King James Version
Psalms 50
23 verses with commentary
God Himself Is Judge
A Psalm of Asaph. The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. of: or, for Asaph
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KJV Study Commentary
The majestic introduction: 'The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.' Three divine names (<em>El, Elohim, Yahweh</em>) emphasize God's comprehensive sovereignty. He summons the whole earth--universal jurisdiction for universal judgment.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **The mighty God, even the Lord.**—Heb., *El Elohîm, Jehovah, *a combination of the Divine names that has been very variously understood. The Authorised Version follows the rendering of Aquila and Symmachus. But the Masoretic accents are in favour of taking each term as an appellative. Hitzig objects that this is stiff, but it is so on purpose. The poet introduces his vision of judgment in the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
33-36. God's help farther described. He gives swiftness to pursue or elude his enemies (Ha 3:19), strength, protection, and a firm footing.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 50
Chapter Outline
The glory of God.(1-6)
Sacrifices to be changed for prayers.(7-15)
Sincere obedience required.(16-23)
**Verses 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 Ghost is the Spirit of judgement. All the children of men are concerned to know the ri...
Read full commentary →Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.
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KJV Study Commentary
Zion as source of revelation: 'Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.' The 'perfection of beauty' describes Jerusalem as God's dwelling, from which His glory radiates. Divine 'shining' recalls Sinai's theophany and anticipates ultimate glory when God dwells with His people.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Perfection of beauty**—*i.e.*, Zion, because the Temple, the residence of Jehovah, was there. (Comp. Psalm 48:2; Lamentations 2:15; 1 Maccabees 2:12.)
**Hath shined.**—Comp. Psalm 80:1; Deuteronomy 33:2. A natural figure of the Divine manifestation, whether taken from the dawn or from lighting.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
33-36. God's help farther described. He gives swiftness to pursue or elude his enemies (Ha 3:19), strength, protection, and a firm footing.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 50
Chapter Outline
The glory of God.(1-6)
Sacrifices to be changed for prayers.(7-15)
Sincere obedience required.(16-23)
**Verses 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 Ghost is the Spirit of judgement. All the children of men are concerned to know the ri...
Read full commentary →Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.
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KJV Study Commentary
The coming God: 'Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.' Unlike idols that are silent, Yahweh speaks and acts. Fire and storm are theophany elements from Sinai, indicating divine presence in judgment.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Our God shall come . . . shall devour . . .** **shall be.**—Better, *comes ***. . .** *devours ***. . .** *is. *The drama, the expected scene having been announced, now opens. The vision unfolds itself before the poet’s eye.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
33-36. God's help farther described. He gives swiftness to pursue or elude his enemies (Ha 3:19), strength, protection, and a firm footing.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 50
Chapter Outline
The glory of God.(1-6)
Sacrifices to be changed for prayers.(7-15)
Sincere obedience required.(16-23)
**Verses 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 Ghost is the Spirit of judgement. All the children of men are concerned to know the ri...
Read full commentary →He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.
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KJV Study Commentary
The cosmic courtroom: 'He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.' Heaven and earth serve as witnesses in the divine lawsuit, echoing Deuteronomy 32:1. God judges 'his people'--the covenant community is called to account.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **He shall call.**—Better, *He calls. *The poet actually hears the summons go forth calling heaven and earth as witnesses, or assessors (comp. Micah 6:2), of the judgment scene. (Comp. Deuteronomy 4:26; Deuteronomy 32:1; Isaiah 1:2; Micah 1:2; 1 Maccabees 2:37.)
Israel, politically so insignificant, must have been profoundly conscious of the tremendous issues involved in its religious characte...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
37-41. In actual conflict, with God's aid, the defeat of his enemies is certain. A present and continued success is expressed.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 50
Chapter Outline
The glory of God.(1-6)
Sacrifices to be changed for prayers.(7-15)
Sincere obedience required.(16-23)
**Verses 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 Ghost is the Spirit of judgement. All the children of men are concerned to know the ri...
