Psalm 50:20
You sit and malign your brother; you slander your own mother's son.
You sit
The phrase "You sit" suggests a position of comfort or complacency. In the Hebrew context, sitting often implies a settled state or a deliberate action. This is not a casual or accidental occurrence; it is a chosen posture. The act of sitting indicates a premeditated decision to engage in the behavior that follows. In the biblical narrative, sitting can also imply judgment or authority, as seen in the elders who sat at the city gates to make decisions. Here, it underscores the intentional nature of the sin being addressed.

and malign
comes from the Hebrew word "dabar," which means to speak or declare. However, in this context, it carries a negative connotation, implying slander or speaking ill. The act of maligning is not just idle gossip; it is a deliberate attempt to harm another's reputation. This aligns with the biblical understanding of the power of words, as seen in Proverbs 18:21, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue." The act of maligning is a misuse of this power, contrary to the call to love and edify one another.

your brother
in the biblical sense, refers not only to a biological sibling but to a fellow member of the community of faith. The use of "brother" emphasizes the closeness of the relationship and the betrayal involved in speaking ill of someone who should be treated with love and respect. In the broader scriptural context, this term reminds us of the familial bond that believers share, as seen in the New Testament teachings of Jesus and the apostles. The act of maligning a brother is a violation of the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself, highlighting the seriousness of the offense.

You slander your own mother's son
The phrase "You slander" further intensifies the accusation. Slander involves making false and damaging statements about someone. The Hebrew root "rakil" is often associated with being a talebearer or spreading false reports. This is a direct violation of the Ninth Commandment, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16). Slander is a destructive force within a community, eroding trust and unity, and is condemned throughout Scripture.

your own mother's son
This phrase reiterates the familial relationship, emphasizing the closeness and the natural bond that should exist between siblings. It serves to heighten the sense of betrayal and wrongdoing. In ancient Israelite society, family ties were of utmost importance, and to slander one's own kin was a grievous sin. This phrase calls to mind the account of Cain and Abel, where brother rose against brother, leading to the first murder. It serves as a stark reminder of the destructive potential of unchecked sin within the family unit.

Persons / Places / Events
1. God as the Speaker
In Psalm 50, God is the one speaking through the psalmist, addressing His people and calling them to account for their actions.

2. The Psalmist
Traditionally attributed to Asaph, a Levite and one of David's chief musicians, who is known for his role in leading worship and composing psalms.

3. The Accused
The "brother" and "mother’s son" refer to fellow Israelites, emphasizing the close familial and covenantal relationships among God's people.

4. Israel
The nation of Israel is the primary audience, representing God's chosen people who are being called to examine their behavior and relationship with God.

5. The Setting
The psalm is set in a courtroom-like scenario where God is both the judge and the witness against His people, highlighting the seriousness of their sins.
Teaching Points
Guard Your Tongue
The verse highlights the destructive power of words. Believers are called to be mindful of their speech, ensuring it builds up rather than tears down.

Value of Relationships
The reference to "brother" and "mother’s son" underscores the importance of maintaining healthy, loving relationships within the family of God.

Accountability Before God
God sees and hears all, and we are accountable to Him for our actions and words. This should lead us to live with integrity and righteousness.

Repentance and Restoration
Recognizing the sin of slander should lead to repentance and a desire to restore broken relationships, seeking forgiveness from those we have wronged.

Reflect Christ's Love
As followers of Christ, we are called to reflect His love and grace in our interactions, avoiding gossip and slander, and instead promoting peace and unity.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding the familial language in Psalm 50:20 ("brother" and "mother’s son") affect our view of relationships within the church?

2. In what ways can we guard our tongues to prevent slander and gossip in our daily lives?

3. How does the concept of accountability before God, as seen in Psalm 50, influence our behavior and speech?

4. What steps can we take to restore relationships that have been damaged by slander or harmful words?

5. How can we apply the teachings of James 4:11 and Matthew 12:36-37 to ensure our words align with our Christian witness?
Connections to Other Scriptures
James 4:11
This verse warns against speaking evil of one another, echoing the theme of slander and judgment found in Psalm 50:20.

Leviticus 19:16
This law prohibits slander among the Israelites, reinforcing the command to love one's neighbor and live righteously.

Matthew 12:36-37
Jesus teaches about the accountability for every careless word spoken, which aligns with the warning against slander in Psalm 50:20.
God the Righteous JudgeW. Forsyth Psalm 50:1-23
Preparation to Meet GodPlain Sermons by authors of "Tracts for the Times."Psalm 50:1-23
The First of the Asaph PsalmsA. Maclaren, D. D.Psalm 50:1-23
The Judge, the Judged, and the Eternal JudgmentC. Clemance Psalm 50:1-23
The Religion of ManHomilistPsalm 50:1-23
True Religion and its CounterfeitsW. Forsyth Psalm 50:7-21
HypocrisyC. Short Psalm 50:16-23
The InconsistencyA. R. Beard.Psalm 50:16-23
The Mere Formalist and the Spiritualist in ReligionHomilistPsalm 50:16-23
People
Asaph, Bathsheba, David, Nathan, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Brother, Continually, Evil, Givest, Mother's, Revilest, Sit, Sittest, Slander, Slanderest, Speak, Speakest, Statements
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 50:16-22

