Psalms 50:1-4

Psalm 50¹

A psalm by Asaph.

50:1 El, God, the Lord² speaks,

and summons the earth to come from the east and west.³

50:2 From Zion, the most beautiful of all places,⁴

God comes in splendor.⁵

50:3 Our God approaches and is not silent;⁶

consuming fire goes ahead of him

and all around him a storm rages.⁷

50:4 He summons the heavens above,

as well as the earth, so that he might judge his people.⁸

¹sn Psalm 50. This psalm takes the form of a covenant lawsuit in which the Lord comes to confront his people in a formal manner (as in Isa 1:2-20). The Lord emphasizes that he places priority on obedience and genuine worship, not empty ritual.

²sn Israel’s God is here identified with three names: El (אֵל [’el], or “God”), Elohim (אֱלֹהִים [’elohim], or “God”), and Yahweh (יְהוָה [yÿhvah] or “the Lord”). There is an obvious allusion here to Josh 22:22, the only other passage where these three names appear in succession. In that passage the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh declare, “El, God, the Lord! El, God, the Lord! He knows the truth! Israel must also know! If we have rebelled or disobeyed the Lord, don’t spare us today!” In that context the other tribes had accused the trans-Jordanian tribes of breaking God’s covenant by worshiping idols. The trans-Jordanian tribes appealed to “El, God, the Lord” as their witness that they were innocent of the charges brought against them. Ironically here in Ps 50 “El, God, the Lord” accuses his sinful covenant people of violating the covenant and warns that he will not spare them if they persist in their rebellion.

³tn Heb “and calls [the] earth from the sunrise to its going.”

⁴tn Heb “the perfection of beauty.”

⁵tn Or “shines forth.”

⁶tn According to GKC 322 §109.e, the jussive (note the negative particle אַל, ’al) is used rhetorically here “to express the conviction that something cannot or should not happen.”

⁷tn Heb “fire before him devours, and around him it is very stormy.”

⁸tn Or perhaps “to testify against his people.”