Psalm 50:21
You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you to your face.
You have done these things
This phrase refers to the actions of the people that God is addressing. In the context of Psalm 50, God is speaking to His people, Israel, who have been engaging in hypocritical worship and sinful behavior. The Hebrew root for "done" is "עָשָׂה" (asah), which means to do, make, or accomplish. This indicates a deliberate action, emphasizing that the people have consciously engaged in behaviors that are contrary to God's commands. Historically, this reflects the period when Israel often fell into idolatry and moral decay, despite being chosen as God's covenant people.

and I kept silent
The phrase "I kept silent" comes from the Hebrew root "חָרַשׁ" (charash), meaning to be silent or to hold one's peace. God's silence here is not an indication of approval or indifference but rather a period of patience and forbearance. In the historical context, God's silence can be seen as a test of the people's faithfulness and an opportunity for repentance. It reflects the divine attribute of longsuffering, where God gives His people time to recognize their errors and return to Him.

you thought I was just like you
This phrase highlights a common misconception among the people that God shares their human limitations and moral failings. The Hebrew word for "thought" is "דָּמָה" (damah), which means to imagine or assume. This reflects a theological misunderstanding, where the people project their own nature onto God, forgetting His holiness and righteousness. In a broader scriptural context, this serves as a warning against idolatry and the creation of a god in one's own image, rather than worshiping the true God as revealed in Scripture.

But now I will rebuke you
The word "rebuke" comes from the Hebrew "יָכַח" (yakach), which means to reprove, correct, or argue. This indicates a turning point where God's patience gives way to corrective action. The rebuke is not merely punitive but is intended to bring about repentance and restoration. In the biblical narrative, God's rebuke is often a sign of His love and desire for His people to return to the right path, as seen in the prophetic literature where God calls His people back to covenant faithfulness.

and accuse you to your face
The phrase "accuse you to your face" emphasizes the direct and personal nature of God's confrontation. The Hebrew root "סָפַר" (saphar) means to recount or declare, indicating that God will openly declare their sins. The phrase "to your face" suggests an undeniable and inescapable confrontation, where the people can no longer hide behind rituals or excuses. This direct accusation is a call to accountability, reminding the people that God sees and knows all, and that true repentance requires acknowledgment of one's sins before God.

Persons / Places / Events
1. God
The speaker in this verse, addressing the people of Israel. He is portrayed as a righteous judge who observes the actions of His people.

2. Israel
The primary audience of this Psalm, representing God's chosen people who are being admonished for their misconceptions and sinful behaviors.

3. Asaph
The attributed author of Psalm 50, a Levite and one of David's chief musicians, who conveys God's message to the people.

4. Zion
Mentioned earlier in the Psalm as the place from which God shines forth, symbolizing His presence and authority.

5. The Wicked
Those among the people who have misunderstood God's nature and presumed upon His silence.
Teaching Points
God's Silence is Not Approval
God's silence should not be mistaken for indifference or approval of sin. His patience is an opportunity for repentance.

Understanding God's Nature
We must not project our human limitations onto God. His ways and thoughts are higher than ours, and He is just and righteous.

The Importance of Repentance
Recognize the need for repentance when confronted with sin. God's rebuke is an invitation to return to Him.

God's Righteous Judgment
God will ultimately hold everyone accountable. His judgment is fair and based on His perfect knowledge of our actions.

Living with Integrity
Live with integrity, knowing that God sees all. Our actions should reflect our understanding of His holiness and justice.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the assumption that God is "just like us" affect our understanding of His character and actions?

2. In what ways can we misinterpret God's silence in our lives, and how should we respond instead?

3. How does the concept of God's patience and eventual judgment challenge or encourage you in your personal walk with Him?

4. What practical steps can you take to ensure that your actions align with God's righteous standards, knowing that He sees everything?

5. How can the teachings of Psalm 50:21 be applied to encourage others in your community to live with integrity and seek repentance?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Isaiah 55:8-9
This passage highlights the difference between God's thoughts and ways compared to human thoughts and ways, similar to the misunderstanding addressed in Psalm 50:21.

