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Psalm 50 is a psalm of judgment and therefore a psalm of decision.  It is a fitting way to begin the approach to this Sunday’s lesson scripture on the Ten Commandments.  Today, we focus only on the first six verses:

1 The mighty one, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
3 Our God comes and does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, and a mighty tempest all around him.
4 He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 ”Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge. Selah  Psalms 50:1-6 (NRSV)

The psalm begins by using three different names for God: El, Elohim and Yahweh.  This is the psalmist’s way of proclaiming that this is the one true God, regardless of name.  As was the case when Moses asked who he should say sent him, the answer is that God transcends names.  In the first verses, God convenes his court – calling on the very earth and heavens to witness the calling to account of God’s people.  This also serves to emphasize that God has power over all creation (similar to what we discussed yesterday concerning God’s power over the sea – a symbol of chaos).  He calls his people to account – the people who made a covenant with him by sacrifice, referring to the sacrifice that took place following the giving of the Decalogue.  According to Adam Clarke, this sacrifice also references the perfect sacrifice of Christ.

God calls us to covenantal relationship – to decision – to sacrifice.