STUDIO ALBUMS

Division of Psalm 50

I. The glorious appearance of the Prince that gives law and judgment (v. 1-6).
II. Instruction given to his worshippers, to turn their sacrifices into prayers (v. 7-15).
III. A rebuke to those that pretend to worship God, but live in disobedience to his commands (v. 16-20), their doom read (v. 21, 22), and warning given to all to look to their conversation as well as to their devotions (v. 23).⁴
 

Who was Asaph?

In the superscription of 12 psalms the phrase "of Asaph" appears (Ps. 50, 73-83). As with the expression ledawid, le'asaph is not positive evidence of authorship. Several of the psalms in this collection were apparently written by David. Asaph was a Levite, one of David's choir leaders. Like David, Asaph was a seer and a musical composer (see 1 Chron 6:39; 2 Chron 29:30; Neh. 12:46). In the list of captives who returned to Jerusalem, the children of Asaph are the only singers mentioned (Ezra 2:41).⁵

There was an Asaph in David's time, who was one of David's chief musicians, and his family appear to have continued long after in their hereditary office of temple musicians. An Asaph is mentioned as a recorder or secretary in the days of Hezekiah 2Ki 18:18, and another was keeper of the royal forests under Artaxerxes. That Asaph did most certainly write some of the Psalms is clear from 2Ch 29:30, where it is recorded that the Levites were commanded to "sing praises unto the Lord with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer, "but that other Asaphic Psalms were not of his composition, but were only committed to his care as a musician, is equally certain from 1Ch 16:7, where David is said to have delivered a Psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren.²
 

David and Asaph Compared

Persons capable of judging, on a comparison of those Psalms attributed to Asaph with those known to be of David, have found a remarkable difference in the style. The style of David is more polished, flowing, correct, and majestic, than that of Asaph, which is more stiff and obscure. He has been compared to Persius and to Horace; he is keen, full of reprehensions, and his subjects are generally of the doleful kind.³
 

Formalism and Hypocrisy

The well-known statement of Samuel to Saul, "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams" (1 Sam. 15:22), may be considered the theme of Ps. 50. The psalm is didactic in nature and of great contemporary value. Against a magnificent background description of a judgment, which may be applied to the last judgment (vs. 1-6), the psalm unfolds its message as a rebuke to the worshiper who follows religious ceremony but lacks sincerity of heart and purity of conduct. The body of the psalm has two parts: condemnation of the evils of mere formalism in worship (vs. 7-15), and condemnation of hypocrisy (vs. 16-21). A brief conclusion (vs. 22,23) summarizes the message of the poem.⁵