Psalms 50:21
These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
Study Note
Study Note
God's indictment 'these things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself' identifies the theological root of moral complacency: divine patience was misread as divine approval, or worse, as divine indifference. The assumption that God is 'like' the human who commits evil and remains prosperous is the cognitive distortion at the heart of Psalm 50's trial-scene indictment, in which God prosecutes his own covenant people for ritual formalism divorced from moral reality. The divine silence motif (also Psalms 28:1; 83:1; Isaiah 64:12) is eschatologically resolved in verse 21b: 'I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes' — silence is not permanent acquiescence but the pause before judgment. The verse became a favourite Reformed text for refuting low views of God and the tendency to domesticate the divine nature by measuring it against human categories.
Other Translations
These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself: ButI will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
These thou didst, and I kept silent, Thou hast thought that I am like thee, I reprove thee, and set in array before thine eyes.
These things have you done, and I said nothing; it seemed to you that I was such a one as yourself; but I will make a protest against you, and put them in order before your eyes.
Cross References
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children …
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he …
He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid …
I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself: now will I cry like a …
To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: …
Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he …
The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing …