The over-all message of
Psalm 50 is actually a rebuke upon the Religious hypocrite who is determined to
ACT OUT VARIOUS religious rituals, but refuses to offer God the Thanksgiving-Glory
due Him. The Psalmist Asaph is warning the hypocrite to mend his ways by
reflecting upon the UNSEEN Saviour Who is only SEEN by the eye of Faith.
While the hypocrite is able to perform outward works, in
a show of religious observances, he is unable to manufacture sincere gratitude
for the work of Grace. He is unable to be sincerely thankful for the various
Providences that have blessed him and guided him throughout his life, simply
because he has not actually experienced
the work of grace.
This Psalm is a wake-up call
for all of us, who have reaped an abundance of God’s Blessings, and yet
remain in a posture of murmuring and discontentment.
Jonathan Edwards notes that…
“Affections that are truly spiritual and gracious…arise
from those influences and operations on the heart, which are spiritual and
Divine.” Religious Affections p 197
According to the puritans, Edwards and Thomas Shepherd,
Asaph the Psalmist is exposing two kinds of hypocrites; the Legal and
the Evangelical.
Edwards observes,
“There are two sorts of hypocrites: the first, are
deceived with their outward morality and external religion… The other, are
those that are deceived with false discoveries and elevations, which
often cry down works, and men’s own righteousness, and talk much of free grace,
but at the same time, make a righteousness of their discoveries, and of their
humiliation, and exalt themselves to heaven with them.
These two kinds of hypocrites Mr. Shepherd, in his
ex-position of the Parable of the 10 Virgins, distinguishes by the names of legal and evangelical hypocrites, and often speaks of the latter as the
worst. And ‘tis evident that the latter are commonly by far the most confident
in their hope, and with the most difficulty brought from it.” Ibid P173
Asaph identifies the first hypocrite as one that is
deceived by the keeping of outward ceremonies in verses 9-13 he is the
legalist.
Ps 50:9 I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he
goats out of thy folds. 10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the
cattle upon a thousand hills. 11 I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the
wild beasts of the field are mine. 12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee:
for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. 13 Will I eat the flesh of
bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
In these verses Aspah
identifies the Evangelical moralist, who is actually an antinomian, who relates
to the Covenant of Free Grace, but is void of true Love toward God by not
being thankful. That is the test of sincere
love and appreciation toward God. i.e. A thankful heart.
Asaph continues to explain.
Ps 50:16 ¶ 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? 17 Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.
Asaph tells both of these hypocrites in verse 14 to…
… Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the
most High...
The problem with the hypocrite
is that he holds onto a false hope, and a false confidence that
he is one of God’s Elect.
Again Edwards observes.
“When once a hypocrite is thus established in a false
hope, he hasn’t those things to cause him to call his hope into question, that
often times, by the occasion of the doubting of true Saints. At first, he
hasn’t that cautious spirit, that great sense of the vast importance of a sure
foundation, and that dread of being deceived. The comforts of the true
Saints increase awakening and caution, and a lively sense how great a thing it
is to appear before an infinitely holy, just in of mission to judge. But
false comforts put an end to these things, and dreadfully stupefy the mind. Secondly,
the hypocrite has not the knowledge of his own blindness, and the deceitfulness
of his own heart, and that mean opinion of his own understanding, that the true
Saints has. Those that are diluted with false discoveries and affections, are
ever more highly conceded of their light and understanding.”
Drawing from the Law of God
in Leviticus 7:12, Asaph reminds the hypocrite that a
‘Thankful Posture’ is an essential component when offering up
the required ceremonial scarifies of Peace, and that thankful posture does not
exhibit itself ONLY when things are going well. Thanksgiving is the posture of
the True Saint at every season.
God is, however, very clear in that this Peace offering was to be offered WITH Thanksgiving otherwise it
would not be an acceptable
offering. Whenever contemplating the Peace Treaty, which God had CUT with
Israel, the people were to be Thankful. A
sincere heart of thanksgiving was what yoked the sacrifice with the people and
which made the sacrifice acceptable.
Ro
8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Rev George Barlow comments,
1Th
5:16 ¶ Rejoice evermore.17 Pray without ceasing.
And for the record, (to reiterate) a Thankful heart does not show itself in
giving thanks once
in a while, over the dinner table or in private devotion, or
when things go well, but rather the thankful heart is FILLED WITH Thanksgiving
at all times. Thanksgiving is the exercise of love and faith for all that God
is and in all that God does. God impresses this ROOT of LOVE in the declaration
of the Great Commandment, knowing that LOVE is the well spring of all other
affections which is inaugurated and fed by the indwelling of God, the Holy Spirit.
1. First. Thanksgiving out of a pure loving heart is the
Christian’s DUTY.
