Homilist Psalm 50:1-23 The mighty God, even the LORD, has spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof.… I. A SOLEMN JUDGMENT AWAITS THE RELIGION OF MAN. 1. Its Author. "The mighty God," etc. (1) Omniscient. (2) Absolutely righteous. 2. Its witnesses. "He hath called the earth," etc. 3. Its grandeur. "Our God shall come," etc. The Eternal seems now silent; souls deafened by sin hear not His voice, but He will speak in thunder to them in the coming day. 4. Its officers (ver. 5). Who are the officers? (Matthew 24:31; Psalm 104:4). "Gather My saints;" what a gathering! From whence? To whom? What for? 5. Its rectitude (ver. 6). We may deceive ourselves, as well as others now; but the undeceiving period draweth near, and a period of inexpressible solemnity it will be to us all. II. THE WORTHLESSNESS OF MERE CEREMONY IN THE RELIGION OF MAN. 1. You can give God nothing in your offerings. All belongs to Him. 2. He requires nothing. He is absolutely independent (vers. 14, 15). III. The VALUE OF RIGHT-HEARTEDNESS in the religion of man. 1. The nature of spiritual religion. (1) Hearty gratitude. "Offer unto God thanksgiving." Not because our thanksgiving is of any service to Him; but because it is right that His moral creatures should appreciate the favours He bestows upon them. Because it is necessary to their own virtue and happiness. Genuine thankfulness of heart to God is the paradise of spirits. Heaven is praise. (2) Hearty vows. "Pay thy vows unto the Most High." Resolve to love, worship, and obey the great God; and in genuine earnestness carry out the vows in daily life. (3) Hearty prayer. "Call upon Me in the day of trouble" — with thine own voice, in thine own language, from thy own heart (Philippians 4:6). 2. The advantages of spiritual religion. (1) Divine deliverance. "I will deliver thee."(2) Divine approbation. "Thou shall glorify Me." That is, thou shall honour Me. What a reward! (Homilist.) Parallel Verses KJV: {A Psalm of Asaph.} The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.WEB: The Mighty One, God, Yahweh, speaks, and calls the earth from sunrise to sunset. |
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