     6169   godlessness

Psalm 50:20-21

     1095   God, patience of

Library
Prayers Answered
IN BUSINESS AND SOCIAL ANXIETIES. HELP IN PAYING A MORTGAGE. A business man in New York had several large amounts due for payment. An unprecedented series of calls from tradesmen wishing their bills paid sooner than customary, drained his means, and he was satisfied from the situation that his means would not be sufficient to pay them all. His business receipts, at this juncture, fell to one-half what they had usually been. A loan was due at the bank; a mortgage on his property, as well as large
Various—The Wonders of Prayer

And that which Follows Concerning Birds of the Air and Lilies of the Field...
35. And that which follows concerning birds of the air and lilies of the field, He saith to this end, that no man may think that God careth not for the needs of His servants; when His most wise Providence reacheth unto these in creating and governing those. For it must not be deemed that it is not He that feeds and clothes them also which work with their hands. But lest they turn aside the Christian service of warfare unto their purpose of getting these things, the Lord in this premonisheth His servants
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

The Holy Souls
THE HOLY SOULS Officium Defunctorum Lent and Holy Week, etc. Miserere mei Deus Psalm 50 Vatican Antiphonale First Mode (First portion is sung before the Psalm) (The entire antiphon is sung at the end of Psalm) Exsultabunt Domino ossa humiliata. First Psalm Tone 1. Miserere mei Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam. 2. Et secundum multitudinem miserationem tuarum, dele iniquitatem mea. 3. Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea: et a peccato meo munda me. 4. Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego cognosco: et
Various—The St. Gregory Hymnal and Catholic Choir Book

Why all Things Work for Good
1. The grand reason why all things work for good, is the near and dear interest which God has in His people. The Lord has made a covenant with them. "They shall be my people, and I will be their God" (Jer. xxxii. 38). By virtue of this compact, all things do, and must work, for good to them. "I am God, even thy God" (Psalm l. 7). This word, Thy God,' is the sweetest word in the Bible, it implies the best relations; and it is impossible there should be these relations between God and His people, and
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

Rome and Ephesus
Corinth as portrayed in the Epistles of Paul gives us our simplest and least contaminated picture of the Hellenic Christianity which regarded itself as the cult of the Lord Jesus, who offered salvation--immortality--to those initiated in his mysteries. It had obvious weaknesses in the eyes of Jewish Christians, even when they were as Hellenised as Paul, since it offered little reason for a higher standard of conduct than heathenism, and its personal eschatology left no real place for the resurrection
Kirsopp Lake—Landmarks in the History of Early Christianity

The Opinion of St. Augustin
Concerning His Confessions, as Embodied in His Retractations, II. 6 1. "The Thirteen Books of my Confessions whether they refer to my evil or good, praise the just and good God, and stimulate the heart and mind of man to approach unto Him. And, as far as pertaineth unto me, they wrought this in me when they were written, and this they work when they are read. What some think of them they may have seen, but that they have given much pleasure, and do give pleasure, to many brethren I know. From the
St. Augustine—The Confessions and Letters of St

How they are to be Admonished who Lament Sins of Deed, and those who Lament Only Sins of Thought.
(Admonition 30.) Differently to be admonished are those who deplore sins of deed, and those who deplore sins of thought. For those who deplore sins of deed are to be admonished that perfected lamentations should wash out consummated evils, lest they be bound by a greater debt of perpetrated deed than they pay in tears of satisfaction for it. For it is written, He hath given us drink in tears by measure (Ps. lxxix. 6): which means that each person's soul should in its penitence drink the tears
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Triumph Over Death and the Grave
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin: and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. T he Christian soldier may with the greatest propriety, be said to war a good warfare (I Timothy 1:18) . He is engaged in a good cause. He fights under the eye of the Captain of his salvation. Though he be weak in himself, and though his enemies are many and mighty, he may do that which in other soldiers
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

Seasons of Covenanting.
The duty is never unsuitable. Men have frequently, improperly esteemed the exercise as one that should be had recourse to, only on some great emergency. But as it is sinful to defer religious exercises till affliction, presenting the prospect of death, constrain to attempt them, so it is wrong to imagine, that the pressure of calamity principally should constrain to make solemn vows. The exercise of personal Covenanting should be practised habitually. The patriot is a patriot still; and the covenanter
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Putting God to Work
"For from of old men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen a God beside thee who worketh for him that waiteth for him."--Isaiah 64:4. The assertion voiced in the title given this chapter is but another way of declaring that God has of His own motion placed Himself under the law of prayer, and has obligated Himself to answer the prayers of men. He has ordained prayer as a means whereby He will do things through men as they pray, which He would not otherwise do. Prayer
Edward M. Bounds—The Weapon of Prayer