It is the WILL and thus it is the Commandment of the Sovereign King that you humble yourself and bless Him by Thanking Him. It is the WILL and thus it is the Commandment of the Sovereign King that you humble yourself and bless Him by Thanking Him.
It is the WILL and thus it is the Commandment of the Sovereign King that you humble yourself and bless Him by Thanking Him. It is the WILL and thus it is the Commandment of the Sovereign King that you humble yourself and bless Him by Thanking Him.
Those who honestly and sincerely thank God, do so out of the Spirit’s prodding
– and it is of the highest privilege to be moved by the Spirit of God. Whenever
we thank God, it is because He has given us something that was not part of our being
to begin with. The privilege is that we have been given something from
GOD!!!!
Think of it. God has given you something that you didn’t have
before and moreover that you never deserved in the first place. A heart to love
Him, Thank Him, Praise Him, and Pray to Him.We have God as our God and Father. He is also the Universal King of the
Universe. HE gives only to His Own, conferring upon them a great honor
which IN TURN Thanks Him for such a mercy.
The beginning of Wisdom is the Fear of the
LORD. That fear is an honoring and awe inspiring aspect of the saint. This impresses
upon the mind of the Christian exactly WHO GOD is, and what is commanded of him
for his own benefit. AND so it is in the saint’s best interest (in His wisdom )
To Give Thanks to the Lord.
Moses explained to Israel that obedience
to the Commands of God was WISDOM.
De
4:5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God
commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
IN Psalm 105 the Psalmist sets
Thanksgiving as a PREREQUISITE to calling on God for His Help and Deliverance.
Knowing that God is well pleased with Thanking Him, that knowledge in and of
itself is an Excellency of knowledge and understanding.
Paul tells the Philippians,
Php
3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all
things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ
The rendering of Thanksgiving is a character dynamic of the Regenerate. It
is a Necessary attribute for the Christian without which one remains doubtful
of his or her conversion.
It reminds us that He is generous because we are needy. We must be ever so
conscious of our need for charity. By accepting our poverty of body, soul and
spirit, in light of the Grace that has been given to us, we, out of sincere
NECESSITY, give thanks. The Christian should naturally take delight in Thanking God, knowing that God delights
in us, when we are sincerely Grateful. As the Apostle declares, and as all of
us should likewise declare…
Moses says this.
Le 7:11 ¶ And this is the law of the sacrifice of
peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD. 12 If he offer it for
a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving
unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and
cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.
The Law is very explicit in
what type of sacrifice this was.It was for the Peace offering, which
meant it was symbolic of the Peace Treaty between God and His People, according
to the Covenant cut with Blood – representing the Lord Jesus.
Paul explains,
Eph 2:14 ¶ For he is our peace, who hath made both one,
and hath broken down the
Whatever was offered –
whether it was the cakes mingled with oil, or the anointed unleavened wafers of
fine flour – it was UNACCEPTABLE - if
was offered without Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving
was the main Component of this ceremony of Peace and remains so throughout
eternity. It was not so much the material cakes and unleavened wafers that
Israel was thankful for, but what those things signified that moved the
people to praise and Thank God.
But there was something more to this sacrificial offering. This offering was made with an oath, It was coupled
with a VOW. In other words it was a requirement.
Ps 50:14 Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows
unto the most High…
Adam Clarke explains,
"Now these were offerings, in their spiritual and proper
meaning, which God required of the people: and as the sacrificial system was
established for an especial end; to show the sinfulness of sin, and the purity
of Jehovah, and to show how sin could be atoned for, forgiven, and removed; this
system was now to end in the thing that it signified,-[i.e.] the grand
sacrifice of Christ, which was to make atonement, feed, nourish, and save the
souls of believers unto eternal life; [and] to excite their praise and
thanksgiving; [and to] bind them to God Almighty by the most solemn vows to
live to him in the spirit of gratitude and obedience all the days of their
life. And, in order that they might be able to hold fast faith and a
good conscience, they were to make continual prayer to God, who promised to
hear and deliver them, that they might glorify him, [according to the next
verse of Ps 50:15.]..which states: Ps 50:15 And call upon me in the day of
trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”
The rendering of sincere Thanksgiving
established a spirit of gratitude which WAS REQUIRED in payment of Israel’s oath.
Biblical vows, if they were to be valid, had to be voluntary. God is calling on
Israel to voluntarily praise and give Him thanks for His fidelity and grace.
The VOW was a promise that in everything, the people of God were to ‘Give
Thanks’ from the outpouring of gratitude for the LORD and HIS work.
This is the intent of the Apostle when he counsels the
Thessalonians.
1Th 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the
will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
He makes it a point to tell
the Thessalonians that it is GOD’s WILL (Which is His commandment) that His
people render thanksgiving in everything. Paul is able to say this because he
understands that ALL THINGS work together for good.
