Latest / Reformed Thinking / Worship God in Truth, Not Empty Ritual (Psalm 50) | Charles Spurgeon
Transcript
- 0:00Welcome to Reformed Thinking, our space for examining the
- 0:03source material that helps us grow in knowledge and godliness.
- 0:06This is the deep dive, and today we are opening Charles
- 0:09Spurgeon's classic commentary, The Treasury of David.
- 0:14We're going to be focusing specifically on the really
- 0:16dramatic structure and frankly, the weighty content of Psalm 50.
- 0:21Our mission today is to give you a shortcut to understanding this
- 0:23incredible Psalm. It lays out God's vision for
- 0:27judgment and true spiritual worship in a way that, well, it
- 0:30shocked the Israelites of that time, and it should certainly
- 0:33challenge us. Today.
- 0:34We're going to examine the setting of the divine court, the
- 0:37startling futility of empty ritual, and the the severe
- 0:40indictment against hypocritical living.
- 0:42Let's unpack the source material.
- 0:44OK, so Psalm 50 sets a unique tone right from the very start.
- 0:47Doesn't begin with a prayer or, you know, historical recounting.
- 0:50It opens with this unparalleled forceful summons, establishing a
- 0:54divine courtroom drama that Spurgeon describes as just,
- 0:59grand and striking. A courtroom drama?
- 1:01That's a great way to put it. It really is, yeah.
- 1:03And if you look at the very first verse, it details the
- 1:06supreme authority of the speaker.
- 1:08The source highlights the three glorious names of God used to
- 1:11issue this decree. El Elohim and Jehovah.
- 1:16Exactly. And this isn't just repetition
- 1:19for style, it's a powerful assertion of full triune
- 1:23authority. Right El the Almighty speaks of
- 1:26his sheer might, Elohim that references him as the only
- 1:31perfect and sovereign object of adoration, the Creator and
- 1:34Jehovah and Jehovah the self existent one, which speaks of
- 1:37the God of covenant and eternal presence.
- 1:39So these names aren't just tucked into the middle of the
- 1:41verse somewhere. Not at all.
- 1:43They are placed right in the forefront.
- 1:45Spurging compares it to the full titles of a powerful monarch
- 1:48issuing a global decree. It's meant to grant the address
- 1:51maximum gravity. So this is a declaration that
- 1:53you simply cannot ignore. You can't, and that immediately
- 1:57addresses a common misconception, I think.
- 1:59How so? Well, when we think of a king
- 2:01issuing A decree, they sign it once.
- 2:03But here, the source material shows the psalmist is
- 2:05underscoring every single aspect of God's rule.
- 2:07His might, his person, his relationship to his people.
- 2:11All of it. It's an overkill of authority,
- 2:14if you will, to make sure everyone is paying attention.
- 2:17And this powerful figure, described in verse one, has
- 2:19spoken and called the earth from the rising of the sun until the
- 2:23going down thereof. And that's key.
- 2:27This isn't a regional summons for Judah or Jerusalem, and it's
- 2:30so global. This is Jehovah summoning all
- 2:33mankind. Spurgeon stressed that this
- 2:36confirms God's dominion extends over the entire globe.
- 2:39By commanding the East and the West, the absolute extent of the
- 2:43Lord's authority is established. It signals that this trial, this
- 2:46judgement, is universal in scope.
- 2:48Which means that slighting this call, I mean just showing
- 2:52indifference to this declaration, becomes an act of
- 2:54high provocation. An extremely provocative act.
- 2:57Our listener needs to grasp that this isn't an optional hearing.
- 3:00This is a mandatory appearance before the ultimate authority.
- 3:03Absolutely. And then the location of the
- 3:04judges revealed in verse 2, which is just stunning from a
- 3:07narrative perspective. Out of Zion, the perfection of
- 3:10beauty, God hath shine. Yes.
- 3:12And we have to ask, why Zion? It's not the highest mountain or
- 3:16the grandest city architecturally.
- 3:18Not at all. Zion is referenced here because
- 3:21it is the place made perfect in beauty by virtue of God's
- 3:25indwelling presence among His chosen people.
