Psalm 50–52

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.”

A Prayer for Forgiveness^+l

51 Be merciful to me, O God,

because of your constant love.

Because of your great mercy

wipe away my sins!

²Wash away all my evil

and make me clean from my sin!

³I recognize my faults;

I am always conscious of my sins.

^4*I have sinned against you—only against you—

and done what you consider evil.

So you are right in judging me;

you are justified in condemning me.

⁵I have been evil from the day I was born;

from the time I was conceived, I have been sinful.

⁶Sincerity and truth are what you require;

fill my mind with your wisdom.

⁷Remove my sin, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

⁸Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness;

and though you have crushed me and broken me,

I will be happy once again.

⁹Close your eyes to my sins

and wipe out all my evil.

¹⁰Create a pure heart in me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit in me.

¹¹Do not banish me from your presence;

do not take your holy spirit away from me.

¹²Give me again the joy that comes from your salvation,

and make me willing to obey you.

¹³Then I will teach sinners your commands,

and they will turn back to you.

¹⁴Spare my life, O God, and save me,^m

and I will gladly proclaim your righteousness.

¹⁵Help me to speak, Lord,

and I will praise you.

¹⁶You do not want sacrifices,

or I would offer them;

you are not pleased with burnt offerings.

¹⁷My sacrifice is a humble spirit, O God;

you will not reject a humble and repentant heart.

¹⁸O God, be kind to Zion and help her;

rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹Then you will be pleased with proper sacrifices

and with our burnt offerings;

and bulls will be sacrificed on your altar.

God’s Judgement and Grace⁺ⁿ

52 Why do you boast, great one, of your evil?

God’s faithfulness is eternal.

²You make plans to ruin others;

your tongue is like a sharp razor.

You are always inventing lies.

³You love evil more than good

and falsehood more than truth.

⁴You love to hurt people with your words, you liar!

⁵So God will ruin you for ever;

he will take hold of you and snatch you from your home;

he will remove you from the world of the living.

⁶Righteous people will see this and be afraid;

then they will laugh at you and say,

⁷“Look, here is someone who did not depend on God for safety,

but trusted instead in his great wealth

and looked for security in being wicked.”

⁸But I am like an olive tree growing in the house of God;

I trust in his constant love for ever and ever.

⁹I will always thank you, God, for what you have done;

in the presence of your people

I will proclaim that you are good.