Psalms 50:22
in Psalms 50Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now consider this, ye that forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver:
KJV
Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
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This verse in Psalms 50
Commentary
10 notes on this verseNow or oh! it is a word of entreaty, for the Lord is loath even to let the most ungodly run on to destruction. Consider this; take these truths to heart, ye who trust in ceremonies and ye who live in vice, for both of you sin in that ye forget God. Bethink you how unaccepted you are, and turn unto the Lord. See how you have mocked the eternal, and repent of your iniquities. Lest I tear you in pieces, as the lion rends his prey, and there be none to deliver, no Saviour, no refuge, no hope.
This site's exposition
Now consider this, you who forget
on Psalms 50:22-23
Now consider this, you who forget God carries the tearing that the fire of verse 3 had already promised. The thank offering is what honors Him. The man who rights his way is shown the salvation of God.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
But, "understand these things, ye that forget God" (ver. 22). See how He crieth, and keepeth not silence, spareth not. Thou hadst forgotten the Lord, didst not think of thy evil life. Perceive how thou hast forgotten the Lord. "Lest at length He seize like a lion, and there be none to deliver." What is "like a lion"? Like a brave one, like a mighty one, like him whom none can withstand. To this he made reference when he said, "Lion." For it is used for praise, it is used also for showing evil. The devil hath been called lion: "Your adversary," He saith, "like a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom He may devour." May it not be that whereas he hath been called lion because of savage fierceness, Christ hath been called Lion for wondrous mightiness? And where is that, "The Lion hath prevailed of the tribe of Judah?" ...
Give careful thought, he is saying, to each of my words; and you who suffer forgetfulness of God—forgetfulness of God being a source of sin—cure your wounds with the remedies of repentance before you are carried off by death, which like a lion falls on …
The Medieval Church1 voice
"Understand these things, you who forget God." Here he exhorts sinners to consideration. And first, to considering the severity of God. Second, he shows what is acceptable to God in sacrifices. First, therefore, he exhorts to understanding. Hence he says, "Understand these things, you who …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Consideration is the first step towards conversion. Those that will not consider the warnings of God's word will certainly be torn in pieces by the executions of his wrath. When God comes to tear sinners in pieces, there is no delivering them out of his hand.
Now consider this,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Now or oh! it is a word of entreaty, for the Lord is loath even to let the most ungodly run on to destruction. Consider this; take these truths to heart, ye who trust in ceremonies and ye who live in vice, for both of you sin in that ye forget God. Bethink you how unaccepted you are, and turn unto the Lord. See how you have mocked the eternal, and repent of your iniquities. Lest I tear you in pieces, as the lion rends his prey, and there be none to deliver, no Saviour, no refuge, no hope. Ye reject the Mediator: beware, for ye will sorely need one in the day of wrath, and none will be near to plead for you. How terrible, how complete, how painful, how humiliating, will be the destruction of the wicked! God uses no soft words, or velvet metaphors, nor may his servants do so when they speak of the wrath to come. O reader, consider this.
Now consider this - Ye have forgotten your God, and sinned against him. He has marked down all your iniquities, and has them in order to exhibit against you. Beware, therefore, lest he tear you to pieces, when there is none to deliver; for none can deliver you but the Christ you reject. And how can ye escape, if ye neglect so great a salvation?
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Now consider this - Understand this; give attention to this. The word “now” does not well express the force of the original. The Hebrew word is not an adverb of “time,” but a particle denoting “entreaty,” and would be better rendered by, “Oh, consider this;” or, “Consider this, I beseech you.” The matter is presented to them as that which deserved their most solemn attention. Ye that forget God - Who really forget him though you are professedly engaged in his worship; who, amidst the forms of religion, are actually living in entire forgetfulness of the just claims and of the true character of God. Lest I tear you in pieces - Language derived from the fury of a ravenous beast tearing his victim from limb to limb. And there be none to deliver - As none can do when God rises up in his wrath to inflict vengeance. None would “venture” to Interpose; none “could” rescue from his hand. There “is” a point of time in relation to all sinners when no one, not even the Redeemer - the great and merciful Mediator - will interpose to save; when the sinner will be left to be dealt with by simple, pure, unmixed and unmitigated “justice;” when mercy and kindness will have done their work in regard to them in vain; and when they will be left to the “mere desert” of their sins. At that point there is no power that can deliver them.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בִּֽינוּ־ | binu- | consider | H995 → | 170 times |
| נָ֣א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| זֹ֭את | zot | this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| שֹׁכְחֵ֣י | shokhechei | O [those who] forget | H7911 → | 102 times |
| אֱל֑וֹהַּ | ʾeloah | <of> God | H433 → | 57 times |
| פֶּן־ | pen- | lest | H6435 → | 133 times |
| אֶ֝טְרֹ֗ף | ʾetrof | I should tear to pieces | H2963 → | 25 times |
| וְאֵ֣ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מַצִּֽיל׃ | matzil | [will be] a deliverer | H5337 → | 212 times |
בִּֽינוּ־consider
binu-H995 →170 times
נָ֣אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
זֹ֭אתthis
zotH2063 →603 times
שֹׁכְחֵ֣יO [those who] forget
shokhecheiH7911 →102 times
אֱל֑וֹהַּ<of> God
ʾeloahH433 →57 times
פֶּן־lest
pen-H6435 →133 times
אֶ֝טְרֹ֗ףI should tear to pieces
ʾetrofH2963 →25 times
וְאֵ֣יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
מַצִּֽיל׃[will be] a deliverer
matzilH5337 →212 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hosea 4:6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget…
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:13
Therefore My people will go into exile for their lack of understanding; their dignitaries are starving and their masses are parched with thirst.
- Proverbs 19:2
Even zeal is no good without knowledge, and he who hurries his footsteps misses the mark.
- Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
- 2 Corinthians 4:3–6
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
- Hosea 4:1
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God…
- Isaiah 5:13
Through
Psalms 9:17The wicked will return to Sheol— all the nations who forget God.
it leads to
- Revelation 21:8
But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This…
- Romans 2:8–9
But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:7–9
and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels
- Revelation 21:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 50; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 2; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 50:8 and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.