Read full commentary →Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
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KJV Study Commentary
The identification of the accused: 'Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.' 'Saints' (<em>chasidim</em>) are those loyal to the covenant. 'By sacrifice' indicates ratification through blood ritual--they are bound by solemn obligation. These very people face divine examination.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **My saints.**—This verse is of great importance, as containing a formal definition of the word *chasîdîm, *and so a direction as to its interpretation wherever it occurs in the Hebrew hymn book. The “saints” are those in the “covenant,” and that covenant was ratified by *sacrifices. *As often, then, as a sacrifice was offered by an Israelite, it was a witness to the existence of the covenant,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
37-41. In actual conflict, with God's aid, the defeat of his enemies is certain. A present and continued success is expressed.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 50
Chapter Outline
The glory of God.(1-6)
Sacrifices to be changed for prayers.(7-15)
Sincere obedience required.(16-23)
**Verses 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 Ghost is the Spirit of judgement. All the children of men are concerned to know the ri...
Read full commentary →And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.
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KJV Study Commentary
The righteous judge: 'And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself.' The heavens testify to God's perfect justice--His judgment is not arbitrary but righteous. 'God is judge himself'--He needs no intermediary, no human tribunal. Divine judgment is direct, perfect, final.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **The heavens.**—Here is an exceedingly fine touch. In obedience to the Divine summons the heavens are heard acknowledging the right of God to arraign the nations before Him in virtue of His moral sway. Render the verb in the present: *And the heavens declare. *The verse is adapted to Psalm 97:6.
In the language of modern thought, order and law in the physical world are an evidence of an order...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
37-41. In actual conflict, with God's aid, the defeat of his enemies is certain. A present and continued success is expressed.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 50
Chapter Outline
The glory of God.(1-6)
Sacrifices to be changed for prayers.(7-15)
Sincere obedience required.(16-23)
**Verses 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 Ghost is the Spirit of judgement. All the children of men are concerned to know the ri...
Read full commentary →Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.
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KJV Study Commentary
God speaks directly: 'Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.' The covenant formula 'I am thy God' creates basis for both relationship and responsibility. The shift to first person heightens solemnity--God Himself delivers the accusation.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Hear.**—The actual judgment now opens, God asserting in impressive tones His right to preside: *God, thy God, I **. . .** *the Elohistic form of the more usual “Jehovah, thy God.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
37-41. In actual conflict, with God's aid, the defeat of his enemies is certain. A present and continued success is expressed.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
To obey is better than sacrifice, and to love God and our neighbour better than all burnt-offerings. We are here warned not to rest in these performances. And let us beware of resting in any form. God demands the heart, and how can human inventions please him, when repentance, faith, and holiness are neglected? In the day of distress we must apply to the Lord by fervent prayer....
Read full commentary →I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me.
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KJV Study Commentary
The surprising clarification: 'I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me.' God's complaint is not about neglecting sacrifices--they have been offered 'continually.' The problem lies elsewhere, in the attitude and understanding behind the ritual.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **I will not . . .**—Better, *Not on account of thy sacrifices do I reprove thee, nor thy burnt offerings, which are always before me. *This part of the nation is judged not for neglect of ritual, but for mistaken regard for it. (See *Introduction *to this psalm.)
As usual in such visions of judgment (comp. Matthew 25:32) the arraigned nation is separated into two classes when brought before t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
37-41. In actual conflict, with God's aid, the defeat of his enemies is certain. A present and continued success is expressed.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
To obey is better than sacrifice, and to love God and our neighbour better than all burnt-offerings. We are here warned not to rest in these performances. And let us beware of resting in any form. God demands the heart, and how can human inventions please him, when repentance, faith, and holiness are neglected? In the day of distress we must apply to the Lord by fervent prayer....
Read full commentary →I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds.
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KJV Study Commentary
God's needlessness: 'I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds.' God does not require Israel's animals as if He lacked resources. The possessive pronouns ('thy house,' 'thy folds') emphasize that the animals belong to the worshiper, not originally to God who needs nothing.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9-18) Notice the fine tone of irony that pervades this rebuke, the best weapon against ritualistic errors.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
42. This conquest was complete.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
To obey is better than sacrifice, and to love God and our neighbour better than all burnt-offerings. We are here warned not to rest in these performances. And let us beware of resting in any form. God demands the heart, and how can human inventions please him, when repentance, faith, and holiness are neglected? In the day of distress we must apply to the Lord by fervent prayer....
