Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Psalms 50:15 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 15. 15And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Psalm 50:15: Within “God summons worshipers to covenant accountability,” the line “And call upon me in the day of trouble” supplies one distinct parallel claim, image, address, or response.
The God of Zion summons covenant partners to trial
This verse is one part of that explanation in Psalms 50:1–23. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Psalms 50:1–23
Read Psalms 50:15 with 50:1–23. Read alone, “And call upon me in the day of trouble” could lose the communal voice, the parallel line or movement it develops, and the psalm's outcome. The complete movement establishes: Within Psalms 50:1–23, the communal voice carries the movement “God summons worshipers to covenant accountability” as part of “God summons worshipers to covenant accountability.” Its prophetic-liturgy form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Psalms 50:1–23 opens Psalm 50 with “The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun…” and establishes the communal voice and “God summons worshipers to covenant accountability” movement before later lines develop or answer it. Within that relationship, Psalm 50:15 adds the distinct poetic line “And call upon me in the day of trouble” within “God summons worshipers to covenant accountability,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope.
Follow the Context
- Identify the communal voice, address, and parallel lines in Psalms 50:1–23; do not make every “I”, “we,” king, enemy, or worshiper interchangeable.
- Within Psalms 50:1–23, the communal voice carries the movement “God summons worshipers to covenant accountability” as part of “God summons worshipers to covenant accountability.” Its prophetic-liturgy form and poetic parallelism hold the petitions, images, memories, or praise together before any single line is applied.
- This reading does not authorize the following misuse: Sacrifice is criticized when detached from gratitude and justice; the psalm is not anti-Jewish and cannot be used to claim that Christianity replaced Israel.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
Psalms 50:15 does not allow “And call upon me in the day of trouble” to become an independent promise, command, accusation, doctrine, or authorization. This verse adds the distinct poetic line “And call upon me in the day of trouble” within “God summons worshipers to covenant accountability,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope. The complete movement is “God summons worshipers to covenant accountability.” This reading does not authorize the following misuse: Sacrifice is criticized when detached from gratitude and justice; the psalm is not anti-Jewish and cannot be used to claim that Christianity replaced Israel.
What Remains True
The lasting force of “And call upon me in the day of trouble” comes through Psalms 50:1–23 and Book II, not isolation. Biblical faith can speak unresolved pain directly, remain in relationship, seek safe help, and refuse the claim that anguish proves guilt or failed faith. The local movement is “God summons worshipers to covenant accountability.” The unit's reviewed limit is: Sacrifice is criticized when detached from gratitude and justice; the psalm is not anti-Jewish and cannot be used to claim that Christianity replaced Israel.
How It Can Shape Life
- Start with the line's work inside “God summons worshipers to covenant accountability”—Psalm 50:15 adds the distinct poetic line “And call upon me in the day of trouble” within “God summons worshipers to covenant accountability,” where its parallel neighbors determine emphasis and scope. Then make room for the emotion in “And call upon me in the day of trouble”, ask what safety and companionship require now, and resist a neat answer the psalm itself does not give.
Teach It Back
Explain why Psalm 50:15 cannot stand alone. Quote “And call upon me in the day of trouble,” use the full 50:1–23, describe the communal voice and “God summons worshipers to covenant accountability,” distinguish first horizon from later reception, and state why This reading does not authorize the following misuse: Sacrifice is criticized when detached from gratitude and justice; the psalm is not anti-Jewish and cannot be used to claim that Christianity replaced Israel.
Your explanation stays in this browser. It is not sent or saved.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Psalms 50:1–23 — God summons worshipers to covenant accountabilitySources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Psalms 50:1–23, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Psalms
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a complete apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Ps.xml, OSIS 50:1–23
Open the fixed Hebrew Psalms file ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Notes: Psalms 1-150
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, current official online edition
Supports: Verse-level controls for poetic syntax, imagery, older KJV language, textual issues, headings, and alternatives in Psalms 50:1–23.
Exact location: Official NET Bible Psalm 50 HTML, translator, textual, and study notes attached to Psalms 50:1–23
Open the official NET Psalms notes ↗modern scholarly book course
Psalms course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Fred Gaiser; revised by Nicholas Schaser
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, revised May 2024
Supports: Five-book, genre, poetic, historical, theological, liturgical, communal, and reception synthesis with visible limits.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Psalms course, Summary, Outline, Introductory Issues, and Theological Themes; applied to Psalms 50:1–23
Open the Enter the Bible Psalms course ↗ancient greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Psalms
Albert Pietersma
International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies; Oxford University Press, 2009
Supports: Ancient Greek wording, numbering, division, and superscription evidence where it materially clarifies translation or reception.
Exact location: NETS Psalms, Pietersma introduction pp. 542–543 and exact Greek translation headed Ps 50 for Psalms 50:1–23
Open NETS Psalms ↗