God's Final Decision

 

Psalms 50:16-23

Theme: The revival of our churches begins with a renewal in our worship of God. God’s priority is to restore His people and then return them to heartfelt (spirit) and genuine (truth) worship.

Relevance: the God of astonishing glory demands worship that work. The Christian lives in this tension between rituals and reality! Too often our churches are accused of hypocrisy: “They don’t practice what they preach.” We gather to merely go through the motions of “worship.”  

Introduction:

In Psalms 50 formalism in worship and hypocrisy in living are addressed. In prophetic fashion God exposes Israel’s sins: theft, adultery, and lying (see verses 18–20). God sternly warns of judgment; however, His promise of salvation is preferrable (see verses 22–23). There is something here we desperately must learn now….

Message:

    I.          The Great Judge’s Accusations (Ps. 50:16-21).

God demonstrates his rule and rejects worship that is intensely insincere and flagrantly hypocritical.

These “wicked” individuals only paid lip service to God’s commandments while they habitually violated them.

A.   A Rebuke for Hypocritical Living (Rejecting God’s Word) (Ps. 50:16-17).

                  1.     God decried the nation’s hypocritical living. He addresses “the wicked” (singular) in judgment, rebuking him for reciting His laws and speaking of His covenant as their profession of faith, while they actually hated God’s instruction (“discipline”).  

                  2.     Only the person with a heart for God has any right to approach Him (v. 15).  

                  3.     Though these wicked people assembled with those who loved the Lord, God knew their hearts.^[1] Jesus also knew the hearts of the hypocritical Pharisees in Matt. 23. God knows the heart still today.

                  4.     “A hypocrite is someone who not only does not practice what one preaches, but a person who does the opposite of what one preaches. A parent holding a beer and smoking a cigarette who admonishes a child not to drink or smoke, for instance, may be viewed as being a hypocrite by the child.

Similarly, critics of Christianity who raise the hypocrisy objection usually point to some moral failure in the lives of Christians they know as examples of Christianity being false or at least highly suspect. “See!” they exclaim. “There goes another hypocrite in the church! How can I believe Christianity if the church is full of hypocrites?”” -Focus on the Family, What about Hypocrites in the Church?

B.   A Rebuke for Participating in Theft (Ps. 50:18).

                  1.     The proof of this charge is given in verses 18. The wicked person “consentedst” with a “thief.”

                  2.     The verb for “consent,” meaning “to be pleased, to accept favorably,” of course, violates at least the spirit of the eighth commandment, “Thou shalt not steal” (Ex. 20:15).

                  3.     Those who were dishonest swindlers were just as much "thieves" as those who swiped fruit from open baskets. The former thief was to no longer lie or manipulate others, but personally work to provide for his own needs.

                  4.      Ephesians 4:28, Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

C.   A Rebuke for Participating in Adultery (Ps. 50:18).

1.     The wicked person has been “a partaker with adulterers.” To be a “partaker” here is to “have a portion” with those who break the marriage vow, violating the seventh commandment. “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Ex. 20:14).

2.     The seventh Commandment deals with all immorality. If a married person commits adultery, they have sex with someone they are not married to: Many people in public life have committed adultery. Such involvement is a sin against God.

3.     Cultural values: American culture often places a high value on individualism and personal freedom, which can sometimes conflict with traditional notions of monogamous (one spouse) relationships. This may make it easier for people to justify or explain infidelity.

4.     How adultery affects society? Children may experience feelings of guilt, blame themselves for the affair, or struggle with trust issues in their own future relationships. The stability and cohesiveness of their family unit are disrupted, affecting their overall well-being, academic performance, and future relationships. (From MyWellBeing,com)

5.     The command to refrain from adulterous relationships is foundational to the well ordering of the marriage bond and the promotion of intimacy between husband and wife.

         D.   A Rebuke for Participating in Lying (False Accusations) (Ps. 50:19-20).

                  1.     The wicked person has a deceitful and slanderous “tongue.” This includes “evil” coming from his “mouth,” his “tongue” framing “deceit,” and speaking “against thy brother” (Israelite) in “slander.”

                  2.     This violates the ninth commandment, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour” (Ex. 20:16).

E.   A Rebuke for Practicing Wrong Ideas and Injustices (Ps. 50:21).

                  1.     Previously, God was silent over this, and the wicked took His silence as approval: “thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself.” However, they were wrong; God has come in judgment to Israel and this is the time for Him to take action. The verb for “reprove” (v. 21) means to “judge, convict, correct.” The judgment here then is redemptive in its intention.

                  2.     The case has been made, and God has “set” the evidence “in order before thine eyes,” as in a legal case. Similarly, in Romans 2:17–24 Paul accuses the Jews of knowing the law and yet disobeying it. While preaching against stealing, they steal. While claiming to abhor adultery, they commit adultery. While hating idols, they rob temples. Thus they “boast in the law” and break it at the same time. The judgment of Psalm 50:15–17 retorts, “What business do you have declaring My statutes, seeing you do not live up to My expectations? In fact, you hate My instructions! The nerve of you…what right do you have?”

                  3.     Please do not confuse God’s patience with His approval. God’s silence did not mean that He agreed with their actions. No, the Lord would rebuke them directly for their sins.^[2]

 

II.          The Great Judge’s Decision (Ps.50:22-23).

Offer God, our royal Ruler and Great Judge, worship free of formalism and hypocrisy; offer Him heartfelt and since worship (in spirit and in truth). 

          A.   Notice His Passion—The Urgency of Worship (Ps. 50:22).

1.     God’s rebuke must be heard. If not, He will come against those who “forget” Him. He will rip the wicked apart like a wild animal and “tear [them] in pieces.” No one will be able to “deliver” them. 

2.     God’s judgment will be swift, violent, and final. He is not only against this form of hypocrisy, but he will confront and deal with people on this. He is serious about this…are we?   

          B.   Adopt His Priority—The Glory of Worship (Ps. 50:23).

1.     However, those who worship God correctly, offering (“sacrificing”) “praise” will glorify Him and those who order [their] “conversation” (“way”) according to His law will see “the salvation of God.” 

2.     How then can hypocrisy be banished from our church? How can we have a “whole” gospel? The answer, according to Psalm 50, is in worship and work, faith and obedience. Offer real worship from a heart that is free of formalism and hypocrisy. 

3.     The revival of our churches begins with a renewal in worship. Worship begins with the individual being right with God. This is God’s priority. When God restores His people, He restores them to worship: “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me.” 

4.     Asaph instructed the hypocrites to consider their ways before it was too late. Again, he called on them to sacrifice thank offerings (cf. comments on v. 14) from hearts that are right with God.^[3]

C.   Believe His Promise—The Salvation of Worship (Ps. 50:23).

1.     Those who come to Him with sacrifices of thanksgiving glorify Him; all who walk in this pathway of obedience will experience God’s marvelous deliverances in times of peril.^[4]

2.     When our faith grows, obedience will come and God will fulfill His word: “will I shew the salvation of God.”^[5]

Conclusion:

So, the Psalm indicts God’s people for formalism in worship and hypocrisy in living. “Jesus’ advice to “worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24) provides the proper correctives for these faults.”^[6]

Why do we play the hypocrite at times? Are there instances when we fail to live up to other’s expectations or our own standards? Perhaps we all are morally smaller than we would like others to believe…so we pretend or fake it until we make it? Perhaps we pretend when we are not Christlike inside…when we are not filled with the Spirit of God. There is only one way to truly live Christian and that is by Jesus Christ living through us. Listen carefully to God’s Word:

John 15:5, I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Galatians 2:20, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Let’s start with being honest with God about our need for Christ in all facets of life.

 

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^[1] Allen P. Ross, “Psalms,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 831.

^[2] Allen P. Ross, “Psalms,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 831.

^[3] Allen P. Ross, “Psalms,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 831.

^[4] William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 629.

^[5] Donald Williams and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Psalms 1–72, vol. 13, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1986), 378–384.

^[6] Allen P. Ross, “Psalms,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 831.