My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.

This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.

I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.

Psalm 50:16-21

16 But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips? 17 For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you. 18 If you see a thief, you are pleased with him, and you keep company with adulterers. 19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit. 20 You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son. 21 These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

In our last post, God spoke to Israel, to His people. He corrected them in the sacrificial service, not in the actions but in the attitudes they were to live in.

This portion of Psalm 50 speaks to the wicked. OK, the problem with introducing the wicked is whether they are of the people of God also or a separate group outside of the nation of Israel? Let me explain my conundrum.

Is the nation of Israel the people of God, even in the Old Testament? Although I have previously understood the entire physical nation of Israel, (that is every person with Jewish blood coursing through their veins) to be of the people of God, I fear this passage does not support that thinking.

God is addressing two groups within the physical nation. His people, as in our previous post, where God gives direction to be thankful and pay their vows, and this group, designated as wicked. As we see in verse 16, when describing the wicked, God brings to our attention that they recite His statutes and take His covenant on their lips. The nations did not have His statutes or covenant. The only people that had his covenant and statutes were the physical nation of Israel, which requires us to understand the wicked were of the nation of Israel.

In all of this, the teaching of the remnant throughout the Word has become clearer and clearer to me as I stumble through my studies. Within the physical nation of Israel, there were two groups. The possessors and the professors. The same condition exists within the church.

To the wicked, God brings a stinging rebuke. Unless you are going to walk the walk, don’t talk the talk.

Do not take the name of the Lord in vain, use His law as a (religious convenience), refuse His direction and reject His counsel. The wicked literally cast His words behind them. The term cast in this passage refers to something hurled down, or thrown down. It is the picture of rejection as of something thrown out.

This is not ignorance but rebellion on the part of the wicked. This does not describe the believer, the one who has faith in God. A believer cannot simply toss His words behind him, reject the counsel He gives. Struggle with it, wrestle with it? Yes. Reject it as one who throws litter on the ground? This does not make sense to me.

Does this passage apply to you? Do you reject His counsel, His teaching, His direction? God is looking for those who would seek His deliverance. As believers, we need to accept discipline (vs17), rebuke thieves and adulterers (vs 18), keep our mouths free of evil (vs 19), and speak well of our brothers (vs 20).

All these actions are the hallmarks of a believer. Those who reject His counsel automatically fall into the opposing actions as described above.

Trust God and do good. Do good according to His directions, counsel and guidance, not according to your understanding!

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