Read full commentary →For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
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KJV Study Commentary
Divine ownership: 'For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.' God already owns all animals everywhere. 'A thousand hills' poetically expresses comprehensive ownership. Sacrifice doesn't give God what He lacks but acknowledges what He already possesses.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **A thousand hills.**—Literally, *mountains of a thousand, *an expression for which there is no analogy, but which might conceivably mean, “mountains where the cattle are by thousands;” but surely the LXX. and Vulg. are right here, in rendering “oxen” instead of “a thousand,” and we should read “hills of oxen.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
43-45. Not only does He conquer civil foes, but foreigners, who are driven from their places of refuge.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
To obey is better than sacrifice, and to love God and our neighbour better than all burnt-offerings. We are here warned not to rest in these performances. And let us beware of resting in any form. God demands the heart, and how can human inventions please him, when repentance, faith, and holiness are neglected? In the day of distress we must apply to the Lord by fervent prayer....
Read full commentary →I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. mine: Heb. with me
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.</strong> In this judicial psalm where God summons His people to judgment, He asserts His comprehensive knowledge and absolute ownership of all creation. The Hebrew verb <em>yada</em> (יָדַע, "know") signifies intimate, experiential knowledge—not mere intellectual awareness but complete, personal acquaintance ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Wild beasts.**—Literally, *that which moveth. *(Comp. Psalm 80:13.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
43-45. Not only does He conquer civil foes, but foreigners, who are driven from their places of refuge.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
To obey is better than sacrifice, and to love God and our neighbour better than all burnt-offerings. We are here warned not to rest in these performances. And let us beware of resting in any form. God demands the heart, and how can human inventions please him, when repentance, faith, and holiness are neglected? In the day of distress we must apply to the Lord by fervent prayer....
Read full commentary →If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
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KJV Study Commentary
The reductio ad absurdum: 'If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.' The hypothetical is absurd--God is not hungry. But even if He were, He wouldn't depend on humans. The whole world belongs to Him; all its fullness is at His disposal.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
43-45. Not only does He conquer civil foes, but foreigners, who are driven from their places of refuge.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
To obey is better than sacrifice, and to love God and our neighbour better than all burnt-offerings. We are here warned not to rest in these performances. And let us beware of resting in any form. God demands the heart, and how can human inventions please him, when repentance, faith, and holiness are neglected? In the day of distress we must apply to the Lord by fervent prayer....
Read full commentary →Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
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KJV Study Commentary
The absurdity continues: 'Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?' God has no physical needs that sacrifices could meet. The questions are rhetorical, exposing the foolishness of thinking ritual could supply the infinite, self-sufficient God. True worship must involve something other than material transfer.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**46. The Lord liveth--**contrasts Him with idols (1Co 8:4).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
To obey is better than sacrifice, and to love God and our neighbour better than all burnt-offerings. We are here warned not to rest in these performances. And let us beware of resting in any form. God demands the heart, and how can human inventions please him, when repentance, faith, and holiness are neglected? In the day of distress we must apply to the Lord by fervent prayer....
Read full commentary →Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:
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KJV Study Commentary
What God actually wants: 'Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High.' Thanksgiving (<em>todah</em>) acknowledges God's gifts rather than attempting to pay Him. Paying vows means fulfilling promises made to God. Both are relational, responsive acts rather than transactional exchanges.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Offer.**—Gratitude, and the loyal performance of known duties, are the ritual most pleasing to God. Not that *the verse *implies the cessation of outward rites, but the subordination of the outward to the inward, the form to the spirit. (See Psalm 51:17-19.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**47-48. avengeth me--**His cause is espoused by God as His own.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
To obey is better than sacrifice, and to love God and our neighbour better than all burnt-offerings. We are here warned not to rest in these performances. And let us beware of resting in any form. God demands the heart, and how can human inventions please him, when repentance, faith, and holiness are neglected? In the day of distress we must apply to the Lord by fervent prayer....
