Matthew Henry Commentary Psalms 50:16-23

"But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, And that thou hast taken my covenant in thy mouth, Seeing thou hatest instruction, And castest my words behind thee? When thou sawest a thief, thou consentedst with him, And hast been partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, And thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; Thou slanderest thine own mother`s son. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself: [But] I will reprove thee, and set [them] in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver: Whoso offereth the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifieth me; And to him that ordereth his way [aright] Will I show the salvation of God." — Psalms 50:16-23 (ASV)

Hypocrisy is wickedness, which God will judge. And it is too common for those who declare the Lord's statutes to others to live in disobedience to them themselves. This delusion arises from the abuse of God's long-suffering and a willful misunderstanding of His character and the intention of His gospel. The sins of sinners will be fully proven against them in the judgment of the great day.

The day is coming when God will set their sins in order—sins of childhood and youth, of riper age and old age—to their everlasting shame and terror. Let those who until now have been forgetful of God, given up to wickedness, or in any way negligent of salvation, consider their urgent danger. The patience of the Lord is very great.

It is all the more wonderful because sinners make such ill use of it; but if they do not turn, they will be made to see their error when it is too late. Those who forget God forget themselves, and it will never be right with them until they consider. Man's chief end is to glorify God: whoever offers praise glorifies Him, and his spiritual sacrifices will be accepted.

We must praise God, sacrifice praise, and put it into the hands of the Priest, our Lord Jesus, who is also the altar; we must be fervent in spirit, praising the Lord. Let us thankfully accept God's mercy and endeavor to glorify Him in word and deed.