Epistle cxxi. To Leander, Bishop of Hispalis (Seville).
To Leander, Bishop of Hispalis (Seville). Gregory to Leander, Bishop of Spain. I have the epistle of thy Holiness, written with the pen of charity alone. For what the tongue transferred to the paper had got its tincture from the heart. Good and wise men were present when it was read, and at once their bowels were stirred with emotion. Everyone began to seize thee in his heart with the hand of love, for that in that epistle the sweetness of thy disposition was not to be heard, but seen. All severally
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

The Third Commandment
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.' Exod 20: 7. This commandment has two parts: 1. A negative expressed, that we must not take God's name in vain; that is, cast any reflections and dishonour on his name. 2. An affirmative implied. That we should take care to reverence and honour his name. Of this latter I shall speak more fully, under the first petition in the Lord's Prayer, Hallowed be thy name.' I shall
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

First Sunday after Epiphany
Text: Romans 12, 1-6. 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. 2 And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3 For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

Letter Xlv (Circa A. D. 1120) to a Youth Named Fulk, who Afterwards was Archdeacon of Langres
To a Youth Named Fulk, Who Afterwards Was Archdeacon of Langres He gravely warns Fulk, a Canon Regular, whom an uncle had by persuasions and promises drawn back to the world, to obey God and be faithful to Him rather than to his uncle. To the honourable young man Fulk, Brother Bernard, a sinner, wishes such joy in youth as in old age he will not regret. 1. I do not wonder at your surprise; I should wonder if you were not suprised [sic] that I should write to you, a countryman to a citizen, a monk
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

How those are to be Admonished who Abstain not from the Sins which they Bewail, and those Who, Abstaining from Them, Bewail them Not.
(Admonition 31.) Differently to be admonished are those who lament their transgressions, and yet forsake them not, and those who forsake them, and yet lament them not. For those who lament their transgressions and yet forsake them not are to be admonished to learn to consider anxiously that they cleanse themselves in vain by their weeping, if they wickedly defile themselves in their living, seeing that the end for which they wash themselves in tears is that, when clean, they may return to filth.
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Nature of Covenanting.
A covenant is a mutual voluntary compact between two parties on given terms or conditions. It may be made between superiors and inferiors, or between equals. The sentiment that a covenant can be made only between parties respectively independent of one another is inconsistent with the testimony of Scripture. Parties to covenants in a great variety of relative circumstances, are there introduced. There, covenant relations among men are represented as obtaining not merely between nation and nation,
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Letter xix (A. D. 1127) to Suger, Abbot of S. Denis
To Suger, Abbot of S. Denis He praises Suger, who had unexpectedly renounced the pride and luxury of the world to give himself to the modest habits of the religious life. He blames severely the clerk who devotes himself rather to the service of princes than that of God. 1. A piece of good news has reached our district; it cannot fail to do great good to whomsoever it shall have come. For who that fear God, hearing what great things He has done for your soul, do not rejoice and wonder at the great
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Epistle Lxiv. To Augustine, Bishop of the Angli .
To Augustine, Bishop of the Angli [174] . Here begins the epistle of the blessed Gregory pope of the city of Rome, in exposition of various matters, which he sent into transmarine Saxony to Augustine, whom he had himself sent in his own stead to preach. Preface.--Through my most beloved son Laurentius, the presbyter, and Peter the monk, I received thy Fraternity's letter, in which thou hast been at pains to question me on many points. But, inasmuch as my aforesaid sons found me afflicted with the
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

The Doctrine
OF THE LAW AND GRACE UNFOLDED; OR, A DISCOURSE TOUCHING THE LAW AND GRACE; THE NATURE OF THE ONE, AND THE NATURE OF THE OTHER; SHOWING WHAT THEY ARE, AS THEY ARE THE TWO COVENANTS; AND LIKEWISE, WHO THEY BE, AND WHAT THEIR CONDITIONS ARE, THAT BE UNDER EITHER OF THESE TWO COVENANTS: Wherein, for the better understanding of the reader, there are several questions answered touching the law and grace, very easy to be read, and as easy to be understood, by those that are the sons of wisdom, the children
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Ninth Commandment
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.' Exod 20: 16. THE tongue which at first was made to be an organ of God's praise, is now become an instrument of unrighteousness. This commandment binds the tongue to its good behaviour. God has set two natural fences to keep in the tongue, the teeth and lips; and this commandment is a third fence set about it, that it should not break forth into evil. It has a prohibitory and a mandatory part: the first is set down in plain words, the other
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

On the Symbols of the Essence' and Coessential. '
We must look at the sense not the wording. The offence excited is at the sense; meaning of the Symbols; the question of their not being in Scripture. Those who hesitate only at coessential,' not to be considered Arians. Reasons why coessential' is better than like-in-essence,' yet the latter may be interpreted in a good sense. Explanation of the rejection of coessential' by the Council which condemned the Samosatene; use of the word by Dionysius of Alexandria; parallel variation in the use of Unoriginate;
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

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