- 3:28The glory of God is now visible, and it's radiating outward from
- 3:31there. So the church, then, the visible
- 3:34community of faith that's represented by Zion, It isn't
- 3:36meant to be a dark Lantern, you know, hiding the light.
- 3:39No, it is supposed to be the Candlestick reflecting divine
- 3:42majesty to all nations. So when God shines out of Zion,
- 3:46he is revealing Himself using the witness of his gathered
- 3:49people. And this leads us to the solemn
- 3:51anticipation described in verse 3.
- 3:54The appearance is not quiet. It's not subtle.
- 3:56Our God shall come and shall not keep silence.
- 3:59Right. And Spurgeon's note here is
- 4:01fascinating because it contrasts the judge's current action with
- 4:05his past character. God had been silent.
- 4:07For a long time. For a very long time, impatience
- 4:10allowing the wicked and the formalist to continue their
- 4:12practices unchecked. But that period of
- 4:14long-suffering is now over. He comes now to speak, to accuse
- 4:18and to judge. He is breaking the great
- 4:21silence. That silence ending is a
- 4:24terrifying moment, isn't it? It's hard to wrap your head
- 4:26around a judge who sits silently for so long.
- 4:29So what does the source material suggest about why God kept
- 4:32silence in the 1st place before he breaks it in this this
- 4:35dramatic fashion? Well, the silence reflects his
- 4:39long-suffering, yes, but it also reflects A purposeful patience
- 4:42that, as we'll see later, the wicked completely
- 4:45misinterpreted. But for now, what matters is the
- 4:48manner of his coming. It is attended by these physical
- 4:52manifestations that are described as the attendance of
- 4:54justice. A fire shall devour before him,
- 4:57and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.
- 4:59The atmosphere is just incredibly severe.
- 5:02The fire is the emblem of justice and action, consuming
- 5:05everything that opposes holiness.
- 5:07And The Tempest is a token of overwhelming might.
- 5:10This isn't a gentle meeting. No, this is a courtroom under
- 5:13immediate high tension. It's so.
- 5:15Severe, in fact, that spurgeon immediately draws a parallel to
- 5:18the New Testament. He does, specifically to the
- 5:21Second Thessalonians 1.7 to 8, where the Lord Jesus is revealed
- 5:25in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not
- 5:28God. So this tribunal, whether you
- 5:30see it as the final judgment or a temporal prophetic judgment on
- 5:34Israel, it demands solemn silence from every observer.
- 5:37It does, because the judge is accompanied by the instruments
- 5:41of his wrath. And of course, a scene like this
- 5:44needs witnesses, so in verse 4, the court expands dramatically.
- 5:47Yes, the whole universe is summoned.
- 5:50He shall call to the heavens from above and to the earth.
- 5:53What does that mean practically? It means angels and men, the
- 5:57upper and lower worlds, are called to witness the solemn
- 6:00scene, But they aren't just observers.
- 6:03They're there to testify. They're there to testify to the
- 6:05truth, the divine pleading, and confess the justice of the
- 6:09divine utterance. It creates this powerful,
- 6:12inescapable legal setting. The guilty have no legitimate
- 6:15appeal because the entire universe.
- 6:17The heavens and the earth, who have seen all their actions.
- 6:19Stand as witnesses against them. No one can claim ignorance of
- 6:23the standard or, you know, unfairness in the verdict.
- 6:25Precisely. And what is the immediate
- 6:27striking purpose of this grand summons?
- 6:30Verse 4 continues. That he may judge his people.
- 6:33And that is truly arresting. Judgement doesn't start with the
- 6:36gentiles of the nations it. Begins at home.
- 6:38It begins with the visible church, those who profess the
- 6:41name of God. Spurgeon describes the trial of
- 6:44the professing people of God as an an awful ceremonial, and we
- 6:49have to clarify that word for modern listener awful here
- 6:53doesn't mean bad or disappointing, it means full of
- 6:56awe. Or finely grand, majestic.
- 7:00This is the moment the Lord will discern between His nominal and
- 7:03His real people. This is a critical theological
- 7:06point and it's aligned with the Westminster Confession, right?
- 7:09The visible church contains both believers and non believers.