Read full commentary →And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
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KJV Study Commentary
The prayer invitation: 'And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.' God offers relationship: call on Him in trouble, receive deliverance, respond with glory. This is not transaction but covenant--mutual commitment, with God initiating and sustaining.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**47-48. avengeth me--**His cause is espoused by God as His own.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 7-15**
To obey is better than sacrifice, and to love God and our neighbour better than all burnt-offerings. We are here warned not to rest in these performances. And let us beware of resting in any form. God demands the heart, and how can human inventions please him, when repentance, faith, and holiness are neglected? In the day of distress we must apply to the Lord by fervent prayer....
Read full commentary →But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
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KJV Study Commentary
The shift to the wicked: 'But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?' The wicked person recites God's laws and claims covenant relationship, but their behavior contradicts their profession. Religious talk without righteous life is condemned.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **But.**—The psalm here turns to address a worse class, those who, while undisguisedly wicked, shelter themselves under the name of the covenant.
**What hast thou to do?**—*i.e., how darest thou?*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
49-50. Paul (Ro 15:9) quotes from this doxology to show that under the Old Testament economy, others than the Jews were regarded as subjects of that spiritual government of which David was head, and in which character his deliverances and victories were typical of the more illustrious triumphs of David's greater Son. The language of Psa 18:50 justifies this view in its distinct allusion to the gre...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-23**
Hypocrisy is wickedness, which God will judge. And it is too common, for those who declare the Lord's statutes to others, to live in disobedience to them themselves. This delusion arises from the abuse of God's long-suffering, and a wilful mistake of his character and the intention of his gospel. The sins of sinners will be fully proved on them in the judgment of the great day...
Read full commentary →Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.
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KJV Study Commentary
The root problem: 'Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.' Despite reciting statutes, the wicked person hates the instruction those statutes contain. Casting words 'behind thee' means treating them as irrelevant, passed over, ignored. Scripture quoted is Scripture ignored.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
49-50. Paul (Ro 15:9) quotes from this doxology to show that under the Old Testament economy, others than the Jews were regarded as subjects of that spiritual government of which David was head, and in which character his deliverances and victories were typical of the more illustrious triumphs of David's greater Son. The language of Psa 18:50 justifies this view in its distinct allusion to the gre...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-23**
Hypocrisy is wickedness, which God will judge. And it is too common, for those who declare the Lord's statutes to others, to live in disobedience to them themselves. This delusion arises from the abuse of God's long-suffering, and a wilful mistake of his character and the intention of his gospel. The sins of sinners will be fully proved on them in the judgment of the great day...
Read full commentary →When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. hast: Heb. thy portion was with
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KJV Study Commentary
Evidence of wickedness: 'When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.' The wicked person's actions contradict the statutes they recite. Consenting with thieves and partnering with adulterers violate commandments eight and seven while the lips recite all ten.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Thou consentedst with him**—*i.e.*, *hast pleasure in. *(Comp. Job 34:9.)
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-23**
Hypocrisy is wickedness, which God will judge. And it is too common, for those who declare the Lord's statutes to others, to live in disobedience to them themselves. This delusion arises from the abuse of God's long-suffering, and a wilful mistake of his character and the intention of his gospel. The sins of sinners will be fully proved on them in the judgment of the great day...
Read full commentary →Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. givest: Heb. sendest
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KJV Study Commentary
Speech sins: 'Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.' The organ used to recite God's law is also used for evil speech and crafted deception. 'Frameth' suggests deliberate, skilled construction of lies. The same mouth 'takes the covenant' and 'frames deceit.'
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **Givest.**—Literally, *lettest loose.*
**Frameth.**—Literally, *weaves. *So LXX. To *weave snares *is a common figure in all languages. Comp.
“My brain, more busy than the labouring spider,
Weaves tedious snares to trap mine enemies.”
SHAKSPERE: 2 *Henry VI. *3:2.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
PSALM 19 Psa 19:1-14. After exhibiting the harmonious revelation of God's perfections made by His works and His word, the Psalmist prays for conformity to the Divine teaching.
**1. the glory of God--**is the sum of His perfections (Psa 24:7-10; Ro 1:20).
**firmament--**another word for "heavens" (Ge 1:8).
**handywork--**old English for "work of His hands."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-23**
Hypocrisy is wickedness, which God will judge. And it is too common, for those who declare the Lord's statutes to others, to live in disobedience to them themselves. This delusion arises from the abuse of God's long-suffering, and a wilful mistake of his character and the intention of his gospel. The sins of sinners will be fully proved on them in the judgment of the great day...
