Ps. 50.7 (God speaks)

“Hear my people / and let me speak – and let me give testimony / about you / O Israel. – I am God / your God.” Here is the first address made by God to his people at the initiation of the covenantal ceremony. They therefore deserve a good deal of attention. The first thing to note is the three-fold repetition of God calling upon Israel to ‘hear’ him (“hear my people”, “let me speak”, “let me give testimony”). The ‘voice’ from the flame and tempest, that voice that had previously remained silent but now will speak, has emerged at last and directed its focus upon “my people”. The import should be obvious: that God is calling upon his people to not only hear what he is saying but to perceive it, to understand it. As we will see this is not a philosophical perception, nor is it really a pietistic perception. It is, rather, aimed at how one properly offers sacrifice. This ‘voice’ is one that is about to, in essence, provide liturgical instruction. His concern most of all, in this psalm, as it relates to the covenantal ceremony, is the mode in which a sacrifice is made and how it is offered to God. And yet, what God says he is going to speak about is “testimony about you, O Israel”. It is a curious testimony however, as the focus of the remaining portion centers almost entirely on the nature of sacrifices. I think we see something very important in this: that the mode in which a sacrifice is offered can function as a ‘testimony’ about the person, something that could be brought up in this ‘court of law’ with heaven and earth itself acting as witnesses. What we find, then, is the utter centrality and importance of sacrifice as it relates to covenant initiation/renewal. We will contemplate this more in the following verses. Lastly, what is to notice is the fact that God is addressing his people in covenantal terms: “I am God, your God”. The dynamic here, though, begins with God’s ‘possessing them’—“here my people”—and closes with their ‘possessing him’—‘your God’. This dynamic is inherent within the covenant itself when God proclaimed: “You will be my people, and I will be your God.” Importantly, it is God giving the instruction. Israel, although a partner to the covenant, is not itself a ‘speaker’ but a listener. Its ear is open to him. This point will emerge again in verse 15 where Israel is afforded a ‘speaking role’. There, they will be able to ‘summon’ God in the same manner as he ‘summoned’ all of creation.