- 7:12The wheat and the tares, yes. So this judgement is the moment
- 7:15of infallible separation. And it happens in open court
- 7:18before the entire assembled universe, ensuring that the
- 7:21searching quality of the judgment cannot possibly be
- 7:23evaded. This separation is then
- 7:25formalized in the command of verse 5.
- 7:27Gather my Saints together unto me.
- 7:29This is the mandate given to swift winged messengers, the
- 7:32command to separate the precious from the vial.
- 7:34All who profess to be Saints are gathered before the throne.
- 7:37But the word itself will search and try the whole group.
- 7:40It will ensuring the false are convicted and the true are
- 7:43revealed. So what's the test?
- 7:45How are the true Saints identity?
- 7:47The grand test is given immediately those that have made
- 7:51a covenant with me by sacrifice. OK, this feels like the hinge of
- 7:55the entire first section. We really need to dissect this
- 7:58phrase. We do because it governs the
- 8:00whole Psalm. Historically, the covenant with
- 8:02God was ratified by the slaying of victims, symbolized by all
- 8:06the Old Testament rituals. But Spurgeon clarifies, this
- 8:09points way beyond the blood of animals.
- 8:12It does. There are two aspects here.
- 8:15The outward form and the inward reality, the righteous accept
- 8:19this covenant with true faith in the great propitiatory
- 8:22sacrifice. OK, let's pause there for a
- 8:24quick clarification on that technical theological term
- 8:26propitiatory for our listener who might be, you know, driving
- 8:29or cooking dinner. What does that mean in this
- 8:31context? It is the action that satisfies
- 8:34God's just wrath against sin. OK, in the Old Testament, the
- 8:38animal sacrifices were placeholders or types that
- 8:42pointed forward to the ultimate sacrifice of Christ.
- 8:44So the person with true faith understood the animal sacrifice
- 8:48wasn't valuable in itself. Right.
- 8:50It was valuable because it pointed to the substitutionary
- 8:53atonement that would satisfy God's justice.
- 8:56The pretenders, the formalists, they only perform the outward
- 8:59form. They were resting in the
- 9:01ceremony, believing the act of slaughtering a Bullock was
- 9:04sufficient on its own. Exactly.
- 9:05So the gathering of the Saints in verse 5 is consequential.
- 9:09It's not just about who shows up.
- 9:10It's about who truly belongs. Right.
- 9:12Christ will own and acknowledge only those who have truly taken
- 9:16hold of His covenant through faith while on earth.
- 9:19That external covenant sign without the internal reality of
- 9:23faith and sanctification is it's worthless in the judgement.
- 9:27And finally, verse 6 gives the reason for the absolute
- 9:30infallible correctness of this judgement.
- 9:32For God is judge himself, no? Deputy.
- 9:34No deputy, no fallible human authority sits on the Great
- 9:37White Throne. The Lord, the all discerning
- 9:40one, will not be misled, unlike the priests, old, or even church
- 9:44leaders of today who can be readily deceived by an outward
- 9:47appearance. And the celestial intelligences,
- 9:50the angels, the spirits of just men, made perfect, they will
- 9:54declare his righteousness. They will marvel at the
- 9:57exactness of the severance between the true and the false.
- 10:00This is why the Psalmist inserts the word sela here, which we so
- 10:03often just skip over in modern reading.
- 10:05But if we honor that instruction, that SELA, we have
- 10:08to pause 'cause and consider the immense gravity of what was just
- 10:11discussed. We have the threefold name of
- 10:13God, the universal summons, the fire and Tempest of justice, and
- 10:17the entire universe gathered to witness the separation of the
- 10:20visible church. It's it's a huge scene.
- 10:23The central take away from this first section is this.
- 10:25The judgement is not a hidden internal affair.
- 10:28No, it is an open universal court where the standard for
- 10:32acceptance is the spiritual reality of faith in the covenant
- 10:35sacrifice, not the outward performance of ritual.
- 10:38It is a terrifying standard and it forces self examination.
- 10:42So, having established the terror and majesty of the court,
- 10:45we transition now to the core charge against Israel, the
- 10:48visible professing people of God.
- 10:50Right. The atmosphere shifts from
- 10:52establishing authority to issuing a specific indictment,
- 10:56and this address is targeted squarely at the futility of
- 10:59external worship when spiritual faith is absent.
