The God You Think You Know
Introduction: The Taming of the Almighty
We live in an age that has domesticated God. The modern god, the god of respectable, suburban religiosity, is a tame lion. He is more of a cosmic therapist than a consuming fire. He is endlessly affirming, perpetually understanding, and never, ever judgmental. His chief attributes are niceness and tolerance. He exists to help us with our self-actualization projects. We have taken the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth and refashioned Him into a celestial butler, whose job is to fetch us what we want and to stay out of the way otherwise.
This is, of course, idolatry of the first water. It is the ancient sin of the golden calf, simply updated with better marketing. And it is precisely this kind of comfortable, convenient, and utterly false religion that God confronts in our text today. Psalm 50 is a courtroom scene. God Himself, the Mighty One, descends to lay a covenant lawsuit against His own people. He is not addressing the pagans out there, but the covenant members in here. He is speaking to those who have the Scriptures, who sing the songs, who take His covenant in their mouths. And His message is a thunderclap that shatters the stained-glass illusions of all who think that outward religious performance can coexist with inward rebellion.
The Lord here addresses the wicked within the covenant community. These are not atheists; these are church-goers. And God tells them that their worship is an abomination to Him. Why? Because they have committed the fundamental error of thinking God is just like them. They have projected their own corruption onto the Almighty and then worshiped the reflection. This passage is a divine declaration of war against all forms of hypocrisy. It is God's own testimony against those who would use His name as a cloak for their sin. It is a terrifying and necessary word for a church that is always tempted to prefer a god it can manage over the God who actually is.
The Text
But to the wicked God says, "What right have you to recount My statutes And to take My covenant in your mouth? For you hate discipline, And you cast My words behind you. When you see a thief, you are pleased with him, And you associate with adulterers. You let your mouth loose in evil And you harness your tongue for deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son. These things you have done and I kept silent; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes. Now consider this, you who forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver. He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies Me; And he who orders his way, I shall show the salvation of God."
(Psalm 50:16-23 LSB)
The Indictment of the Hypocrite (vv. 16-20)
The Lord begins His prosecution by challenging the standing of the wicked to even handle His holy things.
"But to the wicked God says, 'What right have you to recount My statutes And to take My covenant in your mouth?'" (Psalm 50:16)
This is a staggering question. God asks, "By what authority do you do these things?" These are people who know the catechism. They can recite the commandments. They speak the language of Zion. They take the covenant name of God upon their lips, perhaps in prayer, perhaps in song, perhaps in public testimony. But God says their religious talk is illegitimate. It is unauthorized. Their mouths are writing checks that their lives cannot cash. This is the essence of hypocrisy: a disconnect between confession and conduct. They honor Him with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him.
In the next verse, God exposes the root of this hypocrisy. It is not a simple failure or a momentary weakness. It is a settled hatred of God's authority.
"For you hate discipline, And you cast My words behind you." (Psalm 50:17)
The problem is not ignorance, but animosity. They "hate discipline." They despise instruction, correction, and the entire formative enterprise of discipleship. They want a crown without a cross, salvation without sanctification. And notice the active contempt: they "cast My words behind you." This is not mere forgetfulness. It is a deliberate act of rejection. They look at the authoritative Word of God and they treat it like garbage, tossing it over their shoulder as they walk away in the opposite direction. They want the comfort of the covenant without the demands of the covenant King.
This inward rebellion inevitably manifests itself in their choice of fellowship and their actions.
"When you see a thief, you are pleased with him, And you associate with adulterers." (Psalm 50:18)
A man's heart can be judged by the company he keeps. The hypocrite, who hates God's law, naturally gravitates toward those who also break it. He doesn't just tolerate the thief; he is "pleased with him." He finds a sense of camaraderie, of shared values. He makes common cause with him. The Hebrew for "associate" means that his "portion" is with adulterers. He has thrown his lot in with them. This is a complete betrayal of the call to be a separate and holy people. It shows that despite his religious vocabulary, his true citizenship is in the kingdom of darkness.
From their corrupt hearts and corrupt company flow corrupt words.
"You let your mouth loose in evil And you harness your tongue for deceit. You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son." (Psalm 50:19-20)
The mouth is "let loose," like an unchained, rabid dog, to spread evil. But the tongue is not random; it is "harnessed" for deceit. This is calculated, purposeful deception. Their speech is a tool, a weapon they wield for their own wicked ends. And where is this weapon aimed? At their own covenant family. "You sit and speak against your brother." This is not a slip of the tongue; this is a settled posture of malice. The phrase "your own mother's son" intensifies the horror of the betrayal. This is a violation of the most basic, natural, and covenantal loyalties. To slander your own brother is to saw off the branch you are sitting on. It is a self-destructive treachery that reveals a heart utterly devoid of the love of God.
The Idolater's Fatal Mistake (v. 21)
Now God reveals the reason for their brazen hypocrisy. They have made a fatal theological error, born of their own sin.
"These things you have done and I kept silent; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes." (Psalm 50:21)
Here is one of the most terrifying verses in all of Scripture. God's patience, His longsuffering, His silence, was misinterpreted by the wicked as approval. Because judgment was not executed speedily, they assumed God did not care. Or worse, they assumed God was on their side. This leads to the central sin of all idolatry: "You thought that I was just like you." They violated the fundamental Creator/creature distinction. They remade God in their own image. They imagined a God who graded on a curve, a God who hated the same people they did, a God who winked at the sins they enjoyed. They created a divine accomplice, a celestial co-conspirator.
But the silence is about to be broken. God's patience has an end. "I will reprove you." The confrontation is coming. And it will be clear, orderly, and inescapable. God will "state the case in order before your eyes." He will lay out the evidence, count by count. On the day of judgment, there will be no confusion, no plea bargaining. The righteousness of God's verdict will be manifest to all, especially to the one being condemned.
A Merciful Threat (v. 22)
Before the sentence falls, God, in His mercy, issues a final, stark warning. It is a call to repentance, framed as a loving threat.
"Now consider this, you who forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver." (Psalm 50:22)
"Consider this." Think about it. Wake up from your self-deceived slumber. The warning is for "you who forget God." This is not a passive mental lapse. In Scripture, to forget God is to willfully ignore Him, to live as though He does not exist or does not matter. It is a practical atheism, often practiced by people who fill the pews every Sunday.
And the consequences are dire. "Lest I tear you in pieces." This is the imagery of a predator, a lion, rending its prey. This is the God who is a consuming fire. This is not the domesticated deity of popular religion. This is the Holy God of Israel, whose wrath against sin is fierce and just. And the situation is utterly hopeless for those who persist in their rebellion: "there will be none to deliver." If God is against you, who can possibly be for you? There is no higher court of appeal. There is no power in the universe that can rescue you from the hand of an angry God.
The Way of Salvation (v. 23)
The psalm does not end in judgment. It concludes by laying out the two paths. Having exposed the way of the hypocrite, God now illuminates the way of the true worshiper.
"He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies Me; And he who orders his way, I shall show the salvation of God." (Psalm 50:23)
Here is the answer to hypocrisy. True worship is not about empty ritual, but about a heart overflowing with gratitude. "A sacrifice of thanksgiving." This is the worship that truly glorifies God, because it acknowledges that everything we have is a gift from His hand. It is the opposite of the entitled, demanding spirit of the hypocrite. It is a heart that says, "Thank you."
But this internal attitude of gratitude must be accompanied by an external life of obedience. "And he who orders his way." The true worshiper is one who deliberately, carefully, and prayerfully sets his path according to the Word of God. He doesn't cast God's words behind him; he sets them before him as a lamp to his feet and a light to his path. Thanksgiving and obedience are the inseparable marks of genuine faith.
And to this person comes the great promise: "I shall show the salvation of God." The ultimate deliverance, the ultimate rescue, is revealed to the one who walks this path. Of course, none of us can do this perfectly. Our thanksgiving is often muted, and our obedience is always stained with sin. This verse ultimately points us to the only one who ever offered a perfect sacrifice of thanksgiving and who perfectly ordered His way. It points us to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the salvation of God revealed. Through faith in His perfect life and atoning death, we are forgiven for our hypocrisy. And by His Spirit, He begins to work in us a true heart of thanksgiving and a genuine desire to order our way according to His Word. The path described here is not the path to earn salvation, but the path that salvation takes.