Psalm 50 (49):13Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Then, elevating their understanding to the utmost, He inquires: ‘Do I consume the flesh of cattle and drink the blood of goats?’ He asserts that He has prohibited humanity from engaging in such practices and has set forth severe penalties for those who partake in blood (Leviticus 17:10): how can I have need of blood when I direct My followers away from such nourishment? By dismissing these practices, demonstrating their unworthiness, and coupling them with disdain and ridicule, He does not end there. Instead, He reveals an alternative form of sacrifice, one that serves as a supreme remedy, moving away from what is futile and instead applying that which can truly heal the wounds.

In the words of the prophet, it is clear that God’s intention is not for sacrifices to serve the ignorant notion that He derives pleasure from them. Had He not intended for those sacrifices that truly please Him, including a broken and contrite heart, to be represented by the offerings thought to delight Him, He certainly would not have mandated these latter sacrifices in the Old Testament. These offerings were to be transformed at a predetermined time so that what truly pleases God, or what is pleasing to Him within us, would not be misjudged, but instead understood as reflections of the original purpose they represented. Thus, God declares through another psalm, ‘If I had cried, I would not have told thee; for My universe, and all that fills it. Do I eat the meat of oxen, and drink the blood of goats?’ (Psalm 49:12-13). This suggests that if such offerings were essential to Him, He would not require what is already within His own domain.

The creatures that roam the fields, the oxen, and the livestock, along with the birds of the heavens and the splendor of the landscape – all belong to Me, and I lack nothing. Even if a necessity for food were to arise, I am not so lacking as to request such things from you. ‘The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.’

He presents us with an insight into the non-suffering essence of His being. Do I consume the flesh of the young? Or do I partake of the blood of goats? In this way, He highlights their foolishness and suggests that, for the sake of their immature comprehension, He had permitted them to present such offerings.

Does the Lord desire yam yuncha (ox meat) or the blood of goats? By presenting this as a question, He emphasizes the folly of the aforementioned individuals. He questions whether He requires such earthly sustenance as the false deities of the pagans do. Even within their own practices, many wise individuals reject and scorn such a concept of their gods.

The third reason God does not demand offerings or burnt sacrifices from His people is that He is free from hunger and thirst, leaving Him in no need of anything. Even if He did have need, all would be prepared for Him, for He is the Sovereign of all.

This psalm was inspired by the Holy Spirit through David and entrusted to Asaph, the leader of his musicians, for performance. The prophet speaks of the second coming of Christ as a moment of tremendous and overwhelming significance. A river of fire streamed before Him; this vivid scene was previously witnessed by the prophet Daniel in his vision, where he described His throne as a blaze of fire and His wheels as flames of fire (Dan. 7:9-10). Here, he alludes to that extraordinary disgrace, compelling all beings, both celestial and terrestrial, to assemble in great multitudes to expose both visible and hidden evil.