Passage To Study:

Psalm 50:1-3

[1] The Mighty One, God the LORD, 
Has spoken and called the earth
From the rising of the sun to its going down.
[2] Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God will shine forth.
[3] Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.

Flow of the Passage:

• (Verse 1-3) - His Manner

What Do I Think About It?

(Verse 1-3) - Mighty does not modify God, but is a substantive in opposition to it. It is essentially ''The Mighty One, even the Lord". The idea is that the One speaking is the true God, the Supreme ruler of the Universe - Who has the right to judge and to execute His will. God is represented as now speaking. The authority we have mentioned is quickly exercised in a call to all of the world to come to judgment.

The reference in verse 2 to the beauty of Zion brings to mind the prior psalm where that beauty is tied to the presence of God in the midst of her. God has caused light to shine forth from out of her. The idea is that the great principles by which God will judge the world have "shined forth" from out of Zion. The reference in David's day is to the Law and to the rest of the Scripture given by that time, as well as to the word of the prophets. In our day we would have to expand this to include the revelation of Christ Who is the ultimate expression of that "shining".

It is interesting that this shining is yet future from the point of view of the writer. We would see this as further support to say that the judgment of the elect in Christ and His cross are in view as well as the ultimate judgment of the world by Christ at the Great White Throne.

The "coming" in verse 3 would thus be a coming in judgment. The NT tells us that this judgment will be accomplished by Christ as He gathers the nations before Him at the time of the end. At that time, He will not "keep silent", that is, He will not pass over or let pass any sin or trespass. The implication is that He is now ''keeping silent" regard such things. That is, He is not now exercising the fullness of judgment that He will exercise then. This is not to say that judgment is in no wise exercised now. It most assuredly is. We simply note that there are occasions where God withholds judgment until a later time.

The ''fire" is God's holiness that is the standard by which God will judge. We are reminded of Christ's coming which the Baptist proclaimed would baptize the world with the Spirit and with fire, referring to judgment. This fire is an intrinsic function of His very Being. It is why no flesh, not a part of Christ, can stand before Him. God cannot withhold any more than He can cease being holy. The only way to spare His creature is to veil Himself away from the creation and act through intermediaries.

Of course, the chief way He did this was by means of the incarnation of Christ. He did it in limited fashion by means of the Priesthood and the mechanisms in the Tabernacle and Temple. These, however, it must be remembered, were only shadows or signs that pointed to Christ.

The speech here is meant to invoke memories of the experience of the congregation at Sinai at the giving of the Law. The last phrase in this verse speaks of the fear inspiring nature of that awesome presence. Just as then, at that great and terrible day, own will quake in fear and fall on their faces in terror.

What Difference Does This Make To  Me?

This should motivate me to be sure that when I deal with the unredeemed I see to it that I present the coming wrath of God as a truth that must be grappled with. I must strive to get men to see what a serious risk they are taking by flaunting the stated intention of God to judge sin.

Is There Anything For Me To Do?

Look for opportunities to share not only the love of God, but His wrath as well.

God the Righteous Judge