Matthew Henry's Complete Bible Commentary

Verses 1—6

It is probable that Asaph was not only the chief musician, who was to put a tune to this psalm, but that he was himself the penman of it; for we read that in Hezekiah’s time they praised God in the words of David and of Asaph the seer, 2 Chronicles 29:30. Here is, MHBCC 529.2

I. The court called, in the name of the King of kings (Psalms 50:2): The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken—El, Elohim, Jehovah, the God of infinite power justice and mercy, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. God is the Judge, the Son of God came for judgement into the world, and the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of judgment. All the earth is called to attend, not only because the controversy God had with his people Israel for their hypocrisy and ingratitude might safely be referred to any man of reason (nay, let the house of Israel itself judge between God and his vineyard, Isaiah 5:3), but because all the children of men are concerned to know the right way of worshipping God, in spirit and in truth, because when the kingdom of the Messiah should be set up all should be instructed in the evangelical worship, and invited to join in it (see Malachi 1:11, 10:34), and because in the day of final judgment all nations shall be gathered together to receive their doom, and every man shall give an account of himself unto God. MHBCC 529.3

II. The judgment set, and the Judge taking his seat. As, when God gave the law to Israel in the wilderness, it is said, He came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir, and shone forth from Mount Paran, and came with ten thousands of his saints, and then from his right hand went a fiery law (Deuteronomy 33:2), so, with allusion to that, when God comes to reprove them for their hypocrisy, and to send forth his gospel to supersede the legal institutions, it is said here, 1. That he shall shine out of Zion, as then from the top of Sinai, Psalms 50:2. Because in Zion his oracle was now fixed, thence his judgments upon that provoking people denounced, and thence the orders issued for the execution of them (Joel 2:1): Blow you the trumpet in Zion. Sometimes there are more than ordinary appearances of God’s presence and power working with and by his word and ordinances, for the convincing of men’s consciences and the reforming and refining of his church; and then God, who always dwells in Zion, may be said to shine out of Zion. Moreover, he may be said to shine out of Zion because the gospel, which set up spiritual worship, was to go forth from Mount Zion (Isaiah 2:3, 4:2), and the preachers of it were to begin at Jerusalem (Luke 24:47), and Christians are said to come unto Mount Zion, to receive their instructions, Hebrews 12:22, 12:28. Zion is here called the perfection of beauty, because it was the holy hill; and holiness is indeed the perfection of beauty. 2. That he shall come, and not keep silence, shall no longer seem to wink at the sins of men, as he had done (Psalms 50:21), but shall show his displeasure at them, and shall also cause that mystery to be published to the world by his holy apostles which had long lain hid, that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs (Ephesians 3:5, 3:6) and that the partition-wall of the ceremonial law should be taken down; this shall now no longer be concealed. In the great day our God shall come and shall not keep silence, but shall make those to hear his judgment that would not hearken to his law. 3. That his appearance should be very majestic and terrible: A fire shall devour before him. The fire of his judgments shall make way for the rebukes of his word, in order to the awakening of the hypocritical nation of the Jews, that the sinners in Zion, being afraid of that devouring fire (Isaiah 33:14), might be startled out of their sins. When his gospel kingdom was to be set up Christ came to send fire on the earth, Luke 12:49. The Spirit was given in cloven tongues as of fire, introduced by a rushing mighty wind, which was very tempestuous, Acts 2:2, 2:3. And in the last judgment Christ shall come in flaming fire, 2 Thessalonians 1:8. See Daniel 7:9, 10:27. 4. That as on Mount Sinai he came with ten thousands of his saints, so he shall now call to the heavens from above, to take notice of this solemn process (Psalms 50:4), as Moses often called heaven and earth to witness against Israel (Deuteronomy 4:26, 31:28, 32:21), and God by his prophets, Isaiah 1:2, 6:2. The equity of the judgment of the great day will be attested and applauded by heaven and earth, by saints and angels, even all the holy myriads. MHBCC 529.4

III. The parties summoned (Psalms 50:5): Gather my saints together unto me. This may be understood either, 1. Of saints indeed: “Let them be gathered to God through Christ; let the few pious Israelites be set by themselves;” for to them the following denunciations of wrath do not belong; rebukes to hypocrites ought not to be terrors to the upright. When God will reject the services of those that only offered sacrifice, resting in the outside of the performance, he will graciously accept those who, in sacrificing, make a covenant with him, and so attend to and answer the end of the institution of sacrifices. The design of the preaching of the gospel, and the setting up of Christ’s kingdom, was to gather together in one the children of God, John 11:52. And at the second coming of Jesus Christ all his saints shall be gathered together unto him (2 Thessalonians 2:1) to be assessors with him in the judgment; for the saints shall judge the world, 1 Corinthians 6:2. Now it is here given as a character of the saints that they have made a covenant with God by sacrifice. Note, (1.) Those only shall be gathered to God as his saints who have, in sincerity, covenanted with him, who have taken him to be their God and given up themselves to him to be his people, and thus have joined themselves unto the Lord. (2.) It is only by sacrifice, by Christ the great sacrifice (from whom all the legal sacrifices derived what value they had), that we poor sinners can covenant with God so as to be accepted of him. There must be an atonement made for the breach of the first covenant before we can be admitted again into covenant. Or, 2. It may be understood of saints in profession, such as the people of Israel were, who are called a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, Exodus 19:6. They were, as a body politic, taken into covenant with God, the covenant of peculiarity; and it was done with great solemnity, by sacrifice, Exodus 24:8. “Let them come and hear what God has to say to them; let them receive the reproofs God sends them now by his prophets, and the gospel he will, in due time, send them by his Son, which shall supersede the ceremonial law. If these be slighted, let them expect to hear from God another way, and to be judged by that word which they will not be ruled by.” MHBCC 529.5

IV. The issue of this solemn trial foretold (Psalms 50:6): The heavens shall declare his righteousness, those heavens that were called to be witnesses to the trial (Psalms 50:4); the people in heaven shall say, Hallelujah. True and righteous are his judgments, Revelation 19:1, 19:2. The righteousness of God in all the rebukes of his word and providence, in the establishment of his gospel (which brings in an everlasting righteousness, and in which the righteousness of God is revealed), and especially in the judgment of the great day, is what the heavens will declare; that is, 1. It will be universally known, and proclaimed to all the world. As the heavens declare the glory, the wisdom and power, of God the Creator (Psalms 19:1), so they shall no less openly declare the glory, the justice and righteousness, of God the Judge; and so loudly do they proclaim both that there is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard, as it follows there, Psalms 50:3. 2. It will be incontestably owned and proved; who can deny what the heavens declare? Even sinners’ own consciences will subscribe to it, and hell as well as heaven will be forced to acknowledge the righteousness of God. The reason given is, for God is Judge himself, and therefore, (1.) He will be just; for it is impossible he should do any wrong to any of his creatures, he never did, nor ever will. When men are employed to judge for him they may do unjustly; but, when he is Judge himself, there can be no injustice done. Isa. God unrighteous, who takes vengeance? The apostle, for this reason, startles at the thought of it; God forbid! for then how shall God judge the world? Romans 3:5, 3:6. These decisions will be perfectly just, for against them there will lie no exception, and from them there will lie no appeal. (2.) He will be justified; God is Judge, and therefore he will not only execute justice, but he will oblige all to own it; for he will be clear when he judges, Psalms 51:4. MHBCC 529.6