This psalm is from the perspective of a prophet describing God's courtroom. We will notice many first-person references (me, my, I, etc.) to God speaking.
1) God arrives to speak and to judge His people—50:1-6 a) Does God possess the necessary credentials to accomplish this task?—50:1-4 b) The defendants' (Israel) covenant relationship with the Judge—50:5-6
2) The danger of ritualism: God speaks directly to the righteous people within Israel—50:7-15 a) Righteous Israel is judged by their God—50:7 b) God does not need the gifts of righteous Israel—50:8-13 c) God commands righteous Israel to give with the right motives—50:14-15
3) The danger of rebellion: God speaks directly to wicked individual Israelites—50:16-23 a) God's rhetorical questions—50:16 b) The evidence against the foolish individual supports God's charges—50:17-20 c) God's rebuke—50:21 d) God's righteous conclusion—50:22-23
4) Things to remember: a) While judgment is guaranteed to occur, the opportunity for salvation is still available. But this opportunity does not last forever. b) It is a constant challenge to go through the motions of worship without heartfelt praise and obedience.
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By God's amazing grace alone, Phil was drawn to salvation in Jesus Christ as a college freshman. He began his pastoral ministry as an assistant pastor (working specifically with youth and music) in 1983 while in seminary. He became the senior pastor here at Calvary in December...