“These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.”
The statement that God remains silent and the wicked assume that God is like them establishes the psychological error underlying the wicked's transgression. The reference to God being silent suggests that God has not immediately punished the wicked's transgressions; the apparent delay breeds misunderstanding. The claim that the wicked think God is like them suggests the projection of human standards and limitations onto God; the wicked cannot imagine that God's character transcends their own. The implication is that the wicked's moral blindness flows from failing to recognize divine transcendence and justice. This verse identifies spiritual blindness and the failure to recognize God's character as the root cause of the wicked's transgression.
Church Fathers on Psalms 50:21
1. How much avails the Word of God to us for the correction of our life, both regarding His rewards to be expected, and His punishments to be feared, let each one measure in himself; and let him put his conscience without deceit before His eyes, and not flatter himself in a danger so great: for you see that even our Lord God Himself does flatter no one: though He comforts us by promising His blessings, and by strengthening our hope; yet them that live ill and despise His word…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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