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Psalm 50 Bible study: The sacrifice of thanksgiving
God says "I don’t rebuke you for your sacrifices" (50:8), and to the wicked, "I will rebuke you" (50:21), with the same Hebrew verb. He needs nothing from anyone's stall, for "the world is mine" (50:12). What he asks for is "the sacrifice of thanksgiving" (50:14).
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“In Psalm 50, God says he does not rebuke his people for their sacrifices.”
Is that in Psalm 50, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Heaven and earth called in, to judge God's own people
The title is "A Psalm by Asaph." (50:1), and it says no more than that. Then: "The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks, and calls the earth from sunrise to sunset" (50:1) (tap Mighty One). "Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines out. Our God comes, and does not keep silent" (50:2-3) (tap silent). "He calls to the heavens above, to the earth, that he may judge his people" (50:4). Here is what almost everyone misses: the ones he comes to judge are his own people, the ones he calls "my saints", "those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice" (50:5) (tap saints, covenant). The psalmist says, "The heavens shall declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge" (50:6) (tap judge). Then God speaks, and apart from the words "But to the wicked God says" (50:16), the rest of the psalm is his: "Hear, my people, and I will speak. Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God" (50:7) (tap testify). The psalm says what he calls the heavens and the earth for, "that he may judge his people" (50:4); it doesn't say when he comes.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Psalm 50
That was a taste
The rest of Psalm 50 is waiting in Favor
- "I have no need for a bull"
- What God asks for
- "My covenant on your lips"
- The sacrifice of thanksgiving, elsewhere
- "Call on me", in two psalms
- Not food, but the fruit of lips
- 9 questions as you read
- 11 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Psalm 50 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
תּוֹדָהtodahsay to-DAH
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "thanksgiving", and also "thank-offering". Strong's: "properly, an extension of the hand, i.e. (by implication) avowal, or (usually) adoration", "from 3034". The psalm has it twice: "Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving" (50:14), and "Whoever offers the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies me" (50:23). Both times it stands with the verb zavach (tap offer). Of its 32 uses in the Hebrew Bible, 12 are in the Psalms. The law has it for an offering, "If he offers it for a thanksgiving" (Leviticus 7:12), and a psalm has it in a song: "I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving" (Psalm 69:30).
For your group
Psalm 50 Bible study questions
- 1"If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it" (50:12). What do you bring to God as if he needed it, and what changes if he needs nothing from you?
- 2"Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving" (50:14). What would it look like this week to thank God for something specific, and to say it out loud?
- 3"You have taken my covenant on your lips" (50:16), "and throw my words behind you" (50:17). Where is there a gap between what you say about God and how you live?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Psalm 50 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
How much does it cost?
Your first week is free. After that it's $10 a month per person, the same for everyone, including groups and churches. There are no tiers and nothing extra to unlock.
Can I read Psalm 50 straight away?
Favor takes the Bible as one story, in order, so you'll reach Psalm 50 with everything that leads up to it in view. Start from Genesis, or meet Jesus first in the Gospels. You can read the text of any chapter in Favor's Look up whenever you like.
Do I need a group?
No. Many people read on their own. If you'd like to read with others, start a Bible study and share one link. Everyone's answers stay private until you meet.
I've never really read the Bible. Is this for me?
Yes. Favor starts where you are and explains as it goes. The questions along the way aren't marked right or wrong: you answer, then see what the text shows.
Which Bible does Favor use?
The World English Bible, a modern, readable translation in the public domain. God's name appears as "the LORD", as in most English Bibles.
Is Favor tied to a church?
No. Favor is non-denominational. Where Christians read a passage differently, it shows the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home