Psalm 47–50

Psalm 47

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.

¹Come, everyone! Clap your hands!

Shout to God with joyful praise!

²For the Lord Most High is awesome.

He is the great King of all the earth.

³He subdues the nations before us,

putting our enemies beneath our feet.

⁴He chose the Promised Land as our inheritance,

the proud possession of Jacob’s descendants, whom he loves.

Interlude

⁵God has ascended with a mighty shout.

The Lord has ascended with trumpets blaring.

⁶Sing praises to God, sing praises;

sing praises to our King, sing praises!

⁷For God is the King over all the earth.

Praise him with a psalm.

⁸God reigns above the nations,

sitting on his holy throne.

⁹The rulers of the world have gathered together

with the people of the God of Abraham.

For all the kings of the earth belong to God.

He is highly honored everywhere.

Psalm 48

A song. A psalm of the descendants of Korah.

¹How great is the Lord,

how deserving of praise,

in the city of our God,

which sits on his holy mountain!

²It is high and magnificent;

the whole earth rejoices to see it!

Mount Zion, the holy mountain,

is the city of the great King!

³God himself is in Jerusalem’s towers,

revealing himself as its defender.

⁴The kings of the earth joined forces

and advanced against the city.

⁵But when they saw it, they were stunned;

they were terrified and ran away.

⁶They were gripped with terror

and writhed in pain like a woman in labor.

⁷You destroyed them like the mighty ships of Tarshish

shattered by a powerful east wind.

⁸We had heard of the city’s glory,

but now we have seen it ourselves—

the city of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

It is the city of our God;

he will make it safe forever.

Interlude

⁹O God, we meditate on your unfailing love

as we worship in your Temple.

¹⁰As your name deserves, O God,

you will be praised to the ends of the earth.

Your strong right hand is filled with victory.

¹¹Let the people on Mount Zion rejoice.

Let all the towns of Judah be glad

because of your justice.

¹²Go, inspect the city of Jerusalem.

Walk around and count the many towers.

¹³Take note of the fortified walls,

and tour all the citadels,

that you may describe them

to future generations.

¹⁴For that is what God is like.

He is our God forever and ever,

and he will guide us until we die.

Psalm 49

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.

¹Listen to this, all you people!

Pay attention, everyone in the world!

²High and low,

rich and poor—listen!

³For my words are wise,

and my thoughts are filled with insight.

⁴I listen carefully to many proverbs

and solve riddles with inspiration from a harp.

⁵Why should I fear when trouble comes,

when enemies surround me?

⁶They trust in their wealth

and boast of great riches.

⁷Yet they cannot redeem themselves from death

by paying a ransom to God.

⁸Redemption does not come so easily,

for no one can ever pay enough

⁹to live forever

and never see the grave.

¹⁰Those who are wise must finally die,

just like the foolish and senseless,

leaving all their wealth behind.

¹¹The grave is their eternal home,

where they will stay forever.

They may name their estates after themselves,

¹²but their fame will not last.

They will die, just like animals.

¹³This is the fate of fools,

though they are remembered as being wise.

Interlude

¹⁴Like sheep, they are led to the grave,

where death will be their shepherd.

In the morning the godly will rule over them.

Their bodies will rot in the grave,

far from their grand estates.

¹⁵But as for me, God will redeem my life.

He will snatch me from the power of the grave.

Interlude

¹⁶So don’t be dismayed when the wicked grow rich

and their homes become ever more splendid.

¹⁷For when they die, they take nothing with them.

Their wealth will not follow them into the grave.

¹⁸In this life they consider themselves fortunate

and are applauded for their success.

¹⁹But they will die like all before them

and never again see the light of day.

²⁰People who boast of their wealth don’t understand;

they will die, just like animals.

Psalm 50

A psalm of Asaph.

¹The Lord, the Mighty One, is God,

and he has spoken;

he has summoned all humanity

from where the sun rises to where it sets.

²From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty,

God shines in glorious radiance.

³Our God approaches,

and he is not silent.

Fire devours everything in his way,

and a great storm rages around him.

⁴He calls on the heavens above and earth below

to witness the judgment of his people.

⁵“Bring my faithful people to me—

those who made a covenant with me by giving sacrifices.”

⁶Then let the heavens proclaim his justice,

for God himself will be the judge.

Interlude

⁷“O my people, listen as I speak.

Here are my charges against you, O Israel:

I am God, your God!

⁸I have no complaint about your sacrifices

or the burnt offerings you constantly offer.

⁹But I do not need the bulls from your barns

or the goats from your pens.

¹⁰For all the animals of the forest are mine,

and I own the cattle on a thousand hills.

¹¹I know every bird on the mountains,

and all the animals of the field are mine.

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

for all the world is mine and everything in it.

¹³Do I eat the meat of bulls?

Do I drink the blood of goats?

¹⁴Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God,

and keep the vows you made to the Most High.

¹⁵Then call on me when you are in trouble,

and I will rescue you,

and you will give me glory.”

¹⁶But God says to the wicked:

“Why bother reciting my decrees

and pretending to obey my covenant?

¹⁷For you refuse my discipline

and treat my words like trash.

¹⁸When you see thieves, you approve of them,

and you spend your time with adulterers.

¹⁹Your mouth is filled with wickedness,

and your tongue is full of lies.

²⁰You sit around and slander your brother—

your own mother’s son.

²¹While you did all this, I remained silent,

and you thought I didn’t care.

But now I will rebuke you,

listing all my charges against you.

²²Repent, all of you who forget me,

or I will tear you apart,

and no one will help you.

²³But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me.

If you keep to my path,

I will reveal to you the salvation of God.”