- 11:02A critique that applies just as sharply to the visible church in
- 11:05every age. In every age, absolutely.
- 11:07In verse 7, God speaks directly here.
- 11:10All my people and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify
- 11:13against thee. He uses their covenant name,
- 11:16Israel. He's using their favorite
- 11:18position, their unique relationship, to give weight to
- 11:20what he's about to say. He is God enters the scene not
- 11:24listening to second hand rumors, but as a direct witness against
- 11:27His favored nation. He immediately opens with the
- 11:29reminder, I am God, even thy God.
- 11:32And this emphasizes their singular position and
- 11:35responsibility under the Covenant their very law began
- 11:38with. I am the Lord thy God.
- 11:40And now the judgment session opens with the same reminder.
- 11:43It signals that their unique relationship is what makes them
- 11:46so amenable to his searching reproofs.
- 11:48And here's the first major surprise for the people of that
- 11:51day, detailed in verse 8. God makes it clear He is not
- 11:54reproving them for failing and outward rights.
- 11:57Which is a stunning statement. I will not reprove thee for thy
- 12:01sacrifices, or thy burnt offerings to have been ever
- 12:04before me. They likely thought the daily
- 12:06sacrifices, the burnt offerings, the whole liturgical system,
- 12:09they thought that was everything.
- 12:11They were diligent, Spurgeon notes.
- 12:12They were probably offering sacrifices with regularity,
- 12:16maybe even with some pride. But God clarifies that their
- 12:19diligence in outward things was useless because the inner
- 12:23sacrifice of heart devotion had been neglected.
- 12:27The spiritual worship which they had forgotten is the sole matter
- 12:30here. For the Most High, the outward
- 12:32form is only precious as a help to the soul.
- 12:34Otherwise it is a dead ritual and therefore an abomination
- 12:38before the Lord. This sets the stage for a
- 12:40dramatic logical refutation. God launches into the sustained
- 12:44argument against the absurd notion that he needs or craves
- 12:48animal sacrifices. He's exposing the incredibly low
- 12:51gross ideal they held of him. As though he were some Pagan
- 12:54deity who needed physical sustenance.
- 12:56Exactly. In verses 9 through 11, he
- 12:59utterly denies the premise that he would need to take Bullock
- 13:03out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds.
- 13:06He mentions the lesser victims the he goats specifically.
- 13:09Yes, to rouse their common sense, could the great Creator
- 13:13truly find satisfaction or sustenance in these mere animal
- 13:17offerings? And the core of the argument is
- 13:19his assertion of total ownership for.
- 13:21Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a
- 13:25thousand hills. This is a revolutionary concept
- 13:28about sovereignty, even if it sounds a bit quaint to us today.
- 13:31The wild beasts, the tamer creatures, they're all his.
- 13:35Their cattle were his property already.
- 13:37Why should he be beholden to them for a gift?
- 13:39And that phrase, the cattle upon a thousand hills, is so often
- 13:42quoted, but its original context here is one of almost indignant
- 13:46refutation. If you only remember one thing
- 13:48about Song 50, it's this. God is not asking for a
- 13:51donation. He is asserting ownership of the
- 13:53entire inventory. If Spurgeon says God owns the
- 13:55cattle on 1000 Hills, what is the revolutionary take away for
- 13:59us today, especially when you think about modern church
- 14:01budgets or fundraising? It shatters the transactional
- 14:04mindset completely. When formalists brought a
- 14:08sacrifice, they viewed it as a transaction.
- 14:11I give you this, Bullock, and you give me favor or
- 14:13forgiveness. And God is saying, wait a
- 14:15minute. You're offering me something I
- 14:17already own, as if I need it. For modern believers, it means
- 14:22our giving, our tithes our service.
- 14:25None of it is a transaction to buy God's favor.
- 14:27It has to be an act of grateful worship.
- 14:29And obedience, acknowledging that the resources were his in
- 14:32the 1st place. Anything less is just spiritual
- 14:35bankruptcy. Furthermore, verse 11 stresses
- 14:37his divine knowledge alongside his possession.
- 14:40I know all the fowls of the mountain and the wild beasts of
- 14:43the fields are mine. This illustrates A wondrous
- 14:45divine knowledge that extends to every single creature he knows
- 14:49the secret hiding places in the obscure corners of the world.
