God’s. Ps 65:7 He strengthens the mountains by His strength, He is surrounded by power; Rom 16:25 To him who can strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, in accordance with the revelation of the mystery hidden for centuries,
· God a light
Ps 27:1 of David. Jehovah is my light and salvation: Who would I fear? Jehovah is the support of my life: Who would I be afraid of? Ps 84:12 For Jehovah God is a sun and a shield, Jehovah gives grace and glory, He does not deny any good to those who walk in integrity. Isa 60:20 Your sun will no longer set, and your moon will no longer darken; For the Lord will be your light forever, and the days of your mourning will be over. Mi 7.8 Do not rejoice about me, my enemy! For if I have fallen, I will rise again; If I sit in darkness, Jehovah will be my light. 1 John 1:5 The news that we have learned from Him, and that we are announcing to you, is that God is light, and that there is no darkness in Him. Rev 22:5 There will be no more night; and they will need neither a lamp nor a light, because the Lord God will enlighten them. And they will reign in centuries of centuries.
· Divine Revelations: By Nature
Ps 19:2 The heavens tell of the glory of God, and the expanse manifests the work of his hands. Ps 97:6 Heavens publish his righteousness, and all people see his glory. Acts 14:17 though He has never ceased to bear witness to who He is, doing good, dispensing you from heaven with the rains and fertile seasons, giving you food in abundance, and filling your hearts with joy. Rom 1:20 Indeed, God’s invisible perfections, his eternal power and divinity, have been seen as if by eye, since the creation of the world, when considered in his works. They are therefore inexcusable,
(by the Holy Spirit; by the prophets; by the Word of God; by dreams; by the incarnation)
· Right path
Isaiah 26:7 The way to righteousness is righteousness; You who are just, you flatten the path of the just. Jer 42:3 and may Jehovah your God show us the way we must follow, and what we have to do! Mt 7:14 But narrow is the door, tightened the path that leads to life, and there are few who find them. Lk 1:79 To enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct our steps in the path of peace.
· From as a judge
Gen 18:25 To make the righteous die with the wicked, so that it is the just as the wicked, far from you this way of acting! far from you! Won’t he who judges the whole earth exercise justice? Ps 58:12 And men will say, Yes, he is a reward for the righteous; Yes, he is a God who judges on earth. Ps 96:13 Before the Lord! For he comes, for he comes to judge the earth; He will judge the world justly, and the people according to his faithfulness. Hb 12:23 of the assembly of the firstborn inscribed in heaven, of the judge who is the God of all, of the spirits of the righteous who have come to perfection,
From all the above, let us now enter another field, and we find in Ps. 50, God’s judgment on the people – the Lord, the strong God, calls the earth to appear, – and then in the 51st the confession of the sin of which the people were guilty by putting Christ to death. The introduction to Ps. 50 is beautiful; moreover, it requires little explanation. Notice only that the first two verses form the thesis of the Psalm, developed in the verses that follow: He calls the heavens above and the earth as witnesses of his righteousness, but the judgment is especially that of the people. In verses 5 and 6, God takes charge of the cause of the residue: he receives and gathers his saints (or pious) who have now entered into a covenant with him on the sacrifice. It is with the thought that they will look to Christ, the one they have pierced (Zac 12:10), that these things are expressed. Although God is the result established in Zion, heaven intervenes for the manifestation of His righteousness, and this manifestation is distinct from His judgment, notice it. All this is a staging and is not in itself the judgment of God. He shines in the midst of this whole scene, but in a special way: we can say that this takes place in his glorified saints (naturally with Christ himself), and so fully that they will judge the earth. These are not providential judgments by secondary causes: God Himself is Judge now, and that is why He gathers His saints too. In verse 7, the people are judged. God does not need sacrifices, He wants justice, and does not want wickedness, nor now that the wicked dwell in the midst of His people. We find the same things in Chapters 48 and 57 of Isaiah. Man believes that God is like him, but He will take him back and put everything in order in His presence; this is God’s judgment. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow “
universal perversion; the fool says in his heart: there is no God.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.