03.04. The Divine Postcript (23)
THE DIVINE POSTSCRIPT
TEXT Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.
"Whoso offereth praise...." The Speaker, of course, is God. The latter part of the sentence, "I will show the salvation of God," almost suggests Asaph or the singer of the Psalm as being the one who offers to show the salvation of God. But the context doesn’t support such an interpretation. Nowhere in the Psalm is the psalmist speaking with a first person personal pronoun. In addition, the sudden intrusion of an other speaker in the scene, while God himself is speaking, doesn’t seem appropriate. Furthermore, such usage of His own Name while addressing is not novel to God. For example, in Exodus 31 He uses the phrases "spirit of God"(Exodus 31:3), "holy to the LORD" (Exodus 31:15), and "the LORD made"(Exodus 31:17) while Himself addressing Moses. It is concluded, therefore, that Psalms 50:23 is a Divine Postscript to all that has been said heretofore. The Divine Postscript enumerates and calls for two things as pleasing Him. They are:
1. A God-Honouring and God-Glorifying Sacrifice 2. A Righteous and Preparatory Walk
1. A God-Honouring and God-Glorifying Sacrifice. "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me...." The word "offereth" is a Qal active participle and indicates continued action the call is for an habitual and constant sacrifice of praise. The word for "praise" is also translated as "thanksgiving" (RSV & The Amplified Version) and "thank-offerings" (NIV); the word for "glorifieth", as "honours" (The Amplified Version, RSV, & NIV). A constant, instant, persistent, and abundant offering of praise is what constitutes a real God-honouring and God-glorifying sacrifice.
2. A Righteous and Preparatory Walk. "...And to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God." The italicised words, as can be noticed, are not found in the original Text. The phrase "that ordereth...conversation", in the Hebrew, literally means "that disposeth way." The RSV translates it: "...to him who orders his way aright...." while the Amplified Version puts it : "...and he who orders his way aright -- who prepares the way that I may show him...." The NIV knits it with the former text to mean that the offerer of thank-offerings prepares the way for God to show him His salvation. The call is, evidently, for a perfect and upright walk before the God of Covenant. This walk mingled with a heart of thankfulness and praise to God is what opens the door for God to demonstrate His salvation. The preparation of the way for God to show His salvation has also got a prophetic significance. 1 Samuel 7:3 indicates two things as requisites for returning with all the heart to the Lord: a. Abandonment and destruction of all false gods. b. Preparation of the heart or direction of the heart to the Lord. c. Service to Him alone.
Then and after doing that only could they experience the deliverance of the Lord. The call to prepare the way of the LORD in Isaiah 40:3 also gives insight into the prophetic significance of the text. Matthew saw it as a prophetic fulfilment in John the Baptist (Matthew 3:3): John preached repentance. The word "to repent", in the Greek, meant "to change the way of thinking." The Interpreter’s Bible comments:
’The word "repent" implies a radical change of mind. It looks to the past in honesty and remorse, and then in a rightabout-face it looks to the future in resolve on a new way of life.’ The call to prepare one’s way through repentance and seeking of the face of the Lord, thus ordering one’s way aright, is an opportunity to renew one’s fellowship with the Lord. The hypocrite is still given a chance. The call is also a signification of the salvation by grace which was about to come through the incarnation and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was He who chose us and not we by ourselves. And He did that "according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace; wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." He who offers thanksgivings, therefore, with a grateful acceptance of His gift and will in his life, glorifies and honours God. And he who thus walks in accordance to his confession prepares the way for the demonstration of the salvation of God.
CONCLUSION The Divine Postscript was truly, as Craigie also notes, a re-emphasising of the Call to true worship in Psalms 50:14 and Psalms 50:15. The offerings and feasts would lose their significance once the people forgot the place and meaning of these in the Covenant relationship. They were only momentary rituals and celebrations to commemorate, emphasise, and signify the life-long relationship. The relationship was more important than the ritual. Wasn’t that the reason why Abraham was commanded by the Lord to walk before Him, and be perfect (Genesis 17:1)? Then would the promise of the Covenant materialise. The Israelites had to remember that honesty, sincerity, and faithfulness were crucial to the maintenance of the covenant relationship. Of course, they were chosen to be His peculiar treasure not because of their own ability and quality, but because of His own great love and grace. But they were chosen to be His people, to be subjects of His rule. They were not chosen because of their good works; but were chosen to good works: to be distinct in life, thought, conduct, and speech. They were his saints. The observance of the Law would only show how much they honoured, loved, and revered Him. Their offerings of thanksgivings would tell the Lord that all they were and had, in this Covenant relationship, was His and because of Him alone. Their walk of integrity would show that now they were not their own, and that it was no longer going to be their own way: His will was paramount in their lives. Such a maintenance of the Covenant relationship would prepare the way for the promise of the Covenant to be fulfilled in their lives. They could now stand still and see the Salvation of God. As Christians, we too need to understand and recognise the supremacy of His Good-Will in our lives. We were saved not by our own works but by His grace, unto good works (Ephesians 2:10). We must be thankful to God for His "unspeakable gift"(2 Corinthians 9:15), and "walk worthy of the vocation wherewith" we are called (Ephesians 4:1).