- 14:52Nothing is outside his vision, his knowledge or his domain.
- 14:55Which deepens the absurdity described in verses 12 and 13.
- 14:58They are operating under the same primitive ideal as heathens
- 15:01regarding their idols, thinking they have to feed or inform
- 15:04their God. The rhetorical question is
- 15:06almost insulting and how obvious it is.
- 15:09If I were hungry, I would not tell thee, for the world is
- 15:11mine, and the fullness thereof. He would not turn suppliant to
- 15:15his own creatures. And the most pointed question
- 15:18Will I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?
- 15:21This just exposes the foolishness of anyone who
- 15:24believes outward things can gratify God.
- 15:26Except insofar as they express faith and love.
- 15:30Right Spurgeon stressed that the sacrifices of the law were
- 15:33symbolical of higher things. They were accepted only under
- 15:36their typical aspect, looking beyond the outward form to the
- 15:40spiritual reality. So if the spiritual meaning is
- 15:42missing, the ritual is gross and repulsive to the Almighty.
- 15:46So if the outward ceremonial is rejected without the internal
- 15:50heart, what does God truly accept?
- 15:53Verses 14 and 15 present the inspired rubrics, the true
- 15:57spiritual offerings that satisfy the courtroom's demand.
- 16:00And the first one is Thanksgiving.
- 16:01Offer into God Thanksgiving. And Thanksgiving is defined here
- 16:04as presenting the outward act, not as a gift that pleases him
- 16:08in itself, but as a tribute of pure gratitude.
- 16:11This is the substance and soul of sacrifice.
- 16:13It's the internal emotion of love, which was acceptable even
- 16:17before the legal ceremonials ended.
- 16:19The heart of the worshipper must be overflowing with appreciation
- 16:22for God's character and work, not dreading A transactional
- 16:26obligation. The second true offering is the
- 16:28paying of vows. And pay thy vows under the Most
- 16:31High. This means paying the promised
- 16:34love, the service you covenanted to render, and the loyalty of
- 16:38heart you vowed to maintain when you first came to faith.
- 16:40Spurgeon is uncompromising here. He is The text explicitly raises
- 16:45the question of the vanity of ordinances like baptism or the
- 16:48Lord's Supper if that vital godliness and loyalty, that vow,
- 16:52is absent from the heart. So it makes us ask ourselves,
- 16:55are we keeping the promises we made in the sight of God?
- 16:58Do we follow through on our public declaration of faith with
- 17:01private and public obedience? The focus is internal fidelity.
- 17:05And the third acceptable offering is prayer and call upon
- 17:08me in the day of trouble. This is a beautiful contrast.
- 17:11God is saying don't bring me a Bullock, bring me your problems.
- 17:14It's an acceptable worship because herein is faith
- 17:17manifested, and herein is love proven.
- 17:20For in the hour of peril, we fly to those we love.
- 17:23It's an expression of absolute reliance on him.
- 17:25Which is a far more pleasing act of worship than the heartless
- 17:28presentation of bullocks and pigots.
- 17:30And the result of this true sacrifice of the heart is
- 17:33immediate and personal. I will deliver thee, and thou
- 17:37shalt glorify me. Deliverance proves the reality
- 17:41of the sacrifice of prayer, and the grateful perception of that
- 17:44answering mercy glorifies God. As Bergen puts it, the calves of
- 17:48the stall might be a vain ablation, but the calves of
- 17:51sincere Lips are not. Spiritual worship is the
- 17:55essential matter. OK, let's transition
- 17:56dramatically now. If the formalists, those who
- 18:00kept up a respectable appearance, were rebuked for
- 18:02lack of heart devotion, how much more severe is the judgement
- 18:06against the manifestly wicked among the visible people?
- 18:08The immoral pretenders who actively violate the law.
- 18:11Right. And remember, we are still in
- 18:13the courtroom. God is not just talking to
- 18:15Israel in a field. He is now presenting, you could
- 18:18say Exhibit B, against His own people before the whole
- 18:20universe. In verse 16, God issues a direct
- 18:23challenge to the hypocrite. But unto the wicked God saith,
- 18:27What has thou to do to declare my statutes?
