Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 50:6
And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God [is] judge himself. Selah.
6. Better (unless we alter the vocalisation and render, and let the heavens declare),
And the heavens declare his righteousness,
For God is about to Judge.
While the defendants are being gathered, the Psalmist hears the heavens, which have been summoned to witness the trial, solemnly proclaiming the justice of the Judge, as a guarantee of the impartiality of His judgement. This explanation is supported by the use of the perfect tense in Psa 97:6, a passage which is obviously based upon this Psalm.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And the heavens shall declare his righteousness – Shall make it known, or announce it. That is, the heavens – the heavenly inhabitants – will bear witness to the justness of the sentence, or will approve the sentence. See the notes at Psa 50:4. Compare Psa 97:6.
For God is judge himself – The judgment is not committed to mortal men, or even to angels. Creatures, even the most exalted and pure, might err in such a work as that of judging the world. That judgment, to be correct, must be founded on a perfect knowledge of the heart, and on a clear and complete understanding of all the thoughts, the motives, the words, the deeds of all people. It cannot be supposed that any created being, however exalted, could possess all this knowledge, and it cannot be supposed that any created being, however pure, could be so endowed as to be secure against error in pronouncing a judgment on the countless millions of people. But God combines all these in himself; a perfect knowledge of all that has ever occurred on earth, and of the motives and feelings of every creature – and, at the same time, absolute purity and impartiality; therefore his judgment must be such that the universe will see that it is just. It may be added here that as the New Testament has stated (see the notes at Psa 50:3) that the judgment of the world in the last day will be committed to the Lord Jesus Christ, the considerations just suggested prove that he is Divine. The immediate point in the passage before us is, that the fact that God will preside in the judgment, demonstrates that the acts of judgment will be right, and will be such as the heavens – the universe – will approve; such, that all worlds will proclaim them to be right. There is no higher evidence that a thing is right, and that it ought to be done, than the fact that God has done it. Compare Gen 18:25; Psa 39:9.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
The heavens shall declare his righteousness; which they were called to witness, Psa 50:4. So was the earth also. But here he mentions the heavens only, as I humbly conceive, because they were the most impartial and considerable witness in the case; for men upon earth might be false witnesses, either through ignorance and mistake, or through prejudice, and partiality, and passion: but the angels understand things more thoroughly and certainly, and are so exactly pure and sinless, that they neither can nor will tell a lie for God; and therefore their testimony is more valuable. Or the meaning is, that God would convince the people of his righteousness, and of their own wickedness, by terrible thunders and lightnings, and storms, or other dreadful signs wrought by him in the heaven or the air; by which he did convince his people in two like cases, Deu 5:22,23, &c.; 1Sa 12:17-19.
God is Judge himself; in his own person, or immediately. God will not now reprove them, or contend with them, by his priests or prophets, with whom they may easily strive, as they used to do, but he will do it in an immediate and extraordinary manner from heaven; and therefore they shall be forced to acknowledge his righteousness, and their own unrighteousness; as they must needs do, when the contest is between them and that God who is the great Judge of the world, and cannot possibly do any unrighteous thing, Job 34:13; Rom 3:6, who exactly knows all their hearts and works, and cannot be deceived nor contradicted.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. The inhabitants of heaven,who well know God’s character, attest His righteousness as a judge.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the heavens shall declare his righteousness,…. That is, either the heavens shall bear witness to his justice and equity in judging his people; or the angels, the ministers of the Gospel, shall declare his justifying righteousness, which is revealed in it, to the saints and covenant ones they shall be a means of gathering in: or rather the justice of Christ in the destruction of the Jews shall be attested and applauded by angels and men, just as the righteousness of God in the destruction of the antichristian powers is celebrated by the angel of the waters, Re 16:5;
for God [is] Judge himself. And not another, or by another; and therefore his judgments must be just and righteous, seeing he is just and true, loves righteousness, and is righteous in all his ways and works.
Selah; on this word, [See comments on Ps 3:2].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
6. And the heavens shall declare his righteousness. The Jews were vain enough to imagine that their idle and fantastic service was the perfection of righteousness; but they are here warned by the prophet, that God, who had seemed to connive at their folly, was about to reveal his own righteousness from heaven, and expose their miserable devices. “Think you,” as if he had said, “that God can take delight in the mockery of your deluded services? Though you send up the smoke of them to heaven, God will make known his righteousness in due time from above, and vindicate it from the dishonors done to it by your wicked inventions. The heavens themselves will attest your perfidy in despising true holiness, and corrupting the pure worship of God. He will no longer suffer your gratuitous aspersions of his character, as if he took no notice of the enmity which lurks under your pretended friendship.” There is thus a cogency in the prophet’s manner of treating his subject. Men are disposed to admit that God is judge, but, at the same time, to fabricate excuses for evading his judgment, and it was therefore necessary that the sentence which God was about to pronounce should be vindicated from the vain cavils which might be brought against it.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) The heavens.Here is an exceedingly fine touch. In obedience to the Divine summons the heavens are heard acknowledging the right of God to arraign the nations before Him in virtue of His moral sway. Render the verb in the present: And the heavens declare. The verse is adapted to Psa. 97:6.
In the language of modern thought, order and law in the physical world are an evidence of an ordered moral government, and the obedience of the unconscious stars to that sway which, as Wordsworth says, preserves them from wrong, is a challenge to man to submit himself consciously to the same will.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 50:6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God [is] judge himself. Selah.
Ver. 6. And the heavens shall declare his righteousness ] Those catholic preachers, whose voice goeth out aloud to the end of the world, Psa 19:4 ; Psa 50:4 .
For God is Judge himself
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Selah. Connecting the “call” to “hear” what true worship is (verses: Psa 50:7-15), and to “consider” what true service is (verses: Psa 50:16-22) when these things come into judgment (Psa 50:6). Both are summed up in Psa 50:23. (App-66.)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
heavens: Psa 97:6, Rom 2:5, Rev 16:5-7, Rev 19:2
God: Psa 75:7, Gen 18:25, Joh 5:22, Joh 5:23, Rom 14:9-12, 2Co 5:10, Rev 20:11, Rev 20:12
Selah: Psa 7:3-5, Psa 9:16
Reciprocal: Jdg 11:27 – the Judge Job 31:28 – an Psa 9:8 – General Psa 50:4 – call Psa 51:4 – that thou Psa 89:5 – heavens Psa 94:2 – thou Psa 145:17 – righteous Isa 33:22 – the Lord is our judge Eze 18:25 – my Joh 5:19 – for Rom 2:16 – God Rom 3:6 – for then Rom 3:25 – to declare 1Co 4:4 – but 1Co 5:13 – God 2Th 1:5 – righteous 2Ti 4:1 – who Heb 12:23 – God Rev 19:11 – and in