INTRODUCTION: Why do we sing in the assembly of the saints or in community group meetings or in our homes for family worship or in the public square? Mainly to “ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name” (Psalm 29:2), but partly to teach and admonish one another (Colossians 3:16). “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Matthew Henry wrote, “[Psalm 50] is a psalm of instruction…of reproof and admonition, in singing which we are to teach and admonish one another. . . These instructions and admonitions we must take to ourselves, and give to one another, in singing this psalm.” Amen. But what do we learn from this divine song written down by Asaph?

DOCTRINE: God will judge the living and the dead, based on whether or not they were thankful to him.

I. THE ONE TRUE GOD IS A PREACHER (Psalm 50:1a)

Psalm 50:1a “The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks”

II. THE ONE TRUE GOD WILL ONE DAY PREACH A SERMON, SUMMONING THE ENTIRE EARTH TO BE JUDGED BEFORE HIM (Psalm 50:1b)

Psalm 50:1b “and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.”

III. THE ONE TRUE GOD WHO WILL SUMMON THE EARTH TO JUDGEMENT IS PERFECT IN HOLINESS (Psalm 50:2)

Psalm 50:2 “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.”

IV. WHEN THE ONE TRUE GOD JUDGES, HE WILL DEVOUR HIS ENEMIES AND PROTECT HIS PEOPLE (Psalm 50:3)

Psalm 50:3
“Our God comes; he does not keep silence; (c.f. v.21) before him is a devouring fire,
around him a mighty tempest.”

V. WHEN THE ONE TRUE GOD JUDGES, HE WILL JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD, THOSE IN HEAVEN AND THOSE ON EARTH (Psalm 50:4)

Psalm 50:4 “He calls (or summons, c.f. v.1) to the heavens (from) above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:”

VI. WHEN THE ONE TRUE GOD JUDGES, JUDGEMENT BEGINS WITH THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD (Psalm 50:5-6)

Psalm 50:5-6 “‘Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!’ The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge! Selah”

QUESTION. How will God judge? ANSWER. God will judge the living and the dead, based on whether or not they were thankful to him (Psalm 50:14-15, 23).

Psalm 50:14-15, 23 “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” . . . “The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”

Now, we need to use this truth for Instruction, Warning, Examination, Exhortation, and Comfort.

I. USE THIS TRUTH FOR INSTRUCTION

I) See the great mercy of God in judging his people not for their sins, but for their thankfulness for his mercy despite their sins (Psalm 50:7-15).

II) See the great evil of unthankfulness (Romans 1:21).

Romans 1:21 “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

My father repeatedly told me what his father told him: “Son, there is nothing worse than an ingrate.” He is right. “Unthankfulness is the greatest injustice that may be; it is a withholding from the great Landlord of heaven and earth His due, His debt” (Thomas Brooks, The unsearchable riches of Christ). “An unthankful person is a monster in nature—and a paradox in Christianity. He is the scorn of heaven and the plague of earth. An ungrateful man never does well, except in one thing—that is, when he dies. Then he becomes a monument of God's justice” (Thomas Watson, The Godly Man’s Picture).

III) See how thankful God’s people should be to him for his mercy (Selected Scriptures).

You and I who are in Christ should be thankful and make our thankfulness known to God:

(I) For his righteousness because he deserves it (Psalm 7:17).

Psalm 7:17 “I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.” The One true God is righteous! What if he was a tyrant?

(II) For his wonderful deeds of redemption and providence (Psalm 9:1).

Psalm 9:1 “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.” *Think of the wonderful deeds God has done in Christ, believers!

Christ has swept away our sins with his cross and reckoned us righteous with his robe; He has raised us up from spiritual death by his resurrection, and advocates for us before the Father in his ascension; He has and will preserve us by his providence and is sanctifying his Spirit; Christ is conquering the nations with his shepherd’s crook and ruining his enemies with his rod; He is ruling and reigning at the right hand of God until all his enemies be made a footstool for his feet; He will return to chase away sin and sadness and to satisfy us with his presence forever; Christ will return and we will rule with him.

(III) For being our strength and our shield against sin, satan, and suffering (Psalm 28:7).

Psalm 28:7 “The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”

(IV) For his goodness (Psalm 54:6).

Psalm 54:6 “With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good.”

(V) For being our shepherd and making us the sheep of his pasture (Psalm 79:13).

Psalm 79:13 “But we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.”