- 18:30This targets people who were teachers, leaders, or at least
- 18:33active professors of faith. They violate the moral law at
- 18:37the second table, yet are great sticklers for my ceremonial
- 18:41commands, fighting tooth and nail over rituals.
- 18:44They dare to teach the law and take my covenant in my mouth
- 18:47while profaning it in their lives.
- 18:49And the core theological problem, as Spurgeon identifies
- 18:52it, is that they use grace as a coverlet for sin.
- 18:56They imagine they are sound in faith while being rotten in
- 18:58life. Their wickedness disqualifies
- 19:00them completely. It does, Spurgeon argued.
- 19:03It disinherits them and puts them out of the true succession
- 19:05of ministers or professors of the faith.
- 19:07They can count up their holy days and fight for externals,
- 19:10but they despise the weightier matters of the law.
- 19:13Justice, mercy and faithfulness. Their issue is fundamentally a
- 19:16hatred of truth, which is addressed in verse 17.
- 19:19Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind
- 19:22thee. So wicked professors are often
- 19:24too conceited to be taught of God.
- 19:27They hate the instruction which they themselves give to others.
- 19:30And that second phrase, casting my words behind thee, is such a
- 19:34vigorous image. It means despising them,
- 19:37throwing them away as worthless. Or actively putting out of sight
- 19:41the parts of God's word they find obnoxious.
- 19:44Especially the practical parts, the parts dealing with daily
- 19:46duty and responsibility. They might love the parts about
- 19:49salvation in heaven, but they abhor the commandments related
- 19:52to morality and how to treat their neighbor.
- 19:54They rest the scriptures to their own destruction.
- 19:57They often disembowel texts of their plain meanings just to
- 20:00suit their lifestyle. And it's an I'll sign when a
- 20:03person cannot look a plain scripture in the face without
- 20:06trying to make it mean something less condemnatory of their sins.
- 20:10If the spirit of the covenant does not regulate their daily
- 20:13lives, they have no right to use the covenant promises in their
- 20:16mouth. And then the judge lays
- 20:17righteousness to the plummet, detailing the moral sins in
- 20:20verse 18. This demonstrates that no amount
- 20:23of theological accuracy can cover dishonesty and license.
- 20:27The first specific charge is theft and complicity.
- 20:30When thou sawest a thief, then thou consent it's to with him,
- 20:34or as some translated dids, run with him.
- 20:36Which means excusing others in trickery or even using them to
- 20:40do unjust actions, thereby making oneself an accomplice.
- 20:43Moral honesty is essential If a person acquiesces in anything
- 20:47that is not upright, whether it's business fraud, tax
- 20:50evasion, or general deceit, their religion is a lie, even if
- 20:54they never miss a Sunday service.
- 20:56We see that today in so many subtle ways, don't we?
- 20:58Perhaps in sharing misinformation or turning a
- 21:01blind eye to unethical practices because they benefit us
- 21:04financially or politically. Absolutely.
- 21:06Then the second sin detailed is lasciviousness and has been
- 21:09partaker with adulterers. This is concealing an unclean
- 21:13life under a cloak of piety, and we don't have to commit the ACT
- 21:16ourselves to be a partaker. Spurgeon's commentary is
- 21:19particularly sharp here. He notes that we partake in this
- 21:21evil by smiling at untaste jests, listening to indelicate
- 21:25expressions, or conniving at licentious behavior in our
- 21:28presence. The text affirms that without
- 21:30holiness, no person shall see the Lord.
- 21:33These filthy practices, if not purged by the blood of Jesus and
- 21:37replaced by a pursuit of holiness, will kindle a fire in
- 21:40God's anger that burns to the lowest hell.
- 21:43The hypocrite believes his Sunday piety covers his Saturday
- 21:46night license, and God is tearing that false covering
- 21:49away. The focus then narrows to the
- 21:52highly specific vile nature of slander, the sins of the tongue,
- 21:56in verses 19 and 20. The man give us thy mouth to
- 21:59evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.
- 22:02The act of giving one's mouth to evil implies an unbridled tongue
- 22:06throwing off all restraints of God's law.
- 22:09But the deceit that's framed is even worse.
- 22:11It's a deliberate, calculated slander.