He tells the Saints at Rome,
“It is our duty to be ever grateful... The Christian can
meet with nothing in the way of duty that is not a cause for thankfulness,
whatever suffering may be entailed. When we think of the ceaseless
stream of God’s mercies, we shall have ample reasons for [uninterrupted]
Thanksgiving.”
According to the Apostle
Paul the command to give thanks isn’t isolated from the Command to rejoice and
pray. He rather enjoins the three together.
Continual Prayer and
Rejoicing are also commanded as being part of the will of God
He puts together a kind of Trinity
of commands for the benefit and well being of the saints. Rejoicing, Prayer
and Thanksgiving.
Observe the connection made between prayer and
thanksgiving when writing to the
Philippians and Colossians,
Php 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let
your requests be made known unto God.
Col 2:7 Rooted
and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding
therein with thanksgiving.
Col 4:2 ¶
Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.
The Rev George Barlow again observes,
“The secret of a happy life is in harmony with the
divine will… It is the will of God that his people should be rejoicing,
praying, and grateful; and this will is revealed by Christ, as declared in his
gospel, as received in his church, and as observed by those in communion with
him. What a revelation is this, not of an arbitrary demand of the impossible
state of the affections toward God, but a beautiful and consolatory discovery
of the largeness of his love and of the blessed ends for which he has redeemed
us in Christ. The will of God supplies constant material for gratitude and
praise. These are the three marks of a genuine Christian. 1. To rejoice in the mercy of God. 2. To be fervent in prayer. 3.To give thanks
to God in all things.” Homiletic Commentary
pg 543
If one were to take careful
notice of the various Psalms, one would immediately see that there is a
powerful and obvious theme throughout; Praise and Thanksgiving for God.
Throughout the Old Testament the Prophets have lifted up
the Name of the LORD in Thanksgiving and Praise.
Ps 26:6 ¶ I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I
compass thine altar, O LORD: 7 That I may publish with the voice of
thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.
Ps 69:30 ¶ I will praise the name of God with a song,
and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
Ps 95:2 Let us
come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him
with psalms.
Ps 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and
into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Ps 107:22 And let
them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with
rejoicing.
Ps 116:17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of
thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.
Ps 118:1 ¶ O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good:
because his mercy endureth for ever.
Ps 147:7 Sing
unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:
Isa 51:3 For the
LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make
her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and
gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
Jer 30:19 And out
of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I
will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and
they shall not be small.
What all these Old Testament
prophets were praising and thanking God for, was not only
1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Co 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us
to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in
every place.
2Co 9:15 Thanks
be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
Col 1:12 ¶ Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath
made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.
Re 4:9 And when those beasts give glory and honour and
thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
Re 11:17 Saying,
We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come;
because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
Consider for a moment the ROOT of Thanksgiving
The root of a Thankful
heart is LOVE ; a Love Toward God. When the heart is filled with LOVE and
Devotion to God, it is reflected in Thanksgiving. This type of Love focuses on
God and His Redemption though the Crucified and Risen Lord Christ. Love toward God is expressed in
Thanksgiving. There is no other way about it. If you do not have a thankful
heart you may not be a Christian.
De 6:4 ¶ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5
And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy might.
Jesus adds an additional
but extremely important nuance to the Commandment.
Mt 22:37 Jesus
said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
The sincere contemplation
of the mercy of God with the mind should, result in a brokenness to the point
of praise and thanksgiving. This is to be expanded further to include a love
toward our neighbor which Jesus declares as the second great commandment.
Mt 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself.
This commandment teaches us
that the hypocrite’s thanksgiving, IF HE SHOWS ANY SIGN OF BEING THANKFUL, only
goes as far as himself and not to his neighbor.
Observe the parable of the wicked Hypocrite.
Lu 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the
one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself, God, I thank
thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers,
or even as this publican.
You see this man VERBALLY
gave thanks, but his heart was far from the love of God and love toward his
neighbor, rendering his thanksgiving UNACCEPTABLE even damnable.
The Great Puritan Thomas Vincent explains that it is
LOVE toward God that excites all other reactions, and in this case Thanksgiving.
He lists 8 considerations
for the Christian to contemplate which can be used to encourage and excite the
heart and mind to Love and Thanksgiving.
2. Second: Thanksgiving is a PRIVILEDGE.
3. Third: It is a great HONOR
to be able to Thank God.
4. Fourth: There is also WISDOM
in rendering Thanksgiving to God.
6 Keep therefore
and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the
nations…
Ps 105:1 ¶ O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his
name: make known his deeds among the people.
5. Fifth: There is also an EXCLLENCY
in Thanking God.
6. Six: There is also the NECESSITY
of Giving Thanks.
7. Seventh: There is also a USEFULLNESS
in the giving of Thanks.
8. Finally, Thanksgiving is A
DELIGHTFUL practice.
2Co 9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. AMEN
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