Read full commentary →Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son.
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KJV Study Commentary
Family betrayal: 'Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son.' Even family bonds don't prevent the wicked person's malicious speech. 'Sitting and speaking' suggests deliberate, leisured gossip, not momentary outbursts. The closest relationships suffer their destructive tongue.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **Sittest.**—Rather, as in Psalm 10:8; Psalm 17:12, *lurkest.*
**Slanderest.**—Literally, *givest a thrust*; but, from the parallelism, used of *words *that often hurt more than *blows.*
**Mother’s son.**—In a country where polygamy was practised, this marks a closer relationship than the more general “brother” would do. (See Song of Solomon 1:6, Note.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. uttereth--**pours forth as a stream; a perpetual testimony.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-23**
Hypocrisy is wickedness, which God will judge. And it is too common, for those who declare the Lord's statutes to others, to live in disobedience to them themselves. This delusion arises from the abuse of God's long-suffering, and a wilful mistake of his character and the intention of his gospel. The sins of sinners will be fully proved on them in the judgment of the great day...
Read full commentary →These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
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KJV Study Commentary
God's patience misinterpreted: 'These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself.' Divine patience is mistaken for indifference or approval. The wicked projects their own character onto God, assuming He shares their tolerance for sin. But silence is not endorsement.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) The forbearance of God (intended to give room for repentance, Romans 2:4) is misconstrued. Men come to think the Divine Being as indifferent to evil as themselves.
**That I was altogether.**—We might render, *that I was actually.*
**And set them in order.**—The insertion of “them,” referring back to “these things,” is rather confusing. Better supply *thine offences. *All the sins of the wicke...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3. Though there is no articulate speech or words, yet without these their voice is heard (compare Margin).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-23**
Hypocrisy is wickedness, which God will judge. And it is too common, for those who declare the Lord's statutes to others, to live in disobedience to them themselves. This delusion arises from the abuse of God's long-suffering, and a wilful mistake of his character and the intention of his gospel. The sins of sinners will be fully proved on them in the judgment of the great day...
Read full commentary →Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
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KJV Study Commentary
The warning: 'Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.' The invitation to 'consider' offers opportunity for repentance. But continued forgetfulness leads to judgment described in violent imagery. 'None to deliver' emphasizes that no one can rescue from God's judgment.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. Their line--**or, "instruction"--the influence exerted by their tacit display of God's perfections. Paul (Ro 10:18), quoting from the Septuagint, uses "sound," which gives the same sense.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-23**
Hypocrisy is wickedness, which God will judge. And it is too common, for those who declare the Lord's statutes to others, to live in disobedience to them themselves. This delusion arises from the abuse of God's long-suffering, and a wilful mistake of his character and the intention of his gospel. The sins of sinners will be fully proved on them in the judgment of the great day...
Read full commentary →Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God. that: Heb. that disposeth his way
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KJV Study Commentary
The summary: 'Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.' True worship is praise that glorifies God and lifestyle that reflects His character. 'Ordering conversation' (Hebrew <em>derek</em>, way) refers to the whole pattern of life. Those who worship truly and live rightly see God's salvation.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **Offereth praise.**—Better, s*acrificeth thanksgiving, *as in Psalm 50:14; the poet here sums up what he has previously said. This clause must therefore be considered as addressed to the sincere *formalist, *the next to the *openly wicked.*
**To him that ordereth . . .**—Literally, as the text stands, *placeth his way, *which is hardly intelligible. The version of Symmachus suggests the read...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5-6. The sun, as the most glorious heavenly body, is specially used to illustrate the sentiment; and his vigorous, cheerful, daily, and extensive course, and his reviving heat (including light), well display the wondrous wisdom of his Maker.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 16-23**
Hypocrisy is wickedness, which God will judge. And it is too common, for those who declare the Lord's statutes to others, to live in disobedience to them themselves. This delusion arises from the abuse of God's long-suffering, and a wilful mistake of his character and the intention of his gospel. The sins of sinners will be fully proved on them in the judgment of the great day...
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