14 Make an offering of praise to God; keep the agreements which you have made with the Most High;
What may I give to the Lord for all the good things which he has done for me? I will take the cup of salvation, and give praise to the name of the Lord. I will make the offering of my oath to the Lord, even before all his people.
Let men give praise to the Lord for his mercy, and for the wonders which he does for the children of men! Let them make offerings of praise, giving news of his works with cries of joy.
And Moses said to the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, This is the order of the Lord. When a man takes an oath to the Lord, or gives an undertaking having the force of an oath, let him not go back from his word, but let him do whatever he has said he will do. If a woman, being young and under the authority of her father, takes an oath to the Lord or gives an undertaking; If her father, hearing of her oath or the undertaking she has given, says nothing to her, then all her oaths and every undertaking she has given will have force. But if her father, hearing of it, makes her take back her word, then the oaths or the undertakings she has given will have no force; and she will have forgiveness from the Lord, because her oath was broken by her father. And if she is married to a husband at the time when she is under an oath or an undertaking given without thought; If her husband, hearing of it, says nothing to her at the time, then the oaths she made and the undertakings she gave will have force. But if her husband, hearing of it, makes her take it back, then the oath she made and the undertaking she gave without thought will have no force or effect, and she will have the Lord's forgiveness. But an oath made by a widow or one who is no longer married to her husband, and every undertaking she has given, will have force. If she made an oath while she was under the authority of her husband, And her husband, hearing of it, said nothing to her and did not put a stop to it, then all her oaths and every undertaking she gave will have force. But if her husband, on hearing of it, made them without force or effect, then whatever she has said about her oaths or her undertaking has no force: her husband has made them without effect, and she will have the Lord's forgiveness. Every oath, and every undertaking which she gives, to keep herself from pleasure, may be supported or broken by her husband. But if the days go on, and her husband says nothing whatever to her, then he is giving the support of his authority to her oaths and undertakings, because at the time of hearing them he said nothing to her. But if at some time after hearing of them, he makes them without force, then he is responsible for her wrongdoing.
It is better not to take an oath than to take an oath and not keep it. Let not your mouth make your flesh do evil. And say not before the angel, It was an error. So that God may not be angry with your words and put an end to the work of your hands.
Say to the children of Israel, If a man makes a special oath, you will give your decision as to the value of the persons for the Lord. And you will put the value of a male from twenty years to sixty years old at fifty shekels of silver, by the scale of the holy place. And if it is a female, the value will be thirty shekels. And if the person is from five to twenty years old, the value will be twenty shekels for a male, and ten for a female. And if the person is from one month to five years old, then the value for a male will be five shekels of silver, and for a female three shekels. And for sixty years old and over, for a male the value will be fifteen shekels, and for a female, ten. But if he is poorer than the value which you have put on him, then let him be taken to the priest, and the priest will put a value on him, such as it is possible for him to give. And if it is a beast of which men make offerings to the Lord, whatever any man gives of such to the Lord will be holy. It may not be changed in any way, a good given for a bad, or a bad for a good; if one beast is changed for another, the two will be holy. And if it is any unclean beast, of which offerings are not made to the Lord, then let him take the beast before the priest; And let the priest put a value on it, if it is good or bad; whatever value the priest puts on it, so will it be. But if he has a desire to get it back for himself, let him give a fifth more than your value. And if a man has given his house as holy to the Lord, then the priest will put a value on it, if it is good or bad; as the priest gives decision so will the value be fixed. And if the owner has a desire to get back his house, let him give a fifth more than your value, and it will be his. And if a man gives to the Lord part of the field which is his property, then let your value be in relation to the seed which is planted in it; a measure of barley grain