Psalm 50–52

Psalm 50

GOD AS JUDGE

A psalm of Asaph.^ad

¹The Mighty One, God,^H the Lord, speaks;

he summons the earth

from the rising of the sun to its setting.^ae

²From Zion, the perfection of beauty,

God appears in radiance.^Aa

³Our God is coming; he will not be silent!

Devouring fire precedes him,

and a storm rages around him.^b

⁴On high, he summons heaven and earth

in order to judge his people:^c

⁵“Gather my faithful ones to me,

those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”^d

⁶The heavens proclaim his righteousness,^e

for God is the Judge.^f

Selah

⁷“Listen, my people, and I will speak;

I will testify against you, Israel.

I am God, your God.^g

⁸I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices

or for your burnt offerings,

which are continually before me.^h

⁹I will not take a bull from your household

or male goats from your pens,ⁱ

¹⁰for every animal of the forest is mine,

the cattle on a thousand hills.

¹¹I know every bird of the mountains,

and the creatures of the field are mine.^j

¹²If I were hungry, I would not tell you,

for the world and everything in it is mine.^k

¹³Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?^l

¹⁴Offer a thanksgiving sacrifice to God,^m

and pay your vows to the Most High.ⁿ

¹⁵Call on me in a day of trouble;

I will rescue you, and you will honor me.”^o

¹⁶But God says to the wicked:

“What right do you have to recite my statutes

and to take my covenant on your lips?^p

¹⁷You hate instruction

and fling my words behind you.^q

¹⁸When you see a thief,

you make friends with him,

and you associate with adulterers.^r

¹⁹You unleash your mouth for evil

and harness your tongue for deceit.^s

²⁰You sit, maligning your brother,

slandering your mother’s son.^t

²¹You have done these things, and I kept silent;

you thought I was just like you.^u

But I will rebuke you

and lay out the case before you.^Bv

²²“Understand this, you who forget God,

or I will tear you apart,

and there will be no one to rescue you.^w

²³Whoever offers a thanksgiving sacrifice honors me,

and whoever orders his conduct,

I will show him the salvation of God.”^x

Psalm 51

A PRAYER FOR RESTORATION

For the choir director. A psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him after he had gone to Bathsheba.^y

¹Be gracious to me, God,

according to your faithful love;

according to your abundant compassion,

blot out my rebellion.^z

²Completely wash away my guilt

and cleanse me from my sin.^aa

³For I am conscious of my rebellion,

and my sin is always before me.^ab

⁴Against you—you alone—I have sinned

and done this evil in your sight.^ac

So you are right when you pass sentence;

you are blameless when you judge.^ad

⁵Indeed, I was guilty when I was born;

I was sinful when my mother conceived me.^ae

⁶Surely you desire integrity in the inner self,

and you teach me wisdom deep within.^af

⁷Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.^ag

⁸Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones you have crushed rejoice.^ah

⁹Turn your face away^A from my sins

and blot out all my guilt.^ai

¹⁰God, create a clean heart for me

and renew a steadfast^B spirit within me.^a

¹¹Do not banish me from your presence

or take your Holy Spirit from me.^b

¹²Restore the joy of your salvation to me,

and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit.^c

¹³Then I will teach the rebellious your ways,

and sinners will return to you.^d

¹⁴Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God^e—

God of my salvation—

and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.^f

¹⁵Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.^g

¹⁶You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it;

you are not pleased with a burnt offering.^h

¹⁷The sacrifice pleasing to God is^C a broken spirit.

You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.ⁱ

¹⁸In your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper;

build the walls of Jerusalem.^j

¹⁹Then you will delight in righteous sacrifices,

whole burnt offerings;

then bulls will be offered on your altar.^k

Psalm 52

GOD JUDGES THE PROUD

For the choir director. A Maskil of David. When Doeg the Edomite went and reported to Saul, telling him, “David went to Ahimelech’s house.”^l

¹Why boast about evil, you hero!^m

God’s faithful love is constant.ⁿ

²Like a sharpened razor,

your tongue devises destruction,

working treachery.^o

³You love evil instead of good,

lying instead of speaking truthfully.^p

Selah

⁴You love any words that destroy,

you treacherous tongue!^q

⁵This is why God will bring you down forever.

He will take you, ripping you out of your tent;

he will uproot you from the land of the living.^r

Selah

⁶The righteous will see and fear,

and they will derisively say about that hero,^As

⁷“Here is the man

who would not make God his refuge,

but trusted in the abundance of his riches,

taking refuge in his destructive behavior.”^t

⁸But I am like a flourishing olive tree

in the house of God;^u

I trust in God’s faithful love forever and ever.^v

⁹I will praise you forever for what you have done.

In the presence of your faithful people,

I will put my hope in your name, for it is good.^w