Romans 2:4
This verse speaks about God's kindness and patience, which should lead to repentance, paralleling the mistaken assumption of God's silence as approval.

Hebrews 4:13
This scripture emphasizes that nothing is hidden from God's sight, reinforcing the idea that God sees and will address all actions.

Proverbs 15:3
This verse states that the eyes of the Lord are everywhere, observing the wicked and the good, aligning with God's awareness in Psalm 50:21.

Ecclesiastes 8:11
This passage discusses the delay of judgment leading people to continue in sin, similar to the false assumption of God's silence in Psalm 50:21.
Abuse of the Long-Suffering of GodR. Watson.Psalm 50:21
Conviction of SinW. H. M. H. Aitken, M. A.Psalm 50:21
God Keeping and Breaking SilenceDean Goulburn.Psalm 50:21
God's SilenceW. G. Lewis.Psalm 50:21
Ideas of GodF. W. Brown.Psalm 50:21
Man's Conception of GodH. S. Carpenter, D. D.Psalm 50:21
The Creator and the Son of ManDavid Thomas, D. D.Psalm 50:21
The Forbearance of GodHugh Stowell, M. A.Psalm 50:21
The Silence of GodC. Clayton, M. A.Psalm 50:21
The Sinner's Mistakes Exposed and ReprovedE. Payson, D. D.Psalm 50:21
We See as We are -- in GodJ. E. Hill, B. D.Psalm 50:21
God the Righteous JudgeW. Forsyth Psalm 50:1-23
Preparation to Meet GodPlain Sermons by authors of "Tracts for the Times."Psalm 50:1-23
The First of the Asaph PsalmsA. Maclaren, D. D.Psalm 50:1-23
The Judge, the Judged, and the Eternal JudgmentC. Clemance Psalm 50:1-23
The Religion of ManHomilistPsalm 50:1-23
True Religion and its CounterfeitsW. Forsyth Psalm 50:7-21
HypocrisyC. Short Psalm 50:16-23
The InconsistencyA. R. Beard.Psalm 50:16-23
The Mere Formalist and the Spiritualist in ReligionHomilistPsalm 50:16-23
People
Asaph, Bathsheba, David, Nathan, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Accuse, Altogether, Array, Case, Cause, Charge, Face, Front, Hadst, Hast, Kept, Lay, Nothing, Order, Protest, Rebuke, Reprove, Seemed, Silence, Silent, State, Thoughtest, Thyself
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 50:21

     1210   God, human descriptions
     5926   rebuke
     5950   silence

Psalm 50:16-22

     6169   godlessness

Psalm 50:20-21

     1095   God, patience of

Library
Prayers Answered
IN BUSINESS AND SOCIAL ANXIETIES. HELP IN PAYING A MORTGAGE. A business man in New York had several large amounts due for payment. An unprecedented series of calls from tradesmen wishing their bills paid sooner than customary, drained his means, and he was satisfied from the situation that his means would not be sufficient to pay them all. His business receipts, at this juncture, fell to one-half what they had usually been. A loan was due at the bank; a mortgage on his property, as well as large
Various—The Wonders of Prayer

And that which Follows Concerning Birds of the Air and Lilies of the Field...
35. And that which follows concerning birds of the air and lilies of the field, He saith to this end, that no man may think that God careth not for the needs of His servants; when His most wise Providence reacheth unto these in creating and governing those. For it must not be deemed that it is not He that feeds and clothes them also which work with their hands. But lest they turn aside the Christian service of warfare unto their purpose of getting these things, the Lord in this premonisheth His servants
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

The Holy Souls
THE HOLY SOULS Officium Defunctorum Lent and Holy Week, etc. Miserere mei Deus Psalm 50 Vatican Antiphonale First Mode (First portion is sung before the Psalm) (The entire antiphon is sung at the end of Psalm) Exsultabunt Domino ossa humiliata. First Psalm Tone 1. Miserere mei Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam. 2. Et secundum multitudinem miserationem tuarum, dele iniquitatem mea. 3. Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea: et a peccato meo munda me. 4. Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego cognosco: et
Various—The St. Gregory Hymnal and Catholic Choir Book