will be valued at fifty shekels of silver. If he gives his field from the year of Jubilee, the value will be fixed by your decision. But if he gives his field after the year of Jubilee, the amount of the money will be worked out by the priest in relation to the number of years till the coming year of Jubilee, and the necessary amount will be taken off your value. And if the man who has given the field has a desire to get it back, let him give a fifth more than the price at which it was valued and it will be his. But if he has no desire to get it back, or if he has given it for a price to another man, it may not be got back again. But the field, when it becomes free at the year of Jubilee, will be holy to the Lord, as a field given under oath: it will be the property of the priest. And if a man gives to the Lord a field which he has got for money from another, which is not part of his heritage; Then the value fixed by you up to the year of Jubilee will be worked out for him by the priest, and in that day he will give the amount of your value as holy to the Lord. In the year of Jubilee the field will go back to him from whom he got it, that is, to him whose heritage it was. And let all your values be based on the shekel of the holy place, that is, twenty gerahs to the shekel. But a man may not give by oath to the Lord the first-fruits of cattle which are offered to the Lord: if it is an ox or a sheep it is the Lord's. And if it is an unclean beast, then the owner of it may give money to get it back, in agreement with the value fixed by you, by giving a fifth more; or if it is not taken back, let it be given for money in agreement with your valuing. But nothing which a man has given completely to the Lord, out of all his property, of man or beast, or of the land which is his heritage, may be given away or got back in exchange for money; anything completely given is most holy to the Lord. Any man given completely to the Lord may not be got back: he is certainly to be put to death. And every tenth part of the land, of the seed planted, or of the fruit of trees, is holy to the Lord. And if a man has a desire to get back any of the tenth part which he has given, let him give a fifth more. And a tenth part of the herd and of the flock, whatever goes under the rod of the valuer, will be holy to the Lord. He may not make search to see if it is good or bad, or make any changes in it; and if he makes exchange of it for another, the two will be holy; he will not get them back again. These are the orders which the Lord gave to Moses for the children of Israel in Mount Sinai.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 50
Commentary on Psalms 50 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 50
Ps 50:1-23. In the grandeur and solemnity of a divine judgment, God is introduced as instructing men in the nature of true worship, exposing hypocrisy, warning the wicked, and encouraging the pious.
1-4. The description of this majestic appearance of God resembles that of His giving the law (compare Ex 19:16; 20:18; De 32:1).
4. above—literally, "above" (Ge 1:7).
heavens … earth—For all creatures are witnesses (De 4:26; 30:19; Isa 1:2).
5. my saints—(Ps 4:3).
made—literally, "cut"
a covenant, &c.—alluding to the dividing of a victim of sacrifice, by which covenants were ratified, the parties passing between the divided portions (compare Ge 15:10, 18).
6. The inhabitants of heaven, who well know God's character, attest His righteousness as a judge.
7. I will testify—that is, for failure to worship aught.
thy God—and so, by covenant as well as creation, entitled to a pure worship.
8-15. However scrupulous in external worship, it was offered as if they conferred an obligation in giving God His own, and with a degrading view of Him as needing it [Ps 50:9-13]. Reproving them for such foolish and blasphemous notions, He teaches them to offer, or literally, "sacrifice," thanksgiving, and pay, or perform, their vows—that is, to bring, with the external symbolical service, the homage of the heart, and faith, penitence, and love. To this is added an invitation to seek, and a promise to afford, all needed help in trouble.
16-20. the wicked—that is, the formalists, as now exposed, and who lead vicious lives (compare Ro 2:21, 23). They are unworthy to use even the words of God's law. Their hypocrisy and vice are exposed by illustrations from sins against the seventh, eighth, and ninth commandments.
21, 22. God, no longer (even in appearance) disregarding such, exposes their sins and threatens a terrible punishment.
22. forget God—This denotes unmindfulness of His true character.
23. offereth praise—(Ps 50:14), so that the external worship is a true index of the heart.
ordereth … aright—acts in a straight, right manner, opposed to turning aside (Ps 25:5). In such, pure worship and a pure life evince their true piety, and they will enjoy God's presence and favor.