- 22:14Yes, the man dexterously elaborates.
- 22:16False witness. This isn't just speaking
- 22:18thoughtlessly. Spurgeon describes this person
- 22:20as manufacturing false weaving them meticulously in his loom.
- 22:24And then retailing his destructive wares.
- 22:27Exactly. If we translate that to today,
- 22:28this is targeted character assassination.
- 22:31This is carefully curated social media outrage manufacturing
- 22:34narratives to destroy a reputation.
- 22:36It's not a heated argument, it's premeditated defamation.
- 22:39And then comes the extreme, heartbreaking example of this
- 22:42malice. Thou, citizen, speakest against
- 22:45thy brother, though slanderous line own mother's son.
- 22:48He is so devoted to defamation that he makes it his meat.
- 22:52He sits down to study and resolve upon it, even against
- 22:55his nearest kin, his spiritual brother, or even his blood
- 22:58brother. Yet this moral monster wraps
- 23:01himself in the robe of hypocrisy.
- 23:03Maybe he leads Bible studies or teaches children dreaming.
- 23:06He is an accepted worshipper. But the source materials is
- 23:09clear, God will cast all liars into hell regardless of their
- 23:13outward religious observance. They are corrupt in his sight, a
- 23:16stench in his nostrils, no matter how eloquently they speak
- 23:19of truth or salvation. And this leads us to the
- 23:21critical turning point in the indictment, verse 21, which
- 23:25explains why the sin ran so rampant among the visible
- 23:27church. God's patience was misread.
- 23:29Completely misread these things. Hast thou done?
- 23:33And I kept silence. The long-suffering of God
- 23:35reigned. No swift judgement overthrew the
- 23:37Sinner, No bolt of fire struck him down.
- 23:40And what was the infamous conclusion the Sinner drew from
- 23:42this divine silence? Thou thoughtest that I was all
- 23:45together such an one as thyself. They looked at God's patience
- 23:49and concluded he was passive, unconcerned, or or just didn't
- 23:54care about how they lived. As long as they offered external
- 23:57worship, they rudely imagined God was happy.
- 23:59As long as they paid their tithes or brought a bullet to
- 24:02the altar carrying very little. How they gain the plunder?
- 24:05Through theft or slander. This is a profoundly dangerous
- 24:08form of self deception. It is.
- 24:11It suggests that if judgement doesn't happen instantly, it
- 24:14won't happen at all, or that God silently agrees with their
- 24:17compromise. They project their own moral
- 24:19laxity onto the divine character.
- 24:21But the silence shatters. It shatters, but I will reprove
- 24:25thee and set them in order. Before thine eyes.
- 24:28God breaks the long silence and revealed his mind.
- 24:31And he will Marshall their sins in battle array.
- 24:34He will put them down item by item, classified and arranged.
- 24:38This is one of the most terrifying images in the entire
- 24:40Psalm. It is.
- 24:41Spurgeon describes this as God putting the sins down in rank
- 24:44and file has so many indictments for rebellion.
- 24:48The Sinner shall know that though God was silent for a
- 24:51while, he was never blind nor deaf.
- 24:54This methodical presentation reveals the great difference
- 24:57between the Holy judge and the self deceiving Sinner.
- 25:00They cannot contend with such an army of their own iniquities
- 25:03laid out in perfect divine order.
- 25:05As we move to the final verses, we find that the Lord is loath
- 25:09to let even the ungodly run headlong into this kind of
- 25:13destruction. That's right.
- 25:14Verse 22 issues an urgent entreaty.
- 25:16Now consider this. Take these truths to heart.
- 25:19You that forget God? And this applies equally to both
- 25:22types of sinners previously reviewed.
- 25:24Yes, the empty formalists who lack heart devotion and the
- 25:27immoral pretenders who actively violated the moral law.
- 25:30They must consider their unaccepted state and repent of
- 25:33their iniquities. This is a call to serious,
- 25:35immediate reflection. The time for the transactional
- 25:38sacrifice and the hypocritical lifestyle is over.
- 25:40The time for consideration and repentance is now.
- 25:43And this entreaty is followed immediately by a terrifying
- 25:46warning of destruction, just to make sure the audience grasps
- 25:49the urgency. Lest I tear you in pieces as the
- 25:52lion rinse his prey, and there be none to deliver.