Why all Things Work for Good
1. The grand reason why all things work for good, is the near and dear interest which God has in His people. The Lord has made a covenant with them. "They shall be my people, and I will be their God" (Jer. xxxii. 38). By virtue of this compact, all things do, and must work, for good to them. "I am God, even thy God" (Psalm l. 7). This word, Thy God,' is the sweetest word in the Bible, it implies the best relations; and it is impossible there should be these relations between God and His people, and
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

Rome and Ephesus
Corinth as portrayed in the Epistles of Paul gives us our simplest and least contaminated picture of the Hellenic Christianity which regarded itself as the cult of the Lord Jesus, who offered salvation--immortality--to those initiated in his mysteries. It had obvious weaknesses in the eyes of Jewish Christians, even when they were as Hellenised as Paul, since it offered little reason for a higher standard of conduct than heathenism, and its personal eschatology left no real place for the resurrection
Kirsopp Lake—Landmarks in the History of Early Christianity

The Opinion of St. Augustin
Concerning His Confessions, as Embodied in His Retractations, II. 6 1. "The Thirteen Books of my Confessions whether they refer to my evil or good, praise the just and good God, and stimulate the heart and mind of man to approach unto Him. And, as far as pertaineth unto me, they wrought this in me when they were written, and this they work when they are read. What some think of them they may have seen, but that they have given much pleasure, and do give pleasure, to many brethren I know. From the
St. Augustine—The Confessions and Letters of St

How they are to be Admonished who Lament Sins of Deed, and those who Lament Only Sins of Thought.
(Admonition 30.) Differently to be admonished are those who deplore sins of deed, and those who deplore sins of thought. For those who deplore sins of deed are to be admonished that perfected lamentations should wash out consummated evils, lest they be bound by a greater debt of perpetrated deed than they pay in tears of satisfaction for it. For it is written, He hath given us drink in tears by measure (Ps. lxxix. 6): which means that each person's soul should in its penitence drink the tears
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Triumph Over Death and the Grave
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin: and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. T he Christian soldier may with the greatest propriety, be said to war a good warfare (I Timothy 1:18) . He is engaged in a good cause. He fights under the eye of the Captain of his salvation. Though he be weak in himself, and though his enemies are many and mighty, he may do that which in other soldiers
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

Seasons of Covenanting.
The duty is never unsuitable. Men have frequently, improperly esteemed the exercise as one that should be had recourse to, only on some great emergency. But as it is sinful to defer religious exercises till affliction, presenting the prospect of death, constrain to attempt them, so it is wrong to imagine, that the pressure of calamity principally should constrain to make solemn vows. The exercise of personal Covenanting should be practised habitually. The patriot is a patriot still; and the covenanter
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Putting God to Work
"For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen a God beside thee who worketh for him that waiteth for him."--Isaiah 64:4. The assertion voiced in the title given this chapter is but another way of declaring that God has of His own motion placed Himself under the law of prayer, and has obligated Himself to answer the prayers of men. He has ordained prayer as a means whereby He will do things through men as they pray, which He would not otherwise do. Prayer
Edward M. Bounds—The Weapon of Prayer

Epistle cxxi. To Leander, Bishop of Hispalis (Seville).
To Leander, Bishop of Hispalis (Seville). Gregory to Leander, Bishop of Spain. I have the epistle of thy Holiness, written with the pen of charity alone. For what the tongue transferred to the paper had got its tincture from the heart. Good and wise men were present when it was read, and at once their bowels were stirred with emotion. Everyone began to seize thee in his heart with the hand of love, for that in that epistle the sweetness of thy disposition was not to be heard, but seen. All severally
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

The Third Commandment
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.' Exod 20: 7. This commandment has two parts: 1. A negative expressed, that we must not take God's name in vain; that is, cast any reflections and dishonour on his name. 2. An affirmative implied. That we should take care to reverence and honour his name. Of this latter I shall speak more fully, under the first petition in the Lord's Prayer, Hallowed be thy name.' I shall
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

