Псалом 49

The writer of the psalm was Asaph (see about him in the introduction to the Psalter). One might think that this Asaph was a contemporary of David and the psalm should therefore be considered written during the reign of David. The psalm represents a denunciation of the Jews for the spread among them of the view of worship and pleasing God as an external form, as if only observance of the law from the external side, why the one who brought, for example, a sacrifice did not have a repentant, spiritual mood (Ps. 49: 4, 17, 18, 21). Indeed, the solemn arrangement of external worship, introduced by David, could dazzle with its pomp and splendor a Jew, who was generally inclined to everything external and sensual, and therefore instill the conviction that the entire essence of pleasing God lies in observing the external aspect of worship. This false view had to be dispelled, which is what this psalm of Asaph aims to achieve. David expressed the same concern when, when transferring the Icon of the Covenant to Zion, he demanded moral purity and inner enlightenment from the inhabitants of the latter (see Ps. 14). The agreement of this psalm with the era of David's time, as well as the similarity of its content with the psalms of David, confirm the assumption of its origin from the era of David and of the writer Asaph as a contemporary of that king. The God of gods calls His people, the Jews, to judgment before Himself (1–6). He menacingly tells him: “I rebuke you not for the sacrifices you make, but for your mood. I don't need your sacrifices. I do not need them for food, since all animals and birds belong to Me and are in My power (7-13). Bring Me praise and make vows, then in times of trouble I will deliver you (14–15). You are a sinner: you only outwardly observe My statute, but you live with adulterers, you are deceitful, you hate your brother. For this I will punish you. He will receive a reward who honors Me internally and follows My commandments in his life” (16-23). Ps.49:1. God of Gods, the Lord has spoken and called upon the earth, from the rising of the sun to the west. "God of gods". The repetition of the same word is used to enhance its meaning, such as vanity of vanities, song of songs, etc. “God of gods” means the highest God. By gods we must understand pagan deities, for which, although a true Jew did not recognize real existence and living power, he could not ignore the belief in them, since these beliefs in false gods were widespread among the neighbors of the pagans, and the Jews themselves were often carried away by them. By indicating that the Lord, the God of the Jews, is the God of gods, the psalmist establishes the truth and height of the Jews' beliefs in the Lord, as the one and highest above all the earth. This same instruction determines the importance and seriousness of obedience to Him and the great crime of offending Him by disobedience to His commandments. – “Calls the earth” – The depicted judgment of God over the Jews is carried out before the whole earth, since the Lord is God and the Lord of all living things. – “From sunrise to the west” – two opposite sides of the world are taken to mean the whole world. Ps.49:2. From Zion, which is the height of beauty, God appears, "From Zion, which is the height of beauty." – Mount Zion, which in its appearance is the crown of beauty, especially because the Lord himself dwells in it. Ps.49:3. Our God comes, and not in silence: before Him is a consuming fire, and around Him is a great storm. “Before Him is a consuming fire, and around Him is a great storm.” A picture reminiscent of the appearance of the Lord in Psalm 17. These images mean Divine Justice, which does not allow evil to triumph and destroys it, just as fire frees metals from ligature. “A strong storm” is a symbol of His power. Ps.49:5. “Gather to Me My saints, who have entered into covenant with Me by sacrifice.” “My Saints,” that is, the Jews who are called by God to be a holy nation (Ex. 19:6). - “Those who entered into a covenant with Me through sacrifice” - refers to the sacrifices made by the Jews at Sinai, as an external sign of the solemnity of the moment. Ps.49:8. It is not for your sacrifices that I will rebuke you; Your burnt offerings are always before Me; God reproaches the Jews not for the “sacrifices” that they made, but for the mood and meaning that they connected with this sacrifice. - “Your burnt offerings are always before Me” - probably indicates a constant burnt offering, which was offered daily in the church in the morning and evening. Ps.49:12. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the universe and everything that fills it are Mine. Ps.49:13. Do I eat the flesh of oxen and drink the blood of goats? Ps.49:14. Sacrifice praise to God and pay your vows to the Most High, Ps.49:15. and call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me.” God does not need sacrifices to feed Him. If they had only such an external meaning, then the Lord, in whose power the whole world is, would not need them. What is important in a sacrifice is not the substance offered, but the “praise” and those “vows” that should accompany this offering. By praise we mean a reverent feeling before God, that feeling that lies at the basis of vows, as obligations imposed by a person voluntarily before the face of the Lord, and therefore with an awareness of the importance of their meaning. Prayer to God during such sacrifices is pleasing to Him and He will deliver the one praying on the day of trouble. Such a person is righteous before Him. Ps.49:16. But God says to the sinner: “Why are you preaching My statutes and taking My covenant in your mouth? Ps.49:17. but do you yourself hate My instruction and cast My words aside for yourself? Ps.49:18. when you see a thief, you associate with him, and associate with adulterers; Ps.49:19. you open your mouth to slander, and your tongue weaves deceit; Ps.49:20. you sit and speak against your brother, you slander your mother’s son; He is a sinner before Him and deserves punishment “whoever preaches His statutes takes His covenant... but he himself hates His instruction and casts His words aside for himself.” External piety alone, ostentatious, but without deeds corresponding to the words, is an insult to God, neglect of His commandments (“throwing oneself aside”). Ps.49:21. you did this, and I was silent; you thought that I was the same as you. I will expose you and bring [your sins] before your eyes. “You did this, and I was silent,” i.e. God does not immediately, in his long-suffering way, reprove and punish the sinner, but gives him the opportunity to correct himself and make amends for his behavior. From this “silence” of God, slowness in sending punishment, the wicked makes the absurd conclusion that God is the same as him, that is, content only with external pleasing to God, external sacrifices, and not with the internal mood and the corresponding behavior of a person, God will expose such a person and punish. Ps.49:23. Whoever sacrifices praise honors Me, and whoever watches his path, I will show God’s salvation to him.” A true worshiper of God is one who makes sacrifices to Him with a sincere feeling of reverence for Him and takes care that his outer behavior and actions are consistent with this mood. “Never, says Fenelon, could any Greek or Latin ode reach the height of the psalms. For example, the one that begins with the words: “The God of gods, the Lord spoke, and called the earth,” surpasses all human imagination” (Viguru). You might be interested in: