Enter God's Courtroom

Psalm 50

Courtroom drama shows are very popular on TV, from Perry Mason and Matlock to The Practice and Boston Legal.  Our Scripture passage today, in Psalm 50, can be viewed as being in a courtroom, where God, as the Judge, is bringing charges against those who profess to be His people.  Let’s step inside the courtroom and see what God is telling us here.

As our psalm opens in verses 1-6, God has entered the courtroom as the Supreme Judge, and He calls all of heaven and earth to witness the charges He is bringing against people who claim to follow Him. The first charge is found in verses 7-15, and is against empty ritualism. The second charge is in verses 16-21, and is against those who rebel against Him. The psalm closes in verses 22-23, with God offering a solution to us.

The first charge that the Lord God brings is against those who are only outwardly religious.  Their worship services are meaningless and superficial. Their worship is not really directed to Him.  These people’s sacrifices had become meaningless to them. It has become just an empty ritual. Mere rituals do not please God, and He does not want it.  Yahweh is not like the pagan gods, and He doesn’t need our offerings in order to survive (vs. 9-13). God has no needs, no deficiencies, that need to be fulfilled by our services.  He created and owns everything.

Has our religious activities become just rituals that we are going through without really thinking about them anymore?  Has our church attendance, prayer, and Bible reading become just something that we check off of a to-do list? God wants righteousness.  He wants our hearts, not just our empty rituals. God wants us to bring genuine worship, praise and thanksgiving to Him. As Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, God wants us to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

Next our Judge has a second charge to bring against people (vs. 16-21).   These charges are directed against wicked and evil people, those in rebellion against Him.  He condemns their evil words, deeds, and immoral lives. God warns these wicked people to amend their ways or they will be destroyed.  Some of these people have made a pretence of claiming to be believers, but in reality they aren’t. God sees right through that, and tells them that they have no right to quote Bible verses and take His Name, when they won’t obey His Word (vs 16-17).  We may be able to deceive some people, but we can never deceive God. People who claim to be believers and claim to read His Word, but do not obey Him, do not fool God. Not everyone who claims to be a believer and calls themselves Christian really are. (Matthew 7:21-23). God will judge them.

As we read in verse 21, sometimes God is silent in the face of sin and evil. Frequently those who are committing certain sins say that it must not be so bad because God isn’t doing anything to stop them. However, God’s silence is not condoning sin. God sometimes withholds punishment for sin in order to give people time and a chance to repent (II Peter 3:9).  God does not delight in the death of the wicked. He would rather that they would turn to Him in repentance (Ezekiel 33:11). God’s longsuffering grace must never be looked on as laxity.  His judgment on sin will one day be manifested.

In the courtroom, sometimes the judge will give some advice at the time of sentencing, both to the defendant and those present.  Here in the courtroom of Psalm 50, God gives some final words in verses 22 - 23. Here He admonishes us to consider, to pay attention to what He says in His Word, and to obey it. He wants us to give Him genuine praise, and to order our lives according to His Word. That brings Him glory.

As we depart God’s courtroom of Psalm 50, let’s be sure that neither of these charges can be brought against ourselves.  Let’s be sure that our salvation is sure, that we are not living a life of sin. And let’s also be sure that we are not caught in the trap of empty rituals and empty words.  Unlike most judges, He wants us to know that He loves us and will answer us when we call upon Him (vs. 15).