Psalms 50:3
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.
American King James Version (AKJV)
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.
American Standard Version (ASV)
Our God cometh, and doth not keep silence: A fire devoureth before him, And it is very tempestuous round about him.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
Our God will come, and will not keep quiet; with fire burning before him, and storm-winds round him.
Webster's Revision
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous around him.
World English Bible
Our God comes, and does not keep silent. A fire devours before him. It is very stormy around him.
English Revised Version (ERV)
Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.
Clarke's Psalms 50:3 Bible Commentary
By the same bold figure, Micah calls upon the mountains, that is, the whole country of Judea, to attend to him, Isaiah 6:1, Isaiah 6:2 : -
"Arise, plead thou before the mountains,
And let the hills hear thy voice.
Hear, O ye mountains, the controversy of Jehovah;
And ye, O ye strong foundations of the earth:
For Jehovah hath a controversy with his people,
And he will plead his cause against Israel."
With the like invocation, Moses introduces his sublime song, the design of which was the same as that of this prophecy, "to testify as a witness, against the Israelites," for their disobedience, Deuteronomy 31:21 : -
"Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak;
And let the earth hear the words of my mouth."
Barnes's Psalms 50:3 Bible Commentary
Our God shall come - That is, he will come to judgment. This language is derived from the supposition that God "will" judge the world, and it shows that this doctrine was understood and believed by the Hebrews. The New Testament has stated the fact that this will be done by the coming of his Son Jesus Christ to gather the nations before him, and to pronounce tile final sentence on mankind: Matthew 25:31; Acts 17:31; Acts 10:42; John 5:22.
And shall not keep silence - That is, the will come forth and "express" his judgment on the conduct of mankind. See the notes at Psalm 28:1. He "seems" now to be silent. No voice is heard. No sentence is pronounced. But this will not always be the case. The time is coming when he will manifest himself, and will no longer be silent as to the conduct and character of people, but will pronounce a sentence, fixing their destiny according to their character.
A fire shall devour before him - Compare the notes at 2 Thessalonians 1:8; notes at Hebrews 10:27. The "language" here is undoubtedly taken from the representation of God as he manifested himself at Mount Sinai. Thus, in Exodus 19:16, Exodus 19:18, it is said, "And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a trumpet exceeding loud; and Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
And it shall be very tempestuous round about him - The word used here - שׂער śa‛ar - means properly to shudder; to shiver; and then it is employed to denote the commotion and raging of a tempest. The allusion is doubtless to the descent on Mount Sinai Exodus 19:16, and to the storm accompanied by thunder and lightning which beat upon the mountain when God descended on it to give his law. The whole is designed to represent God as clothed with appropriate majesty when judgment is to be pronounced upon the world.
Wesley's Psalms 50:3 Bible Commentary
50:3 Our God - The prophet speaks this in the persons of the worshippers of God. Though he be our God, yet he will come to execute judgment upon us.Cease - Or delay to sit in judgment. Tempestuous - This is a farther description of that terrible majesty, wherewith God would clothe himself when he came to his tribunal.