John Calvin Commentary Psalms 50:8

"I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; And thy burnt-offerings are continually before me." — Psalms 50:8 (ASV)

I will not reprove you for your sacrifices, etc. God now proceeds to state the charge which He brought against them. He declares that He attached no value whatsoever to sacrifices in themselves. This does not mean He asserts this Jewish rite to have been vain and useless, for in that case, it never would have been instituted by God. However, there is this difference between religious exercises and others: they can only meet God's approval when performed in their true spirit and meaning. Otherwise, they are deservedly rejected.

We will find similar language used again and again by the prophets, as I have remarked in other places, and particularly in connection with Psalm 40. Mere outward ceremonies, therefore, possessing no value, God rejects the idea that He had ever insisted on them as the main thing in religion, or intended for them to be viewed in any other way than as aids to spiritual worship. Thus, in Jeremiah 7:22, He denies that He had issued any commandment regarding sacrifices; and the prophet Micah says:

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy? (Micah 6:7).

I desire mercy, He says in another place (Hosea 6:6), and not sacrifice. The same doctrine is everywhere declared by the prophets. I might refer especially to the prophecies of Isaiah 1:12, Isaiah 58:1–2, and Isaiah 66:3. The sacrifices of the ungodly are not only represented as worthless and rejected by the Lord, but as peculiarly calculated to provoke His anger.

When a right use has been made of the institution, and sacrifices have been observed merely as ceremonies for the confirmation and increase of faith, then they are described as being essentially connected with true religion. However, when offered without faith, or, what is still worse, under the impression that they merit God's favor for those who continue in their sins, they are condemned as a mere profanation of divine worship.

It is evident, then, what God means when He says, I will not reprove you for your sacrifices; He looked to something beyond these.

The last clause of the verse may be understood as asserting that their burnt offerings were before the Lord's eyes, producing even weariness and disgust, as we find Him saying (Isaiah 1:13) that they were an abomination unto him.

Some, however, consider the negative at the beginning of the verse as applying to both clauses, meaning that God here declares He did not intend to call them to account for any lack of regularity in observing their sacrifices.

It has been well suggested by some that the relative phrase may be understood as, Your burnt offerings which are continually before Me; as if He had said, "According to the Law these are imperative, but I will bring no accusation against you at this time for omitting your sacrifices."