Psalm 50 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study
Psalm 50 Short Summary:
Psalm 50 opens with a description of God as a great and glorious judge. God was determined to judge hypocrisy amongst His people. Some of the people were offering sacrifices to Him, but their hearts were in love with sin. God warned these men to repent or else they would face His righteous judgement.
Psalm 50 Summary
AUTHOR:
Asaph wrote Psalm 50. He was a singer during David and Solomon’s reign.
NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES:
No Know New Testament References.
THEMES:
God will judge the hearts of men.
Religion must involve our hearts, not just our external actions.
DEFINITIONS:
Selah (50:6) – This word appears over 70 times in the Psalms. Scholars have tried for years to discover the true meaning of the word, but it remains somewhat of a mystery. Some scholars think it’s a musical pause or a literary pause, calling on the reader to stop and ponder what was just stated. Other scholars propose its meaning is related to worship, an expression of praise to God. Still others suggest it’s a literary device used by the ancients to mark themes that run through the text. The only other book in the Bible where “Selah” is found is the book of Habakkuk.
OUTLINE:
GOD, THE GREAT JUDGE (50:1-6):
God is the judge of all the earth, and He is worthy of the highest respect.
He controls the rising and setting sun. “Before Him is a devouring fire, around Him a mighty tempest” (50:3).
He judges righteously in all things.
The psalmist presents a picture of God gathering the people of Israel for judgement.
The people of Israel had a special agreement (covenant) with God. He promised to bless if they kept His law.
GOD’S JUDGEMENTS AGAINST ISRAEL (50:7-23):
There were some people in Israel who God had a problem with.
It wasn’t that these people were neglecting to offer their sacrifices as God’s law directed, in fact, they sacrificed regularly.
God’s problem with them was that they offered sacrifices in an external display of religion, but internally their hearts didn’t actually love God.
God made it clear that He didn’t need animal sacrifices from dishonest people. It wasn’t the animals that interested Him.
He said, “I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine” (50:9-11).
God had no need of animals. He instructed His people to sacrifice, but those sacrifices were supposed to come from hearts that loved Him.
Instead, He was receiving sacrifices from people who were wicked, people who hated His discipline, people who hated His Law, people whose mouths were full of slander, and those who approved of adulterers and thieves.
These people were pretending to be religious, but their lives exposed them as godless people.
They assumed God wasn’t going to do anything about their evil, but they were wrong. God told them to repent or else He would tear them apart (50:22).
God concluded by telling these sinners how they ought to offer their sacrifices.
Psalm 50:23 reads, “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies Me; to one who orders His way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”
APPLICATION:
What would be a modern application of offering sacrifices with a dishonest heart.
People can be just as hypocritical in the modern day when they worship in a church without intending to live a God guided life.
You don’t want to be the kind of person who gets up on Sunday morning, puts on their best clothes, goes to church, worships with believers, and then lives the rest of their week like they’ve never met God.
We don’t want to offer a sacrifice of praise to God on Sunday and then disregard His words on Monday.
God will treat modern day religious hypocrisy with the same severity described in Psalm 50.
This is a psalm for those who are “playing church.” Don’t play the hypocrite and think you are fooling God.