- 25:55That metaphor conveys complete, painful and humiliating
- 25:58destruction. It does.
- 26:00It warns those who reject the mediator, those who ignore the
- 26:03spiritual covenant and insist on their own methods, that in the
- 26:06day of wrath they will sorely need one to plead for them.
- 26:09And none will be near. The language is visceral.
- 26:12It describes a power that utterly consumes its victim.
- 26:15And against this backdrop of failed sacrifices and imminent
- 26:18judgment, verse 23 counter positions the accepted spiritual
- 26:22response. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth
- 26:26me. Praise is confirmed as the best
- 26:28sacrifice, the music that Jehovah delights in.
- 26:31It is a work that exalts God, displaying the trophy of His
- 26:34goodness. When we offer praise, sincere,
- 26:37loving gratitude from a renewed mind, God is honored.
- 26:40He is not glorified by the doubts and fears of His people,
- 26:43but by their praise, which is an outflow of sincere hearts and
- 26:46grateful acknowledgement of His sovereignty and grace.
- 26:49And this isn't just singing songs, it's an intellectual and
- 26:51spiritual acknowledgement of God's worth.
- 26:54Yes, but the Psalm immediately anchors this spiritual feeling
- 26:58and practical life. The final statement links
- 27:00spiritual worship and practical life.
- 27:03And to him that order with his conversation or right will I
- 27:06show the salvation of God. And this is a crucial Reformed
- 27:09doctrinal point that we need to clarify for our listener.
- 27:12OK, this ordering of conversation or right, this holy
- 27:16living is the choice evidence of salvation.
- 27:19It is emphatically not the cause of it.
- 27:21Right, that's a key distinction. The person who orders his
- 27:24conversation to write is one who submits his whole way, his
- 27:27entire manner of life, to divine guidance and is careful to honor
- 27:32God in his daily actions. He needs salvation, because the
- 27:35best ordering of life cannot save us from the judgement of
- 27:37verse 22. Exactly.
- 27:38But that salvation he shall have being made experimentally to
- 27:42know the Lord's deliverance. The blessing is promised not to
- 27:46empty ceremonies, not to unpurified lips.
- 27:49But to grateful hearts and holy, orderly lives.
- 27:52And the two types of sacrifice, praise and an ordered life, are
- 27:55interconnected. You cannot offer the true
- 27:58sacrifice of praise in verse 23 without the obedience demanded
- 28:01by the second part of the verse. You must live in a way that
- 28:04aligns with the God you are praising.
- 28:06The ultimate synthesis of Psalm 50 is that true worship today
- 28:11and always, is spiritual. God desires the integrity of the
- 28:14heart. And that scene in both gratitude
- 28:16toward him, the sacrifices related to the first table of
- 28:19the law focused on God, and moral honesty toward our
- 28:22neighbor. Which covers the precepts of the
- 28:24second table focused on man. The entire visible Church is
- 28:28judged by whether it validates the entire law as a whole, both
- 28:31tables through heartfelt faith. The one great lesson is this.
- 28:35If you honor the visible sign, like a sacrifice or a religious
- 28:38ordinance, while neglecting the spiritual reality, faith, love,
- 28:41obedience, you are treating God as a hungry idol in need of
- 28:45food. Not as the sovereign Lord of the
- 28:47universe who owns all things. So our source material presents
- 28:50a stark alternative for you, the listener.
- 28:53You face one of two orders, either having your sins
- 28:56methodized and set an order against you in the Day of
- 28:58Judgement, like an army ready for battle.
- 29:01Or ordering your life correctly now, resulting in the clear
- 29:04revelation of the salvation of God.
- 29:06Which order characterizes your life today?
- 29:09The profound question raised by this Psalm is whether our
- 29:12adherence to the covenant is a matter of convenient outward
- 29:15ritual or a radical inward relationship that transforms our
- 29:19obedience, our finances, and even our speech.
- 29:22The deep dive encourages you to take this moment of
- 29:24consideration seriously and reflect on the implications of
- 29:27Psalm 50 for your own walk. Thank you for joining us for
- 29:30this deep dive into Spurgeon's Treasury of David.