First Sunday after Epiphany
Text: Romans 12, 1-6. 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. 2 And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

Letter Xlv (Circa A. D. 1120) to a Youth Named Fulk, who Afterwards was Archdeacon of Langres
To a Youth Named Fulk, Who Afterwards Was Archdeacon of Langres He gravely warns Fulk, a Canon Regular, whom an uncle had by persuasions and promises drawn back to the world, to obey God and be faithful to Him rather than to his uncle. To the honourable young man Fulk, Brother Bernard, a sinner, wishes such joy in youth as in old age he will not regret. 1. I do not wonder at your surprise; I should wonder if you were not suprised [sic] that I should write to you, a countryman to a citizen, a monk
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

How those are to be Admonished who Abstain not from the Sins which they Bewail, and those Who, Abstaining from Them, Bewail them Not.
(Admonition 31.) Differently to be admonished are those who lament their transgressions, and yet forsake them not, and those who forsake them, and yet lament them not. For those who lament their transgressions and yet forsake them not are to be admonished to learn to consider anxiously that they cleanse themselves in vain by their weeping, if they wickedly defile themselves in their living, seeing that the end for which they wash themselves in tears is that, when clean, they may return to filth.
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Nature of Covenanting.
A covenant is a mutual voluntary compact between two parties on given terms or conditions. It may be made between superiors and inferiors, or between equals. The sentiment that a covenant can be made only between parties respectively independent of one another is inconsistent with the testimony of Scripture. Parties to covenants in a great variety of relative circumstances, are there introduced. There, covenant relations among men are represented as obtaining not merely between nation and nation,
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Letter xix (A. D. 1127) to Suger, Abbot of S. Denis
To Suger, Abbot of S. Denis He praises Suger, who had unexpectedly renounced the pride and luxury of the world to give himself to the modest habits of the religious life. He blames severely the clerk who devotes himself rather to the service of princes than that of God. 1. A piece of good news has reached our district; it cannot fail to do great good to whomsoever it shall have come. For who that fear God, hearing what great things He has done for your soul, do not rejoice and wonder at the great
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Epistle Lxiv. To Augustine, Bishop of the Angli .
To Augustine, Bishop of the Angli [174] . Here begins the epistle of the blessed Gregory pope of the city of Rome, in exposition of various matters, which he sent into transmarine Saxony to Augustine, whom he had himself sent in his own stead to preach. Preface.--Through my most beloved son Laurentius, the presbyter, and Peter the monk, I received thy Fraternity's letter, in which thou hast been at pains to question me on many points. But, inasmuch as my aforesaid sons found me afflicted with the
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

The Doctrine
OF THE LAW AND GRACE UNFOLDED; OR, A DISCOURSE TOUCHING THE LAW AND GRACE; THE NATURE OF THE ONE, AND THE NATURE OF THE OTHER; SHOWING WHAT THEY ARE, AS THEY ARE THE TWO COVENANTS; AND LIKEWISE, WHO THEY BE, AND WHAT THEIR CONDITIONS ARE, THAT BE UNDER EITHER OF THESE TWO COVENANTS: Wherein, for the better understanding of the reader, there are several questions answered touching the law and grace, very easy to be read, and as easy to be understood, by those that are the sons of wisdom, the children
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Ninth Commandment
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.' Exod 20: 16. THE tongue which at first was made to be an organ of God's praise, is now become an instrument of unrighteousness. This commandment binds the tongue to its good behaviour. God has set two natural fences to keep in the tongue, the teeth and lips; and this commandment is a third fence set about it, that it should not break forth into evil. It has a prohibitory and a mandatory part: the first is set down in plain words, the other
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

On the Symbols of the Essence' and Coessential. '
We must look at the sense not the wording. The offence excited is at the sense; meaning of the Symbols; the question of their not being in Scripture. Those who hesitate only at coessential,' not to be considered Arians. Reasons why coessential' is better than like-in-essence,' yet the latter may be interpreted in a good sense. Explanation of the rejection of coessential' by the Council which condemned the Samosatene; use of the word by Dionysius of Alexandria; parallel variation in the use of Unoriginate;
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

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