Psalm 47–50

The supreme Ruler^b

47 Clap your hands for joy, all peoples!

Praise God with loud songs!

²The Lord, the Most High, is to be feared;

he is a great king, ruling over all the world.

³He gave us victory over the peoples;

he made us rule over the nations.

⁴He chose for us the land where we live,

the proud possession of his people, whom he loves.

⁵God goes up to his throne.

There are shouts of joy and the blast of trumpets,

as the Lord goes up.

⁶Sing praise to God;

sing praise to our king!

⁷God is king over all the world;

praise him with songs!

⁸God sits on his sacred throne;

he rules over the nations.

⁹The rulers of the nations assemble

with the people^c of the God of Abraham.

More powerful than all armies is he;

he rules supreme.

Zion, the City of God^d

48 The Lord is great and is to be highly praised

in the city of our God, on his sacred hill.^e

^2*Zion, the mountain of God, is high and beautiful;

the city of the great king brings joy to all the world.

³God has shown that there is safety with him

inside the fortresses of the city.

⁴The kings gathered together

and came to attack Mount Zion.

⁵But when they saw it,

they were amazed; they were afraid and ran away.

⁶There they were seized with fear and anguish,

like a woman about to bear a child,

⁷like ships tossing in a furious storm.

⁸We have heard what God has done,

and now we have seen it

in the city of our God, the Lord Almighty;

he will keep the city safe for ever.

⁹Inside your Temple, O God,

we think of your constant love.

¹⁰You are praised by people everywhere,

and your fame extends over all the earth.

You rule with justice;

¹¹let the people of Zion be glad!

You give right judgements;

let there be joy in the cities of Judah!

¹²People of God, walk round Zion and count the towers;

¹³take notice of the walls and examine the fortresses,

so that you may tell the next generation:

¹⁴“This God is our God for ever and ever;

he will lead us for all time to come.”

The Foolishness of Trusting in Riches^f

49 Hear this, everyone!

Listen, all people everywhere,

²great and small alike,

rich and poor together.

³My thoughts will be clear;

I will speak words of wisdom.

⁴I will turn my attention to proverbs

and explain their meaning as I play the harp.

⁵I am not afraid in times of danger

when I am surrounded by enemies,

⁶by evil people who trust in their riches

and boast of their great wealth.

⁷A person can never redeem himself;

he cannot pay God the price for his life,

⁸because the payment for a human life is too great.

What he could pay would never be enough

⁹to keep him from the grave,

to let him live for ever.

¹⁰Anyone can see that even the wise die,

as well as the foolish and stupid.

They all leave their riches to their descendants.

¹¹Their graves^g are their homes for ever;

there they stay for all time,

though they once had lands of their own.

¹²No one’s greatness can save him from death;

he will still die like the animals.

¹³See what happens to those who trust in themselves,

the fate of those^h who are satisfied with their wealth-

¹⁴they are doomed to die like sheep,

and Death will be their shepherd.

The righteous will triumph over them,

as their bodies quickly decay

in the world of the dead far from their homes.ⁱ

¹⁵But God will rescue me;

he will save me from the power of death.

¹⁶Don’t be upset when someone becomes rich,

when his wealth grows even greater;

¹⁷he cannot take it with him when he dies;

his wealth will not go with him to the grave.

¹⁸Even if he is satisfied with this life

and is praised because he is successful,

¹⁹he will join all his ancestors in death,

where the darkness lasts for ever.

²⁰His greatness cannot save him from death;

he will still die like the animals.

True Worship^j

50 The Almighty God, the Lord, speaks;

he calls to the whole earth from east to west.

²God shines from Zion,

the city perfect in its beauty.

³Our God is coming, but not in silence;

a raging fire is in front of him,

a furious storm is round him.

⁴He calls heaven and earth as witnesses

to see him judge his people.

⁵He says, “Gather my faithful people to me,

those who made a covenant with me by offering a sacrifice.”

⁶The heavens proclaim that God is righteous,

that he himself is judge.

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

I will testify against you, Israel.

I am God, your God.

⁸I do not reprimand you because of your sacrifices

and the burnt offerings you always bring me.

⁹And yet I do not need bulls from your farms

or goats from your flocks;

¹⁰all the animals in the forest are mine

and the cattle on thousands of hills.

¹¹All the wild birds are mine

and all living things in the fields.

¹²“If I were hungry, I would not ask you for food,

for the world and everything in it is mine.

¹³Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?

¹⁴Let the giving of thanks be your sacrifice to God,^k

and give the Almighty all that you promised.

¹⁵Call to me when trouble comes;

I will save you,

and you will praise me.”

¹⁶But God says to the wicked,

“Why should you recite my commandments?

Why should you talk about my covenant?

¹⁷You refuse to let me correct you;

you reject my commands.

¹⁸You become the friend of every thief you see

and you associate with adulterers.

¹⁹“You are always ready to speak evil;

you never hesitate to tell lies.

²⁰You are ready to accuse your own relatives

and to find fault with them.

²¹You have done all this, and I have said nothing,

so you thought that I was like you.

But now I reprimand you

and make the matter plain to you.

²²“Listen to this, you that ignore me,

or I will destroy you,

and there will be no one to save you.

²³Giving thanks is the sacrifice that honours me,

and I will surely save all who obey me.”