
Text -- Psalms 50:6 (NET)




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collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)
Wesley: Psa 50:6 - -- God will convince the people of his righteousness, and of their own wickedness, by thunders and lightnings, and storms, or other dreadful signs wrough...
God will convince the people of his righteousness, and of their own wickedness, by thunders and lightnings, and storms, or other dreadful signs wrought by him in the heavens.

Wesley: Psa 50:6 - -- In his own person. God will not now reprove them, by his priests or prophets, but in an extraordinary manner from heaven.
In his own person. God will not now reprove them, by his priests or prophets, but in an extraordinary manner from heaven.
JFB -> Psa 50:6
JFB: Psa 50:6 - -- The inhabitants of heaven, who well know God's character, attest His righteousness as a judge.
The inhabitants of heaven, who well know God's character, attest His righteousness as a judge.
Calvin -> Psa 50:6
Calvin: Psa 50:6 - -- 6.And the heavens shall declare his righteousness The Jews were vain enough to imagine that their idle and fantastic service was the perfection of ri...
6.And the heavens shall declare his righteousness The Jews were vain enough to imagine that their idle and fantastic service was the perfection of righteousness; but they are here warned by the prophet, that God, who had seemed to connive at their folly, was about to reveal his own righteousness from heaven, and expose their miserable devices. “Think you,” as if he had said, “that God can take delight in the mockery of your deluded services? Though you send up the smoke of them to heaven, God will make known his righteousness in due time from above, and vindicate it from the dishonors done to it by your wicked inventions. The heavens themselves will attest your perfidy in despising true holiness, and corrupting the pure worship of God. He will no longer suffer your gratuitous aspersions of his character, as if he took no notice of the enmity which lurks under your pretended friendship.” There is thus a cogency in the prophet’s manner of treating his subject. Men are disposed to admit that God is judge, but, at the same time, to fabricate excuses for evading his judgment, and it was therefore necessary that the sentence which God was about to pronounce should be vindicated from the vain cavils which might be brought against it.
TSK -> Psa 50:6
TSK: Psa 50:6 - -- heavens : Psa 97:6; Rom 2:5; Rev 16:5-7, Rev 19:2
God : Psa 75:7; Gen 18:25; Joh 5:22, Joh 5:23; Rom 14:9-12; 2Co 5:10; Rev 20:11, Rev 20:12
Selah : P...

collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)
Barnes -> Psa 50:6
Barnes: Psa 50:6 - -- And the heavens shall declare his righteousness - Shall make it known, or announce it. That is, the heavens - the heavenly inhabitants - will b...
And the heavens shall declare his righteousness - Shall make it known, or announce it. That is, the heavens - the heavenly inhabitants - will bear witness to the justness of the sentence, or will approve the sentence. See the notes at Psa 50:4. Compare Psa 97:6.
For God is judge himself - The judgment is not committed to mortal men, or even to angels. Creatures, even the most exalted and pure, might err in such a work as that of judging the world. That judgment, to be correct, must be founded on a perfect knowledge of the heart, and on a clear and complete understanding of all the thoughts, the motives, the words, the deeds of all people. It cannot be supposed that any created being, however exalted, could possess all this knowledge, and it cannot be supposed that any created being, however pure, could be so endowed as to be secure against error in pronouncing a judgment on the countless millions of people. But God combines all these in himself; a perfect knowledge of all that has ever occurred on earth, and of the motives and feelings of every creature - and, at the same time, absolute purity and impartiality; therefore his judgment must be such that the universe will see that it is just. It may be added here that as the New Testament has stated (see the notes at Psa 50:3) that the judgment of the world in the last day will be committed to the Lord Jesus Christ, the considerations just suggested prove that he is Divine. The immediate point in the passage before us is, that the fact that "God"will preside in the judgment, demonstrates that the acts of judgment will be "right,"and will be such as the "heavens"- the universe - will approve; such, that all worlds will proclaim them to be right. There is no higher evidence that a thing is right, and that it ought to be done, than the fact that God has done it. Compare Gen 18:25; Psa 39:9.
Poole -> Psa 50:6
Poole: Psa 50:6 - -- The heavens shall declare his righteousness which they were called to witness, Psa 50:4 . So was the earth also. But here he mentions the heavens onl...
The heavens shall declare his righteousness which they were called to witness, Psa 50:4 . So was the earth also. But here he mentions the heavens only, as I humbly conceive, because they were the most impartial and considerable witness in the case; for men upon earth might be false witnesses, either through ignorance and mistake, or through prejudice, and partiality, and passion: but the angels understand things more thoroughly and certainly, and are so exactly pure and sinless, that they neither can nor will tell a lie for God; and therefore their testimony is more valuable. Or the meaning is, that God would convince the people of his righteousness, and of their own wickedness, by terrible thunders and lightnings, and storms, or other dreadful signs wrought by him in the heaven or the air; by which he did convince his people in two like cases, Deu 5:22,23 , &c.; 1Sa 12:17-19 .
God is Judge himself in his own person, or immediately. God will not now reprove them, or contend with them, by his priests or prophets, with whom they may easily strive, as they used to do, but he will do it in an immediate and extraordinary manner from heaven; and therefore they shall be forced to acknowledge his righteousness, and their own unrighteousness; as they must needs do, when the contest is between them and that God who is the great Judge of the world, and cannot possibly do any unrighteous thing, Job 34:13 Rom 3:6 , who exactly knows all their hearts and works, and cannot be deceived nor contradicted.
Haydock -> Psa 50:6
Haydock: Psa 50:6 - -- Only, or principally, who art the only God, (1 Timothy i. 17.; Worthington) the judge and witness of my crime. (Haydock) ---
David was a king, and ...
Only, or principally, who art the only God, (1 Timothy i. 17.; Worthington) the judge and witness of my crime. (Haydock) ---
David was a king, and acknowledged no judge among men. (St. Ambrose, c. x.) ---
Soli Deo reus est. (Cassiodorus) ---
Urias, whom he had injured, was no more. (St. Augustine) ---
The action had been done in secret: (2 Kings xii. 12.) but many began to suspect, and to blaspheme. (Haydock) ---
Judged. St. Paul reads thus, (Romans iii. 4.) though the Hebrew be, "when thou judgest." St. Jerome has also judicaberis, so that we might infer, that the Hebrew is now incorrect, or that beshophtec means in judicare te. (Berthier) ---
Houbigant changes the order of the verse, "cleanse me from my sins, that thou mayst be blameless when thou comest into judgment: For I know," &c. (Haydock) ---
Susanna was preserved from sinning by the thought of God's presence, Daniel xiii. 25. ---
If David fell, he confessed his fault. (Berthier) ---
God is faithful to his promises, and desires the conversion of sinners, though some would represent him as cruel, and unconcerned about his creatures. The psalmist prevents this unjust inference, (Haydock) and proves, that God is both just and merciful. (Worthington) ---
He acknowledges his ingratitude, as the captives confess, that their sins have brought on them this chastisement, though they had not injured the Babylonians. (Theodoret) (Flaminius) (Calmet) ---
God had often promised pardon to those who truly repent. An appeal is made to his truth and mercy.
Gill -> Psa 50:6
Gill: Psa 50:6 - -- And the heavens shall declare his righteousness,.... That is, either the heavens shall bear witness to his justice and equity in judging his people; o...
And the heavens shall declare his righteousness,.... That is, either the heavens shall bear witness to his justice and equity in judging his people; or the angels, the ministers of the Gospel, shall declare his justifying righteousness, which is revealed in it, to the saints and covenant ones they shall be a means of gathering in: or rather the justice of Christ in the destruction of the Jews shall be attested and applauded by angels and men, just as the righteousness of God in the destruction of the antichristian powers is celebrated by the angel of the waters, Rev 16:5;
for God is Judge himself. And not another, or by another; and therefore his judgments must be just and righteous, seeing he is just and true, loves righteousness, and is righteous in all his ways and works.
Selah; on this word; see Gill on Psa 3:2.

expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

expand allCommentary -- Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis -> Psa 50:1-23
TSK Synopsis: Psa 50:1-23 - --1 The majesty of God in the church.5 His order to gather his saints.7 The pleasure of God is not in ceremonies,14 but in sincerity of obedience.
MHCC -> Psa 50:1-6
MHCC: Psa 50:1-6 - --This psalm is a psalm of instruction. It tells of the coming of Christ and the day of judgment, in which God will call men to account; and the Holy Gh...
Matthew Henry -> Psa 50:1-6
Matthew Henry: Psa 50:1-6 - -- It is probable that Asaph was not only the chief musician, who was to put a tune to this psalm, but that he was himself the penman of it; for we rea...
Keil-Delitzsch -> Psa 50:4-6
Keil-Delitzsch: Psa 50:4-6 - --
The judgment scene. To the heavens above ( מעל , elsewhere a preposition, here, as in Gen 27:39; Gen 49:25, an adverb, desuper , superne ) and...
Constable: Psa 42:1--72:20 - --II. Book 2: chs. 42--72
In Book 1 we saw that all the psalms except 1, 2, 10, and 33 claimed David as their writ...

Constable: Psa 50:1-23 - --Psalm 50
This psalm pictures God seated in His heavenly throne room. He has two indictments against His ...