(VI) For his steadfast love (Psalm 107:1).

Psalm 107:1 “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”

(VII) For answering our prayers (Psalm 118:28).

Psalm 118:28 “I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.”

(VIII) For being the Lord of lords, ruling and reigning over the kings and rulers of the earth (Psalm 136:3).

Psalm 136:3 “Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever;”

(IX) For his faithfulness through his Scriptures (Psalm 138:4).

Psalm 138:4 “I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.”

(X) For his generosity (Psalm 142:7).

Psalm 142:7 “Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name! The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me.”

(XI) For the food and supplies he gives to meet our everyday needs (Acts 27:35).

Acts 27:35 “[Paul] took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat.”

(XII) For fellow saints who are united to Christ and apart of our same family (Romans 1:8; Colossians 3:15).

Romans 1:8 “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you,”

Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”

(XIII) For freedom from slavery to sin and also the desire now to obey Christ in joy (Romans 6:17).

Romans 6:17 “Thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart…”

(XIV) For gospel laborers who risk their lives for Christ’s glory and the church’s good (Romans 16:3-4).

Romans 16:3-4 “3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well.”

(XV) For his justifying work and promise of heaven (Colossians 1:12).

Colossians 1:12 “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”

(XVI) For his sanctifying work (2 Corinthians 8:16).

2 Corinthians 8:16 “Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you.”

(XVII) For causing us to be born again so that we receive the Scriptures not as the words of men but as the Word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

1 Thessalonians 2:13 “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”

(XVIII) For using our sufferings to sanctify us (Psalm 119:67).

Psalm 119:67 “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.”

“When God's spiritual plants are cut and bleed, they drop thankfulness; the saints' tears cannot drown their praises” (Thomas Watson, The Godly Man’s Picture).

(XIX) For making it so that our afflictions are much less than we deserve (Psalm 103:10).

Psalm 103:10 “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.”

(XX) For giving Christ Jesus as our eternal Prophet, Priest, and King (2 Corinthians 9:15).

2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!”

(XXI) For the reign of Christ that has begun and will continue until he has put all his enemies under his feet (Revelation 11:17).

Revelation 11:17 “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.”

II. USE THIS TRUTH FOR WARNING, IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE OF CHRIST

I) If you will not trust Christ and give thanks to God, but you forget him, you will be torn in pieces with none to save you (Psalm 50:22)

Psalm 50:22 “Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!”

III. USE THIS TRUTH FOR EXAMINATION, TO SEE IF YOU ARE IN CHRIST

I) Are you thankful to God? If so, for what? If not, why not? (Philippians 4:6)

Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

“There [are] three usual causes of ingratitude upon a benefit received: envy, pride, covetousness; envy, looking more at others’ benefits than our own; pride, looking more at ourselves than the benefit; covetousness, looking more at what we would have than what we have” (Joseph Hall, Meditations and Vows).

II) What do you thank God for, if you do at all? (Luke 18:11)

Luke 18:11 “The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.”

III) You may give thanks to God when it is easy, but will you give thanks when it is costly? (Daniel 6:10)

Daniel 6:10 “When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.”

IV. USE THIS TRUTH FOR EXHORTATION, IF YOU ARE IN CHRIST

I) You and I need to offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving so we can glorify him and enjoy him (Psalm 50:14, 23).

Psalm 50:14, 23 “14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving. . . 23 The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”

II) You and I need to give God thanks as we march into battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil (2 Chronicles 20:21).

2 Chronicles 20:21 “And when [Jehoshaphat] had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

III) You and I need to give thanks to God in and for everything (Colossians 3:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Colossians 3:17 “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

You and I must give thanks to God for our crosses and losses, for our comforts and prospering. Matthew Henry wrote, “It is not enough for us to offer praise, but we must withal order our conversation aright. Thanksgiving is good, but thanks-living is better.”

V. USE THIS TRUTH FOR COMFORT, IF YOU ARE IN CHRIST

I) What is chiefly required of you, if you are in covenant with God by Christ’s sacrifice, is to thank God for his saving grace (Isaiah 12:1).

Isaiah 12:1 “You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.”

II) If you truly belong to Jesus, God will comfort you in affliction; he give you joy in his salvation; and you will thank him for all eternity (Isaiah 51:3).

Isaiah 51:3
“For the Lord comforts Zion;
    he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like Eden,
    her desert like the garden of the Lord;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
    thanksgiving and the voice of song.”